Apple iBooks 2 announced - 're-invents the textbook'

Apple announced today iBooks 2, a new version of iBooks which it hopes will reinvigorate the education market.

Phil Schiller took the stage at the Guggenheim Museum in New York to unveil the next generation of iBooks, one which it is hoped will banish staid and boring textbooks in favour of a more interactive experience.

"Kids are getting smarter thanks to their tablets, whether they're older and studying for finals or​ kids playing a Dora game," said Schiller.

He then went on to announce the arrival of iBooks 2 and with it, Apple is "reinventing the textbook".

"We love books… They'll always be with us, but fast forward more than a few hundred years, and it's not hard to see that the textbook is not always the ideal learning tool."

"[So] I am extremely proud to tell you about the new iBooks 2. Kids are really going to love to learn with iBooks."

Text pest

Apple being Apple isn't just reprinting page after page of equations, it is making its e-textbooks as interactive as possible.

The way it is doing this is by adding visuals. One demo which Apple showed off was of an insect.

You could highlight certain portions of the insect and get more information about it. There's also little things like definition of words and such like that are accessible through iBooks 2.

There's also other features like Notes, he ability to make study cards and a whole load of quizzes embedded into the iBook textbooks.

The app is obviously free but individual textbooks will cost a bit. Oh, and there's the added of cost of an iPad - so we're guessing this is one education for the middle class and privileged.

Apple also announced iBooks Author, a new self-publishing tool which allows you to create your very own iBooks for free.

Alienware X51 announced

The Alienware X51 has been officially announced, with the gaming brand offering up a desktop with a small form-factor that is aiming to tempt in the groups between casual gamers and hardcore.

The X51 brings a decent set of specs and the always-enviable Alienware design but packs it into a form-factor that is only marginally bigger than an Xbox.

"I don't personally believe you can offer a system that offers a better gaming performance within that form-factor or even that there is anything close, " Eoin Leyden, Alienware's senior product consultant told TechRadar.

Range

As you would expect the Alienware X51 comes in a range of specs with the lowest priced version at £699 bringing an 3.3 GHz Intel Core i3-2120, Nvidia Geforce GT545 graphics, 4GB of DDR3 RAM and a 1TB harddrive.

At the other end of the spectrum is the £999 version with 8 Gigs of RAM, Intel Core i7-2600 and Nvidia Geforce GTX 555 graphics. That will give you up to 77 frames per second from Battlefield 3, according to Dell-owned Alienware.

The smaller form factor is aimed at the mass market, and it has been designed to stand horizontally or vertically - so you could sit it next to your TV without it looking too out of place.

It's certainly an unexpected move from a company that has previously specialised in massive high-end rigs - but can it take advantage of the recent renaissance in PC gaming?

Related Stories

• Alienware explains move to small form-factor

Alienware X51 announced

The Alienware X51 has been officially announced, with the gaming brand offering up a desktop with a small form-factor that is aiming to tempt in the groups between casual gamers and hardcore.

The X51 brings a decent set of specs and the always-enviable Alienware design but packs it into a form-factor that is only marginally bigger than an Xbox.

"I don't personally believe you can offer a system that offers a better gaming performance within that form-factor or even that there is anything close, " Eoin Leyden, Alienware's senior product consultant told TechRadar.

Range

As you would expect the Alienware X51 comes in a range of specs with the lowest priced version at £699 bringing an 3.3 GHz Intel Core i3-2120, Nvidia Geforce GT545 graphics, 4GB of DDR3 RAM and a 1TB harddrive.

At the other end of the spectrum is the £999 version with 8 Gigs of RAM, Intel Core i7-2600 and Nvidia Geforce GTX 555 graphics. That will give you up to 77 frames per second from Battlefield 3, according to Dell-owned Alienware.

The smaller form factor is aimed at the mass market, and it has been designed to stand horizontally or vertically - so you could sit it next to your TV without it looking too out of place.

