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116 years of Olympic medalists compared
If you've paid any attention at all to the Olympics over your lifetime one thing may stand out to you -- every four years, records seem to crumble. We're getting faster and stronger, not because of evolution, but thanks to science. High speed video has us refining our form, nutritionists are finding the most efficient diet and coaches are timing training schedules for peak performance. Just how much of an impact has this had on athletic achievement? Well, the New York Times decided to plot every medalist from the last 116 years of Olympic games in the 100-meter sprint, the 100-meter freestyle and the long jump. Though records aren't actually shattered every year, there's a clear trend of improvement (with the exception of the long jump). In fact, this year's last place sprinter in the final round would have edged out 1896's gold medalist by more than half a second -- and he was battling a groin injury. Hit up the source links to see 116 years of medal winners compared, and the more coverage link to see how athletes are squeezing every last bit of performance from their bodies as we approach the limits of human capability.
NYT: Apple is (or was) considering a stake in Twitter
The New York Times is reporting that Apple might invest some of its considerable cash reserves in Twitter. After the unrewarded experiment that was Ping, Apple put a few hundred million dollars in Twitter in return for tighter cooperation between the companies and sharing Twitter's insight into the social media world. The conversations over the past few months have been private, the NYT reports, and the two companies are not in active negotiations right now. If there were to be an investment, however, it could raise Twitter's value to more than $10 billion. (Philip Elmer-Dewitt points out that both the NYT and the followup WSJ story implied that the conversations between the two companies had ended without any deal.) Tim Cook acknowledged at D10 that the company needed to be more social and that it could consider killing off Ping at some point. "We tried Ping, and I think the customer voted and said 'This isn't something I want to put a lot of energy into,'" he said during the conference. He pointed out that Apple doesn't have to own a social network to be more social and used the added integration of Twitter into OS X Mountain Lion as an example of that. But will this go through? It's hard to say. Remember, at one point there was speculation that Apple would buy Facebook. Apple has a solid relationship with Twitter though, with its deep integration into iOS and now OS X. The NYT reports that the integration of Twitter into iOS 5 has resulted in more than 10 billion tweets since last fall. It would make sense for them to invest financially in Twitter than to keep pumping resources into Ping. But what could Apple get from such an investment that it doesn't already have in its current relationship with Twitter? If Twitter goes public, Apple would most likely be a significant stockholder. It would keep Apple on the leading edge of social media instead of playing the catch-up game that it was doing with iOS 5 and Mountain Lion. Apple has used its cache of cash to buy companies that give it a strategic advantage, as seen with today's purchase of AuthenTec. Apple isn't willing to risk its relationship in Twitter going sour and might well invest in it financially to keep the relationship on an even keel.
New York Times ends support for official BlackBerry, WebOS apps
Looks like the New York Times is signaling the death knell for RIM, albeit subtly. In a move that surely underscores the withering faith content companies have for the once beloved platform, the venerable Sulzberger-backed news organization has pulled all support for its DealBook Reader and NYTimes app for BlackBerry as of July 23rd. Users that attempt to access that application in the days since will find a stale content list that no longer updates and are being urged, instead, to visit the paper's mobile site for a "more complete... experience." And as if the ailing Waterloo-based company hadn't suffered enough indignity, it's been cast out of the developer pen alongside WebOS, joining PalmPre users on the reject list. Not to worry though, the Times crossword app has yet to get the axe -- that's got to be some consolation, no? You can check out the NYT's official line on its decision at the source below. [Thanks, Dhruv]
Siri's novelty is wearing off ... for some
New York Times technology writer Nick Bilton may be breaking up with Siri, per his post on the NYT Bits blog. Bilton's on-again, off-again love affair with Apple's intelligent assistant seems to be familiar territory for some other iPhone 4S users. He notes that "Many people I have spoken to have switched Siri off and reverted to the iPhone's voice dictation service, which is more reliable because it doesn't use Siri's artificial intelligence software." According to Bilton, Gene Munster -- our favorite securities analyst from Piper Jaffray -- ran a series of 1,600 voice tests with Siri. It could hear requests fairly well, understanding 89 percent of requests made in a quiet room and 83 percent of those made on a noisy city street. But Siri's understanding isn't that great; Munster said that it could only accurately answer a question 68 percent of the time in a quiet room or 62 percent of the time on the street. Munster gave Siri a "D" and says that the beta service needs to sharply improve. Bilton has spurned Siri for another sexy voice, that of Google Voice Search on Android phones. He may not realize he can already use that same technology via the free Google Search app on his iPhone 4S. The public seems to still have a fondness for Siri. A survey by John Barrett of Parks Associates cited in Bilton's article showing that 55 percent of respondents gave Siri a high rating, 21 percent said it was "satisfactory," and only 10 percent completely dissatisfied with it. For me, I've found that the more I use Siri, the better my success with her. Maybe Siri likes me just because I used her as the lead character in a book, but I still find her enchanting, helpful, and sometimes mysterious. Don't worry about that breakup with Nick Bilton, Siri; you'll always have me, even if my love is a bit one-sided...
