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New York Times, OpinionLab sue Lodsys seeking declaratory judgement
Indie developers turned to the Web hours after receiving warning letters from Lodsys last month, but larger devs took a more traditional approach, leaving the communication and finger-pointing to lawyers instead. Two such companies, the New York Times and OpinionLabs, came to light after filing suit against the patent troll yesterday, seeking declaratory judgements to invalidate Lodsys's patents. A nine-page complaint filed by NYT lists four Lodsys patents, including 7,222,078, which had previously been used to target smaller developers. NYT's ad click-through system and OpinionLabs' surveys were both also targeted, and if the suits are successful, Lodsys would be responsible for all legal expenses, and wouldn't be allowed to collect on its patents in the future. We spoke with Julie Samuels of the EFF, who explained that filing for a declaratory judgment could theoretically enable NYT and OpinionLabs to have trials held in California and Illinois, where the declaratory judgments were filed, instead of the Eastern District of Texas -- the notoriously plaintiff-friendly court where Lodsys filed its suit against seven devs on May 31st. Other devs who received letters but have not yet been sued can also do the same. The suits brought by NYT and OpinionLabs formally call the validity of Lodsys's patents into question, but unfortunately don't change the game for devs Lodsys already sued, who would still be responsible for licensing fees and other damages if the court determines the patents to be valid (and their apps to be infringing).
NY Times offers discounted iPad access to select customers
When the New York Times fired up its paywall in March of this year, the pricing plans for digital-only access seemed a bit steep. As Mel pointed out, the differential for NYC paper subscribers ($6.20/week for weekday papers only) versus all-you-can-read digital access (web, iPhone and iPad at $35/4 weeks) was only a couple of bucks. By comparison, today's launch of the San Francisco Chronicle iPad app pegs monthly iPad access at only $5.99. Fortunately for longtime NYTimes.com readers, there was an exception. About 200,000 heavy users of the site received special iPhone/web access offers courtesy of Lincoln, giving them free access to the iPhone app and the site through the rest of 2011. While this didn't include content for the iPad app, it was certainly a great deal. That was the lure, and here comes the line. Participants in the Lincoln-sponsored deal have been getting emails with an upsell offer, and it's a doozy: $35 for full digital access (iPhone, web and iPad) through the rest of 2011. That's about 1/8th the cost of a full digital subscription plan. Once signed up, you get the full paper on your iPad (including all your favorite columnists and New York stories) along with the iPhone and web versions. Watch out, though; the price goes back up to $8.75 a week at the end of the year. It may be that the Times is trying to zero in on the optimal pricing arrangement for digital customers by bracketing at the high end and the low end, but regardless of the market rationale this is a pretty sweet deal -- if you're eligible.
New York Times website harvests iPhone location data
The New York Times Company Research and Development Lab has developed its own tool to take advantage of location-tracking data that caused a kerfuffle when it was discovered that Apple was collecting said data. Although the issue has been resolved, the newspaper points out that regular people can benefit from the information as well as Apple. OpenPaths is a database where anonymous users can contribute their personal location data by uploading it from their phones. The data is password-protected, and contributors can only reveal who they are when they grant access to research requests. Participants can browse their own data after it's uploaded. If you're interested in joining the project, head over to the OpenPaths site to sign up. The site warns that the OS 4.3.3 update can disable access to the data that the site is looking for.
Nook matches Kindle by bundling free web access to NYTimes.com with digital edition sub
Adhering to strict alphabetical order, where Amazon leads, Barnes & Noble follows. The Kindle was last week announced to include access beyond the New York Times' freshly erected online paywall as part of its device subscription to the NYT and now, lo and behold, the Nook family (including the Nook Color) is following suit in identical fashion. If you're happy to obtain your sub to New York's finest paper from the Nook Newsstand -- which costs $20 per month, same as Amazon's levy -- you'll get the bonus, complimentary, free-of-charge privilege of being able to access NYTimes.com without any constraints as well. So what if the online edition used to be free for the past eleventy years? The new Times dictates some fealty be paid and we're happy to see these e-reader purveyors helping to alleviate (mask?) that cost for some of us. Full PR after the break.