It's certainly an unexpected move from a company that has previously specialised in massive high-end rigs - but can it take advantage of the recent renaissance in PC gaming?

Related Stories

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• Alienware explains move to small form-factor

Kinect for PC hardware announced, will have 'near mode'

Microsoft has announced a Kinect for PC – with a much shorter focal range solving the biggest problem with implementing the motion and voice sensor for the desktop.

Although Microsoft has been working hard convincing developers to turn the Kinect more than a games peripheral, the current version is not useful for close objects.

Microsoft has now announced that it is launching a Kinect for PC in early 2012.

"Since announcing a few weeks ago that the Kinect for Windows commercial program will launch in early 2012, we've been asked whether there will also be new Kinect hardware especially for Windows," blogged general manager Craig Eisner.

"The answer is yes; building on the existing Kinect for Xbox 360 device, we have optimized certain hardware components and made firmware adjustments which better enable PC-centric scenarios.

Upgrades

"Coupled with the numerous upgrades and improvements our team is making to the Software Development Kit (SDK) and runtime, the new hardware delivers features and functionality that Windows developers and Microsoft customers have been asking for.

"Simple changes include shortening the USB cable to ensure reliability across a broad range of computers and the inclusion of a small dongle to improve coexistence with other USB peripherals.

"Of particular interest to developers will be the new firmware which enables the depth camera to see objects as close as 50 centimetres in front of the device without losing accuracy or precision, with graceful degradation down to 40 centimetres.

"Near Mode" will enable a whole new class of "close up" applications, beyond the living room scenarios for Kinect for Xbox 360.

"This is one of the most requested features from the many developers and companies participating in our Kinect for Windows pilot program and folks commenting on our forums, and we're pleased to deliver this, and more, at launch."

This is a significant moment for Kinect – which has proven to massively popular as a peripheral for the Xbox and still has bags of untapped potential.

Microsoft has always been aware that Kinect has desktop applications, and the arrival of "near mode" could really fire up a whole raft of cool applications.

Excel by gesture anyone?

Kinect for PC hardware announced, will have 'near mode'

Microsoft has announced a Kinect for PC – with a much shorter focal range solving the biggest problem with implementing the motion and voice sensor for the desktop.

Although Microsoft has been working hard convincing developers to turn the Kinect more than a games peripheral, the current version is not useful for close objects.

Microsoft has now announced that it is launching a Kinect for PC in early 2012.

"Since announcing a few weeks ago that the Kinect for Windows commercial program will launch in early 2012, we've been asked whether there will also be new Kinect hardware especially for Windows," blogged general manager Craig Eisner.

"The answer is yes; building on the existing Kinect for Xbox 360 device, we have optimized certain hardware components and made firmware adjustments which better enable PC-centric scenarios.

Upgrades

"Coupled with the numerous upgrades and improvements our team is making to the Software Development Kit (SDK) and runtime, the new hardware delivers features and functionality that Windows developers and Microsoft customers have been asking for.

"Simple changes include shortening the USB cable to ensure reliability across a broad range of computers and the inclusion of a small dongle to improve coexistence with other USB peripherals.

"Of particular interest to developers will be the new firmware which enables the depth camera to see objects as close as 50 centimetres in front of the device without losing accuracy or precision, with graceful degradation down to 40 centimetres.

"Near Mode" will enable a whole new class of "close up" applications, beyond the living room scenarios for Kinect for Xbox 360.

"This is one of the most requested features from the many developers and companies participating in our Kinect for Windows pilot program and folks commenting on our forums, and we're pleased to deliver this, and more, at launch."

This is a significant moment for Kinect – which has proven to massively popular as a peripheral for the Xbox and still has bags of untapped potential.

Microsoft has always been aware that Kinect has desktop applications, and the arrival of "near mode" could really fire up a whole raft of cool applications.

Excel by gesture anyone?