Apple's tepid retail growth in China
Apple may view China as its next big market, but the Cupertino company is dropping the ball when it comes to expanding its retail presence in the Asian country, says a Reuters story. Back in 2010, former head of Apple's retail division Ron Johnson predicted Apple soon would have 25 retail stores in China. The company now operates a total of five stores that are located in either Shanghai or Beijing. Reuters estimates that Apple has one store for every 215 million Chinese citizens. Not only does this create an overflow of customers into the five Apple stores, it also opens the door for a booming grey market where smuggled Apple products are sold by unauthorized re-sellers. Some peddlers don't even bother trying to get authentic Apple goods and sell cheap Chinese knock-offs that bear a striking resemblance to the real thing. The grey market has gotten so big that several copycat Apple stores have even opened in the smaller mainland cities. Poor quality products and no customer support from these grey market sellers could tarnish Apple's reputation and stifle growth in the country. This situation may not entirely be Apple's fault, however. Some of the delay may be the result of regulatory red tape which makes it difficult for Apple to open new stores at a rapid pace
Flipboard enters content deal with the New York TImes
The New York Times announced today that it is bringing its subscription content to the popular social reader app Flipboard. Starting Thursday, June 28, subscribers to The New York Times will be able to read full articles, browse image galleries and watch videos using the Flipboard app. This is the first time all the NYT's content is available through a third-party service. Previously, the publication only made a part of its content available outside its own digital subscriptions. Denise F. Warren, general manager of The New York Times's Web site, told Brian X. Chen of NYT's Bits blog that "We realized that we have an opportunity to enable this kind of access for paying subscribers, and we thought it was something we ought to try and see how users react to it." This is a worthy addition to Flipboard, which already pulls down content from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google Reader and other social news sources. This also is the second big news story for Flipboard in the recent weeks. After a two-year exclusive stint on iOS, the app debuted on Android last week.
The New York Times is coming to Flipboard Thursday
Well, it's hardly the release of a new summer blockbuster, but getting full length content from the New York Times in Flipboard is certainly going to excite news hounds that also appreciate fine UI design. A lot of content from magazines and newspapers is presented in abbreviated format in the slick app, but now Times subscribers will have unfettered access to the "paper of record's" reporting. Even non-subscribers will be able to read some of the publications articles for free, just as they can through the site. Now all you have to do is wait for the switch to be flipped on Thursday and hope that other outlets follow suit.
Twitter brings expanded news tweets to the web, makes skimming articles all too easy (update: Lytro too)
While Twitter has had expanded tweets for photos and videos, it's been necessary to click through to full news articles to see any of their content, sometimes even for the headline. A newly-launched update to the desktop and mobile web versions of Twitter is making that at-a-glance reading easier. Major traditional outlets like the New York Times, Der Spiegel or Time now show a brief snippet of an article when the linking tweet is given a click. More Internet-focused sources such as BuzzFeed and TMZ are also in the batch, and videos from the likes of BET and Dailymotion will play in-line. Android and iPhone users will see the same expansion from their native apps in the near future, although we're already weeping quietly for attention spans everywhere. Update: If you're craving shots taken with a Lytro camera, the company has revealed that its interactive, infinite-focus photos are included in the expanded tweet collection.
