New BookReader from OpenLibrary - html5 at its best

New BookReader! - The Open Library Blog: "We’re pleased to announce the release of our freshly re-designed BookReader on the Internet Archive."
    * Redesigned user interface that maximizes the amount of space given to the book.
    * Navigation bar that helps show your location in the book and navigate through it.
    * New Read Aloud feature reads the book as audio in most browsers.
    * Tables of contents are being automatically generated for most books and can be edited or added manually through the Open Library site.
    * Vastly improved full-text search.
    * More sharing options – the new Share dialog gives you to option to choose how to link to the book and set options when embedding the BookReader on a blog or website.
    * Touch gesture support – swipe to flip pages in two-page mode, pinch to zoom on iOS.
    * Improved support for tablet devices like the iPad.
    * Updated UI for the embedded BookReader – now includes “expando” button to view the book in a new browser window.
    * Integration with Open Library – books that have an Open Library record can have their title and table of contents edited through the Open Library site.

Whats wrong with Apple?

Why is Apple being such a jerk? With great power comes great arrogance.

Steve Jobs Threatens Theora Lawsuit: Steve Jobs replies to Hugo Roy's email questioning his position on Flash, HTML5, and H264, and Open Standards. Steve replies that he's getting ready to go after Theora for patent infringements.

Apple Raises E-Book Prices For Everyone: Apple announces that the price of all books have to end with .99 and that writers/publishers cannot sell their works cheaper anywhere else.  First, whats the deal with forcing everything as ninety-nine? Its arbitrary and petty to run a marketplace that way. Second, writers and publishers have already set price points to their own satisfaction. Why should Apple's whim force authours to raise their prices (really, who is gonna drop their prices), especially when the author is trying to get by by selling a short story of pamphlet for small change?

Apple wrong to kill seal hunt game: Apple rejected a seal hunting game for the iPhone. Its a variation on the whack-a-mole game. No baby seals are involved, and there is no blood. Apple rejected it because it contained objectionable material, yet they have deep hunting apps, as well as Grand Theft Auto.

Mark Fiore's iPhone App Approved: after being rejected by Apple for "ridiculing public figures". Apple screws up twice: for rejecting the app in the first place; and for approving the app after he wins the Pulitzer Prize (yet still rejects all other political satire for provided through the big newspapers Apple is in bed with)

I'm sure there are many more cases where sheer arrogance has supplanted common sense in Apple's bid to remain the anti-establishment company that cares. It may be the case that all this bad reportage is a result of Apple's success—its easy to hit a big target—but it may also be reporting on the seeds of self-destruction starting to germinate.