Hi all,

I have this idea that has been banging around in my brainpan for the last couple of days. I know there ar some on the list who use iOS devices, whether that be an iPad, iPHone etc. I don't want to start a debate over how useful or "blind friendly" these devices are because quite honestly I have been using both long enough to demonstrate they are in fact very friendly and there are thousands of folks out there using these devices with all levels of visual impairment, and the numbers continue to increase. So, all this to say the iOS platform has proven viable.
The point of this discussion is iBooks. Recently you may have heard in the news that APple has partnered with several major textbook publishers to release titles for use in the iBooks app. I have been reading a number of iBooks using a Braille display with great success and this has really changed how I consume material. I for one find that there are some materials that are more easily consumed in Braille than audio and the reverse is true as well. There are several books available from the ARRL that I personally would like to have and although they can be purchased in print with a CD that contains a PDF file, would it not in fact be more cost-effective if you could purchase the same book via iBooks? I also believe this brings more attention to the ARRL and Amateur Radio hobby as well or certainly potential visibility  because these texts would be in the iBooks store. I would like to know how I could present the idea to the ARL. There may be a pack of reasons why this idea would not be successful; however, the authoring tool is free, so I doubt there would be a lot of expense in trying this. I just feel that more could be done to offer accessible materials offered by the ARRL that does not require paper books. After all I firmly believe that electronic books are only going to increase their share of the market.
Hey even Handiham is providing a lot of the materials in electronic format, so it is a matter of keeping up with how technology is being leveraged. Just an idea and I would be curious about your thoughts and also what would be the best way to approach the ARRL with the idea. Maybe they are already considering this option. grin

tnx,
73
Scott/N3BYY