WWDC chatter focused on products, not Jobs or Cook
Did you notice something a bit different yesterday at the WWDC keynote? Nick Bilton of the New York Times did -- the focus of chatter during and after the keynote was all about the products, not about the present or past CEO. Of course, this wasn't Tim Cook's first shot at a major announcement. Cook took the stage for the rollout of the third-generation iPad a few months ago, but the big news at that point seemed to be the fact that Cook was wearing a black button-down shirt that wasn't tucked into his jeans. Everything yesterday was focused, as it should have been, on the products. Whether it was the announcement of the Retina display MacBook Pro, Siri's comedy routine and new features, the completely new Maps app, or the nuances of Mountain Lion, the presenters -- including Cook -- took a back seat to the products. In my opinion, that's the way it should be. While Steve Jobs was a charismatic presenter, Monday's keynote put the spotlight where it should be -- focused brightly on the shining results of Apple's hard work.
New York Times sees higher circulation numbers, digital paywall smiles knowingly
Given how aggressively The New York Times pushes its digital packages -- we've long since dropped our subscription yet are still bombarded with offers -- you'd hope the paper was at least seeing some results. Well, never fear: it is. A report by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) found that the Times has seen a healthy increase in circulation, with the Sunday edition selling 2,003,247 copies (up 50 percent from last year) and the weekday editions racking in an average of 1,586,757 (up 73 percent). The ABC attributes much of this gain to the NYT's addition of digital access to paper subscriptions, and we're sure the paywall, which limits non-subscribers to just ten free articles a month, has something to do with it, too.
Apple defends its tax practices in the New York Times
A recent New York Times article slams Apple for avoiding billions in state and federal taxes using common corporate loopholes. Apple didn't take kindly to this report and has issued a four-paragraph response defending its practices. The Cupertino company says it pays "an enormous amount of taxes which help our local, state and federal governments." Besides paying taxes, Apple also points out that its "among the top creators of American jobs in the past few years." You can read the full response on the New York Times's website. Also of note, Forbes magazine has pointed out that one of the key numbers in the Times story -- Apple's supposed 9.8% effective federal tax rate -- is hooey.
CNN Money: New York Times gets Tim Cook's earnings wrong
The New York Times ran a report over the weekend that claimed Tim Cook was a million-dollar-a-day CEO. Acording to a follow-up report from CNN Money, that estimate is way off. The CNN report claims the NYT was correct with the CEO's yearly salary of US$900,000, but made a mistake when it included the one million shares of Apple stock that Cook was granted in 2011. These shares won't vest for ten years, which means Cook won't see any of that money until 2021. CNN Money took the value of those shares ($376.2 million on the day they were granted) and calculated that Cook would get $103,000 a day over the ten-year period. When you combine the stock money with Cook's salary, the resulting figure is not even close to the $1 million the NYT claims.
New York Times playable space game lets you blow up those pesky banner ads
Let's be honest here: as great as The New York Times story on casual gaming might be, it's destined to be overshadowed by the sweet interactive feature at the top, an embedded version of an Asteroids-like shooter from Rootof Creations that lets you do a number on the site's page layout, zooming across the article and blasting elements like ads and Facebook plug-ins. So, is this the future of newspaper publishing right here? We'll let you know when we figure out a way to blast that pesky paywall.
NYT: New iPad screen could be too good for the web
The New York Times points out what we (and Gruber) first saw when we fired up our new iPad -- most web images look terrible its Retina display. Companies that do business on the web now have a difficult decision to make about their graphics. Do they spend the extra cost to create, store and serve up retina-compatible images on their website or do they spend that money on a retina iPad app instead? It's a decision that'll affect the company's finances as well as its website's performance as larger images will take longer to load. It will also impact iPad owners who browse over a cellular connection and must download these bigger files. If you're an iPad owner, what would you prefer?
New York Times nears half-million online subscriber mark, halves free article allowance to celebrate
The New York Times just gave you more reason to consider making the jump to a paid online subscription -- beginning in April, that free article allowance will see a 50-percent cut, from 20 monthly articles to just 10. This modification comes one year after NYTimes.com launched its infamous content paywall, and following an announcement that the publisher has signed up 454,000 digital subscribers. Paying readers will receive a 12-week subscription that they can gift to anyone on the fence about swiping for access, and smartphone and tablet app users will continue to have access to the "Top News" sections for free. You'll also be able to read articles linked from other sites on the web, including your inbox, and can access five free posts a day that appear in search engine results. Completely unfettered access will range in price from $15 to $35 per month -- you'll find full details in the PR just past the break, and at the source link below.