Kindle subscription to the New York Times will net you free web access as well
Can't get enough New York Times over your Whispernet? Worry not, dear Kindle reader, for Amazon's on a roll with its announcements today, the latest of which is that a subscription to the NYT on its world-conquering e-reader will also grant users access to the paywall-protected NYTimes.com online portal. No complex rules or conditions, you'll just be one of the insiders who get unfettered access to all the fine old school journalism practiced at Times towers. See Amazon's press release after the break or hit the source link to learn more about the $28-a-month (for international users) subscription. Update: The sub price is $20 in the USA, the $28 cost we first saw relates to those signing up from the UK and other international markets. Thanks, russke!
New York Times reveals labyrinthine subscription plans, Canadian readers already hitting paywall
We knew it was coming, and now The New York Times has followed through on its promise to erect a paywall for online content, which means no more free news -- kind of. Starting today in Canada and March 28th in the US, NYTimes.com will ask visitors reading more than 20 articles per month to pay for their info fix. The new plan offers monthly subscriptions of $15 with a smartphone app, $20 with tablet app, or $35 for complete digital access -- subscribers with a physical subscription will be granted a full pass, except on e-readers. Further convoluting the pay structure, entry from sites like Twitter and Facebook won't face the same restrictions, and access via Google is set at five free visits per day. Other news sources, including The Wall Street Journal, have already started charging for online content in the face of declining ad revenue, but this is certainly one of the most elaborate systems we've seen so far. The subscription plan was unleashed in Canada today, allowing the paper to iron out any kinks before hitting the US, which means you've got just under two weeks to hit NYTimes.com completely free -- after that, prepare to be confused.
New York Times website, iPhone and iPad subscriptions start soon
We knew it was coming, and now there is a date: the Gray Lady is charging admission this month. The New York Times digital products (the website, TimesReader app, phone apps and iPad edition) will be subject to a subscription fee for US customers starting March 28, with Canadian customers active now as a test population. Details were spelled out in a letter to readers and in a Times news story. As of 3/28, if you want to access the digital editions of The New York Times here are your options: At the New York Times website, NYTimes.com, you can view up to 20 articles a month at no charge. After that, you'll get a notice inviting you to subscribe. Links inbound from social media services like Facebook and Twitter will work independently of the 20-article limit, as will links from some search engines; Google inbound links will be capped at 5 articles per day, per reader. On smartphones like the iPhone and on tablets (iPad) the Top News section will remain free. To see any other sections, you must subscribe. There is no subscription plan available for just the NYTimes website. The lowest cost option is access to NYTimes.com plus a smartphone app for $15.00 per four-week period. A subscription to the NYTimes.com site and a tablet subscription is $20.00 for four weeks. Access to the website, smartphone and tablet editions is $35.00 for the same period. You can get a full breakdown on pricing here.
NYT: Apple considering a cheaper iPhone, but not a smaller one right now
Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal seemed pretty sure that an iPhone nano was inbound, but the New York Times' anonymous sources dispute that tale -- the paper writes that "Apple is not currently developing a smaller iPhone," and that the company is "not planning to introduce a smaller iPhone anytime soon." While the publication doesn't outright deny the existence of such a device at any point in the story, it does quote an anonymous Apple executive as saying that it doesn't make sense for the company to create multiple iPhone form factors at any given time, and an anonymous Apple engineer as saying that cheaper components, not a smaller size, would make for a cheaper overall price. One thing's for sure: either Apple's making one, or it's not. In related news, the Times' sources corroborate the idea that Apple will make MobileMe free, and say that the next full-sized iPhone is nearly complete. Woo!
