NYT gets in bed with Microsoft to deliver e-content

Alexander Turcic · 04-29-2006, 10:28 AM

Here is a tantalizing piece of news from the New York Times, reporting that the newspaper will partner with Microsoft to work on the Times Reader, an e-book software that will make reading news digitally a lot more like flipping through a paper. According to CNet,

The new software, which uses the Windows Presentation Foundation engine built into Vista, maintains the look of the New York Times' print edition using the same fonts, but aims to capture some of the flexibility that software can enable. The software allows for the inclusion of hyperlinks within the text, as well as the ability to play multimedia or annotate a story with comments. The content can be stored on the PC for offline viewing, but can also be updated continuously when a computer is connected to the Internet.

The software won't be limited to the New York Times. By end of summer, other newspapers and magazines will be able to download developer kits to work on their own Vista onscreen reader editions. It's only too bad that most dedicated e-book readers wouldn't run Windows Vista.

Related: TeleRead's take on how this partnership notches up the battle between Microsoft and Adobe. Also, check out this speech transcript when Times Reader was announced at the annual meeting of the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

rlauzon · 04-29-2006, 11:44 AM

Soooo... The NYT, in a bid to stave off irrelevance, is partnering with Microsoft to create what basically amounts to a closed, proprietary web browser that can cache pages when attached to the Internet - oh, and can add annotations.

Wow. I am just so enthused about this "innovation" from Microsoft and NYT.

NYT would be better off partnering with AvantGo (which I think they already are for handhelds) to create an open HTML viewer for eBook readers.

Bob Russell · 04-29-2006, 11:51 AM

It's all about the revenue streams. As subscribers to paper versions fade, they want to be as exclusive and controlled as possible to maximize their sales. Unfortunately for consumers, that means.... well, we all know about that, don't we?!

04-29-2006, 10:28 AM	#1
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,163 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	NYT gets in bed with Microsoft to deliver e-content Here is a tantalizing piece of news from the New York Times, reporting that the newspaper will partner with Microsoft to work on the Times Reader, an e-book software that will make reading news digitally a lot more like flipping through a paper. According to CNet, The new software, which uses the Windows Presentation Foundation engine built into Vista, maintains the look of the New York Times' print edition using the same fonts, but aims to capture some of the flexibility that software can enable. The software allows for the inclusion of hyperlinks within the text, as well as the ability to play multimedia or annotate a story with comments. The content can be stored on the PC for offline viewing, but can also be updated continuously when a computer is connected to the Internet. The software won't be limited to the New York Times. By end of summer, other newspapers and magazines will be able to download developer kits to work on their own Vista onscreen reader editions. It's only too bad that most dedicated e-book readers wouldn't run Windows Vista. Related: TeleRead's take on how this partnership notches up the battle between Microsoft and Adobe. Also, check out this speech transcript when Times Reader was announced at the annual meeting of the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

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04-29-2006, 11:44 AM	#2
rlauzon Wizard Posts: 1,018 Karma: 67827 Join Date: Jan 2005 Device: PocketBook Era	Soooo... The NYT, in a bid to stave off irrelevance, is partnering with Microsoft to create what basically amounts to a closed, proprietary web browser that can cache pages when attached to the Internet - oh, and can add annotations. Wow. I am just so enthused about this "innovation" from Microsoft and NYT. NYT would be better off partnering with AvantGo (which I think they already are for handhelds) to create an open HTML viewer for eBook readers.

04-29-2006, 11:51 AM	#3
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	It's all about the revenue streams. As subscribers to paper versions fade, they want to be as exclusive and controlled as possible to maximize their sales. Unfortunately for consumers, that means.... well, we all know about that, don't we?!