New York Times seems to fall from Apple's favor (Updated)
Update: Both David Pogue and Andy Ihnatko responded to our request for comment about when they got briefed on Mountain Lion. Pogue did receive an advance briefing and a loaner laptop. See below for details. The New York Times appears to be pouting a bit, according to the Washington Post, because the paper missed the big exclusives on the release of Mountain Lion this week. The Times has broken a fair share of Apple stories. Times columnist David Pogue is pretty well plugged in and appears to have had early access to the software, but the Times still got scooped on the story and in getting interviews. This time, the scoops went to the Wall Street Journal with a Tim Cook exclusive interview; some prominent Apple sites (like John Gruber's Daring Fireball) rated private previews with Phil Schiller. All had access to a beta of Mountain Lion about a week before the announcement. The Times had to report on the coming OS release based on press releases, which was somewhat less than glorious for the Gray Lady. The Times believes it was payback for the articles critical of some of Apple's suppliers, where workers are sometimes working long hours, with poor housing conditions and sometimes unsafe factory environments. The Times quoted ex-Apple employees saying Apple has known about the conditions for a long time and did nothing to pressure suppliers. Tim Cook was reportedly incensed at the story and called it "false and offensive." So it looks like Apple was able to give the Times some 'payback' that it thought the Times had earned. The NYT is not the only outlet that appeared to be ignored. Walt Mossberg didn't have a review based on early access. Nor did Apple have Andy Ihnatko looped in, it seems. He has a long piece in the Chicago Sun-Times today but it doesn't appear to be written as if he had the software to play with. We did reach out to Pogue, Mossberg and Ihnatko for comment, but we did not hear back prior to publishing this post. [Update: David Pogue of the New York Times replied to our inquiry. His response: "Yes, the reports you've read are incorrect. As far as I know, all of the early Mountain Lion reviewers (Gruber, Mossberg, Pogue, etc.) were given the identical treatment: invitation to Apple's hotel suite, meeting with Phil Schiller, walk-through with Phil and the PR folks, loaner MacBook Air with an early version of the software on it." We also heard from Andy Ihnatko: "I didn't get an advance briefing, but that's perfectly fine. Early access isn't an entitlement. Also, Apple did give me a long phone briefing early Thursday morning. For 90 minutes, I got to pepper them with as many questions as I could come up with." So is it a tempest in a teapot? Could be, and maybe parts of all the stories are correct. Apple didn't favor some of the usuals with interviews, but many of the columnists and writers got their advance dose of OS X.] Covering Apple is complicated. If you're a reporter (and we know this from experience) it is challenging to get a comment from Apple in a timely fashion. In fact, most of the time, they only return calls from a favored few. Those who are 'golden' with Apple tend to be downright enthusiastic about most Apple products. They are the reporters who get the advanced hardware and software, and get invited to the pre-release demos. Most of us do our best to get the news out, and here at TUAW, even though we love Apple, we never hesitate to be critical or suggest that Apple might have blown it in some way. We are not on Apple's 'A' list. Companies will always grant exclusives to people if they think it benefits the enterprise. That is all well and good. It's the way exclusives work. Apple, however, has a deeper problem. Under Steve Jobs the company made it very difficult for journalists to get even simple questions answered. That hurts Apple's customers. That may clear up under Tim Cook, who seems to be moving Apple forward in areas where Jobs was not interested in changing. [via The Washington Post]
MacBooks benefit students in Mooresville, N.C.
