It's not that HyperCard or Director is the answer, but I am just pointing out the lack of really good tools available for amateurs and professionals to use to create new kinds of applications for the iPad. HyperCard was not only used by The Voyager Company; it was used by teachers to create coursework; or students to prepare a report; it was used by individuals to develop novelty applications like recipe databases. We had highly produced, professional applications and mostly free shareware apps. Making it easy to create content and increasing the number of people who can create applications for the iPad could be very important to its long-term success. The web has made producers of us all. If the iPad is just another consumer platform for consuming and not creating content, then it will just be another way to watch TV or listen to music or download information. Convenient, yes, but just another device. To be something different, the iPad must not be just a delivery platform but a creative one, offering professionals and amateurs an opportunity to create a unique experience with interactive media.
I understand that FlexBooks are free, or open source. Is the software that supports the FlexBooks open source, too? Our mission is to provide all our materials for free under the Creative Commons Attribution/Non-Commercial/Share Alike 3.0 Unported (CC-BY-NC-SA) License. For more information on the CC-BY-NC-SA license, see the selection of this FAQ about the content of FlexBooks, or visit the following URL, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/. Our CK-12 system for FlexBooks is not yet geared to be a separate open source project.
"The textbooks are outdated, as far as I'm concerned, and there's no reason why our schools should have our students lug around these antiquated and heavy and expensive textbooks" -- Arnold Schwarzenegger 3 June 2009