The New York Times to provide reporters with the iPhone 4
The New York Times is giving their mobile reporters iPhone 4s to shoot video out in the field along with the ability to upload them to NYT servers using Aspera's high-speed file transfer software. Brought to our attention by MacStories, The New York Times' Editorial Director for Video and Television, Ann Derry, recently spoke to the Beet.TV Online Video Journalism Summit about the decision, saying that the iPhone 4 is a "game changer" for mobile video and the news business. The first NYT staff member to receive and use his new iPhone 4 was Andrew Ross Sorkin, who used it for his coverage of The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. You can watch his report, "Setting the Stage at Davos," over at the NYT site. With a critically acclaimed director shooting movies with an iPhone and even some professional photographers giving them a go, it's no surprise that the media is starting to use them as real-time news-collecting devices. When even my local news station asks me each night to send in any video I take with my iPhone, I know it has become a rather mainstream phenomenon. Click Read More to watch video of Ann Derry discussing the iPhone 4 and The New York Times. [via MacStories]
Ongo for iPad is a good start, but it's far from a home run
We told you yesterday that Ongo was on the way to the iPad. It's now on the App Store, and I've had some time to play with it. Ongo is a joint venture by several newspaper companies to create a paid, ad-free news aggregator that is easy to use and will appeal to the news junkie. After some hours using the app, I found it attractively designed and easy to use. You can see and share top stories from several publications like the New York Times, USA Today and the Washington Post. The app doesn't cache much, so reading offline does not appear to be an option. You can save stories, called clippings, but once saved, I could not retrieve them without a data connection. The app allows you to sort news by type, like US or Arts and Entertainment, but there are no sections for tech (!) or even politics. It seems a glaring omission. You can certainly read stories on those subjects, but you can't sort them on your own. All the news in Ongo is created by a staff of five editors, so you're not getting the full NYT or USA Today. The staff choose what will be available, which I found troubling. Also, when searching for "Opinion," I only got material from the Washington Post. Worse yet, Hints from Heloise came up under the "Opinion" heading, with tips on cleaning pewter. Sorry, but I don't think that was a good editorial choice. There is a search function, and a query for Steve Jobs brought up many stories, none of which were relevant. They were just stories that mentioned someone named Steve and had the word "jobs" somewhere in them. An identical search in Google News worked perfectly. %Gallery-115241%
New York Times updates iPad app to stop constant crashing
It's about time. Ever since the NYTimes for iPad app replaced the lame Editors' Choice app, it has been tough sledding trying to read the news. It often took a long time to load, and then before displaying a single story, it crashed. I reinstalled the app, and that made things better for a while until the crashes returned. I wasn't the only one having trouble. The app store reviews of the previous version were brutal. The app was updated over the holidays, and I'm happy to report it is far more stable. I can actually read the news without having to constantly relaunch the app. The only downside I experienced was I had to log in again. If I had been commuting or on a trip and didn't have that info it would have been a pain. The New York Times app is free, but in early 2011 it will require a subscription. The old version wasn't worth $0.02, so I'm glad to see the app back on track. If you dumped the app in disgust, it's worth another look now, even though it is not perfect. In particular, the navigation bar at the bottom covers up some text unless you dismiss it. If you don't register for a free account, the app will constantly nag you. Ironically, the iPhone app from the Times works great. The developers writing the iPad app should take the iPhone team to lunch and get a bit of advice.
Retaining your masculinity while carrying the iPad
The New York Times had an odd post recently in which it responded to men who were having trouble carrying their iPad around town in a masculine fashion. According to the article in its Fashion & Style section, some men have even eschewed taking their iPad in public just because there's a lack of suitably macho bags. Scott Stein at CNET even rated iPad bags in terms of their "humiliation index." I've used a laptop for many, many years and I'll admit this isn't a problem that's ever occurred to me. Any doubts or questions about my bag are instantly dissipated when I bust out awesome technology like the iPad. I guess I could see a bit of embarrassment if you're wearing a funky fanny pack or something, but there are tons of great looking bags for the iPad. Just check out the Booq Boa push bag, for example If you really have trouble with establishing your masculinity via your gadget bag, let me suggest using a Sharpie to draw some skulls on it or maybe add some spikes.
Google demos Chrome Web Store, rolling out later today to US (update: now live)
It hasn't been that long since we first saw Google's web store -- mid-May, to be exact. An updated version is currently being showcased on stage at the Chrome event. The UI looks much more refined, and those who are itching to try some out yourself, it seems some of the web apps are already available, at least partially: NPR, The New York Times, Amazon Windowshop. If you ask us, they feel a lot like iPad apps for browsers and mice / keyboard. Audio can run in the background even if you move to another tab. There's offline mode, too. App purchases are tied to your Google account, naturally. There's some gaming, but from what we've seen so far ("you pop it!"), it's nothing you're gonna be focusing a lot of time on. Interesting note from the Q&A is that the apps, since they're built with "standard web technologies," will work with all compatible browsers. We've been trying to access the web store (via the Chrome browser, naturally), but it's currently hiding behind a "coming soon" redirect -- it's rolling out later today, though, at least for the US, so keep an eye out. Update: Try that link one more time, the Chrome Web Store should now be live. %Gallery-109484%
WikiLeaks: Chinese Politburo responsible for Google hacking
You had to know something interesting would come out of the quarter million diplomatic cables that WikiLeaks just, well, leaked late on Sunday, and the New York Times has picked out a doozie for us. As it turns out, that big brouhaha in China surrounding the hacking of Gmail accounts was actually a state-authorized attack. Such was the report from a Chinese informant working for the US embassy, and the disclosure goes on to say that it was part of a "coordinated campaign of computer sabotage," reaching a wide net of targets, including American government machines, American private businesses, and... the Dalai Lama. Hey, China's hardly the first country to ever engage in state-sponsored cyber espionage (ahem, Stuxnet), but we can't say we're not disappointed. Let's keep it classy from here on out, alright guys?