Schools are adopting technology in the classroom, handing out Macs and iPads to students as young as kindergarten. Its not the devices, but their usage in the classroom that's important says a recent New York Times article. The report chronicles the success of the Mooresville, N.C. school system. Three years ago, five Mooresville schools issued laptops to over 4,000 students in grades 4 and above. Since that time, the district's graduation rate rose 11 percent from a low of 80 percent in 2008 to its current level of 91 percent. Proficiency standards in math, science and reading also rose from 73 percent to 88 percent in those three years. The school credits the teachers who abandoned their written lecture notes in favor of a computer-driven curriculum. "This is not about the technology," says Mark Edwards, superintendent of Mooresville Graded School District, "It's not about the box. It's about changing the culture of instruction - preparing students for their future, not our past." This success has not come without a cost both in money and personnel, though. The school district leases MacBook Air notebooks with a warranty from Apple for US$215 per year. Hardware costs the district $1 million each year and software costs another $100,000. Parents also pay $50 each year to finance repairs. To make ends meet, the district had to cut sixty-five jobs, including 37 teachers. Most of the teachers let go were reluctant to embrace this new way of learning says Edwards. They also did away with costly computer labs. Overall, the school spends a mere $7,415.89 a year per student, which makes them number 100 out of 115 school districts. Mooresville now serves as a model for the next-generation classroom. The school has been singled-out by the US Department of Education as a success. It even offers monthly tours so other school districts can see their program in action. Their current tour schedule is booked all the way through April. [Via Fortune's Apple 2.0]
Chinese readers respond to story of Apple's Chinese suppliers
The financial world's eyes are on Apple this week after it announced record-breaking quarterly earnings. In the midst of all this commentary and congratulations, there was also a sobering article by New York Times reporters Charles Duhigg and David Barboza. Titled "In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad," the story was critical of Apple's relationship with its overseas manufacturing partners. The piece details the purported harsh working conditions found in the factories of the contract companies that build Apple products. The 7-page article claims Apple puts incredible pressure on its partners to produce a large volume of components in a short amount of time and for little profit. This incredible pressure forces companies like Foxconn and Wintek to cut corners and risk the safety of their workers to meet Apple's demands. Apple supposedly turns a blind eye to these practices and will even cut money to companies that complain. The article ends with a statement that implicates Apple fans in this scandal by saying "And right now, customers care more about a new iPhone than working conditions in China." This report was reprinted in the Chinese business magazine, Caixin, and elicited equally emotional responses by the Chinese who both support and condemn Apple. Here are a few samples of the comments left on the Chinese report, If people saw what kind of life workers lived before they found a job at Foxconn, they would come to an opposite conclusion of this story: that Apple is such a philanthropist. - Zhengchu1982 Apple has gained so much sales revenues from China. Do you think the company really cares about the conditions of those workers? I think they are just proud of having an Apple product. - 李凌云-深圳 1.) It is a pity that, we know that for Apple fans, such a story won't stop their enthusiasm. Just like people are still buying Nike and Adidas shoes, knowing that shoe manufacturing is highly environmentally hazardous; 2.) if a government cannot guarantee the welfare of its own 120 million disadvantaged population and even suppresses their appeals, then how could we require an overseas company to protect the labor rights in a Chinese factory? - Jionglegejiong When the explosion happened, I was working for media in Chengdu. Domestic media were all silenced and only allowed to use the (Xinhua) official report, because that (Foxconn factory) was a key project. Compare to what The New York Times wrote, the gap really saddened my heart. - Chen Qiye Without Apple, Chinese workers will be worse off. I hope China can some day soon have dozens of its own companies like Apple, who (only) work on high-end research and development and send manufacturing lines to Africa. - Anonymous In the end, there's no easy answer to this problem. Apple tries to be transparent and releases an annual report that details its progress in improving supplier working conditions. Apple can pressure its suppliers to conform to its standards, but it has no control over regulation in a foreign country. Is Apple doing enough, or does it need to do more to ensure the safety of workers at other companies? Right now, the best thing we can do is bring this problem to light and get people (and companies) talking about it. [Via AppleInsider]
Barnes & Noble offers discounted Nooks with one-year subscription to The New York Times
In the market for an e-reader and a subscription to the digital edition of The New York Times? Then Barnes & Noble has a new promotion you might want to consider. From now through March 9th, it'll give you a Nook Simple Touch for free or a Nook Color for $99 if you also sign up for a one-year New York Times subscription at a rate of $19.99/month. That's a savings of $100 in both cases, and the subscription also includes access to the New York Times website in addition to the Nook version. Alternatively, you can get $50 off the Nook Tablet (bringing it down to $199) with a subscription to People, which will run you $9.99/month. Complete details are at the link below.
Nokia Lumia 900 coming to AT&T, further details expected on Monday
Lookie here -- The New York Times has confirmed that Nokia's much-rumored Lumia 900 (800 shown above) will be coming to AT&T, with official details expected here at CES. There's no word on where it'll be hawked outside of the States, but it looks like T-Mob's Lumia 710 is about to get upstaged. We're told to expect more information here on Monday, and in case you had any questions, Elop was quoted as affirming that no Android plans are in the pipeline. Shocker. As for rumored specifications, there's a 4.3-inch WVGA capacitive touchpanel, half a gig of RAM, Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) and an 8-megapixel shooter. Keep it locked here for more details as we get 'em.
