Update: Heard back from the Author and Apple did the right thing. They allowed in her original book with all the links. Apple you just restored my faith in you. For those of you not familiar with the commercial I am referring too here it is..
Original Post follows
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Below is an email I sent to Tim Cook today about making authors change their content for the iBookstore just because they name a competitor. Please follow the links in the email for all the details.
Dear Mr. Cook,
Earlier today I read the articles linked below and thought about the 1984 Apple Superbowl commercial that it is so well remembered for. The idea conveyed of breaking out of the mold and not being controlled by big brother is a feeling that still resonates very well today. However, as I read the articles, I thought that should it be true ,Apple is clearly not the one throwing the hammer but instead the force that is causing the hammer to be thrown in the first place. I truely hope that this action was an oversight by a poorly trained reviewer rather than some sort of company policy that promotes the limiting of expression and education to the masses. Because if it is, I as well as many others will have a very hard time ever trusting any book or literary material obtained from the iBookstore or Apple for that matter in fear that it has in some way been stripped of a competitors information simply because they are a competitor. Please assuage my fears and tell me that this is not the case and that knowledge will not be stifled simply to prevent competition.
Crippling A Lesson: An Apple iBookstore Ethical and Practical Issue
http://hollylisle.com/crippling-apple-ibookstore-ethical-and-practical/
Apple Made Its Decision, Now its My Turn?
http://hollylisle.com/apple-made-its-decision-my-turn/comment-page-2/#comment-26369
I would like to mention in closing that I am writing this on a Mac Mini and am seriously considering developing for iOS. As a result I do feel somewhat connected to the issue. I also have no connection to the writer of the articles but rather felt the need to say something because of the apparent disservice being done to her work and to potentially the works of others.
Sincerely,
George