This coming Thursday Apple will be announcing… something. Rumor has it that we will see a product alluded to in Steve Jobs’ biography. Something that will disrupt the aging, often thought of as corrupt, textbook industry.

I think Apple is most likely going to disrupt the content creation and distribution part of the textbook business, democratizing those in exchange for a cut of the revenue–just like they do with iBooks, Apps, and music. And, just like when they announced the iPhone saying that even 1% of the mobile phone market would make it a profitable endeavor, they don’t need massive traction to cause an irreversible change in the market.

Think about the ease at which a bright teacher could use a Mac with Keynote, iMovie (or Final Cut), and friends to make great course content. The problems, as I see them, are the complexity of authoring, packaging, marketing, and distribution. All things Apple can simplify for content creators.

It’s also possible that adding interactivity alone is not the revolution Apple has in mind. Maybe They’re bringing technology into education in a whole new way. iClassroom? Apple does not have a good track record with Internet (cloud) services and social networks–though they are clearly working on that part of their game.

We’ll have to wait and see.