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If Apple News is accessible by a browser, I might sign up. (If there's any service that's perfect for HTML5 and CSS, it's news and magazines.) But if Apple igno

If Apple News is accessible by a browser, I might sign up. (If there's any service that's perfect for HTML5 and CSS, it's news and magazines.) But if Apple ignores the web and requires an app so they can show me an animated magazine cover, I'll go on ignoring Apple News.

gnicholas 8y ago
> If there's any service that's perfect for HTML5 and CSS, it's news and magazines. There were rumors that the magazines in Apple News would be PDF-based. Fingers crossed this is not the case, for so many reasons....
- matthewmacleod 8y ago
  Which reasons?
  - egypturnash 8y ago
    PDFs don't reflow, for starters - have you ever tried reading a PDF of a book on your phone? It's a miserable experience.
  - gnicholas 8y ago
    In addition to reflow, described elsewhere, imagine having to design PDfs in a zillion sizes so it looks good on everything from an iPhone SE up to an iPad Pro (or iMac, for that matter).
- 52-6F-62 8y ago
  They're not PDF-based. They take in a JSON spec of their own design and the output seems to be a custom HTML-like view. It auto-reflows [to the chagrin of some art directors and designers]. They seem to have prioritized readability and accessibility by limiting composition. https://developer.apple.com/documentation/apple_news/apple_news_format https://developer.apple.com/documentation/apple_news/apple_n... edit: Some back issues are PDFs. Future issues won't be.
  - gnicholas 8y ago
    Is this the same for magazines? If true, this would be great. I can understand how magazine folks would want to be able to have more control over layout and such, and would therefore prefer PDF.
    - 52-6F-62 8y ago
      Yep it’s the same across the board. The main differences involve how you utilize the available components and parameters—like web I guess but with greater restrictions that put the reader first (IMO). You’ve nailed the view of art teams, but they’re generally welcoming in my experience. The challenge is in preventing doubling up their workloads. Edit again!: I can’t speak for every magazine and what Apple might be permitting now. But most are providing at least a simple reader-style view.
rstupek 8y ago
You're likely in the minority on this view though.
jahlove 8y ago
agreed, that's be nice.

gnicholas 8y ago

> If there's any service that's perfect for HTML5 and CSS, it's news and magazines. There were rumors that the magazines in Apple News would be PDF-based. Fingers crossed this is not the case, for so many reasons....

matthewmacleod 8y ago
Which reasons?
- egypturnash 8y ago
  PDFs don't reflow, for starters - have you ever tried reading a PDF of a book on your phone? It's a miserable experience.
- gnicholas 8y ago
  In addition to reflow, described elsewhere, imagine having to design PDfs in a zillion sizes so it looks good on everything from an iPhone SE up to an iPad Pro (or iMac, for that matter).
52-6F-62 8y ago
They're not PDF-based. They take in a JSON spec of their own design and the output seems to be a custom HTML-like view. It auto-reflows [to the chagrin of some art directors and designers]. They seem to have prioritized readability and accessibility by limiting composition. https://developer.apple.com/documentation/apple_news/apple_news_format https://developer.apple.com/documentation/apple_news/apple_n... edit: Some back issues are PDFs. Future issues won't be.
- gnicholas 8y ago
  Is this the same for magazines? If true, this would be great. I can understand how magazine folks would want to be able to have more control over layout and such, and would therefore prefer PDF.
  - 52-6F-62 8y ago
    Yep it’s the same across the board. The main differences involve how you utilize the available components and parameters—like web I guess but with greater restrictions that put the reader first (IMO). You’ve nailed the view of art teams, but they’re generally welcoming in my experience. The challenge is in preventing doubling up their workloads. Edit again!: I can’t speak for every magazine and what Apple might be permitting now. But most are providing at least a simple reader-style view.

rstupek 8y ago

You're likely in the minority on this view though.

jahlove 8y ago

agreed, that's be nice.