Updated: Pulse News Reader for iOS now free
If you were intrigued by our former coverage of Pulse, a slick reimagining of how RSS feeds can work on the iPad and iPhone, but were put off by the modest asking price, here's a good way to start your week. As the New York Times reports, Alphonso Labs has secured $800k in venture capital funding and is moving to a different business model. It is now trying to "attract more users, and with them, paid partnerships with publishers and advertisers." This sounds like we'll end up with in-app ads in the long run, but for the moment, none are present. It's also likely that it'll be doing more deals with content producers to spotlight their feeds in the "featured" section of the app, which is a less intrusive way for them to generate revenue. If you've never used Pulse, it's more like Flipboard than traditional RSS readers, like Reeder. It arranges feed content into attractive, image-heavy scrolling areas that try to create the feel of a glossy personalized magazine. This is both a strength and a weakness -- it works better with some types of feeds than others -- but overall it provides a pleasant way to catch up with the news over your breakfast. Update: following numerous commenters expressing concerns that, having paid for a previous version of Pulse, they would now be subjected to ads, we contacted Alphonso Labs for a statement. Click through to see what it said.
New York Times to launch bestseller list for e-books in early 2011
The New York Times has dropped some PR on us this morning, making an official announcement that it will begin to publish a bestseller list for e-books in early 2011. The current NYT bestseller lists -- which are divided into several categories -- are considered by many to be the definitive metric for a book's success. The Times will have two separate lists covering fiction and non-fiction when it launches, drawing on information from various retailers, and will be independently verified by third party company RoyaltyShare. The list will appear in both the print and online editions of the paper. The full press release is below
iPads bring accessibility to the disabled at a far lower cost
It's only been half a year since its introduction, but the iPad has already become a major player in the field of assistive technology, helping disabled people communicate. A number of studies are underway (and many more are in the planning stages) to offer much-needed data on the effectiveness of the iPad and other iOS devices in this area. A few days ago, The New York Times ran a piece about the implications of the iPad to the disabled community. The Times tells the story of Owen Cain, a victim of a degenerative disease called spinal muscular atrophy. He acquired the disease as an infant, and there is no known cure for it. Although his parents bought him a number of computer devices to make his life more pleasant, they were all failures -- until he met the iPad. With his arms in slings, Owen was able to touch an icon on an iPad and run Gravitarium, an inexpensive app that plays soothing music while displaying colorful stars. It doesn't take lot of strength to swipe a page or tap a button on the iPad -- certainly less than if a device had hard buttons. Now, Owen is using Proloquo2Go to communicate, reading books such as Alice for the iPad (shown in the video after the break), and his repertoire of app-enabled abilities is growing. Interacting with the iPad has improved Owen's life to a large degree.
New York Times iPad app gets bug fix but still somewhat flaky
The New York Times for iPad app has received a much-needed update. The first version, introduced in the middle of October, replaced the older free Editor's Choice app, which only had a small subset of Times content. This new version is free but only temporarily, as the newspaper intends to start charging sometime in 2011. I've been using the full content version since it came out. It crashed frequently, enough to make the app unappealing, and ultimately unusable. Today's update is not plagued with the aggravating crashes of version 1, but it is still far from perfect. It's great to have the full content of the paper, along with slide shows and videos, but there is absolutely no search function. That, I think, is a pretty important feature when you are dishing out all this content. As before, the app is slow to start. In my tests, it takes from 6-10 seconds before it displays anything at all. I realize it is pre-loading a lot of content, but I think the programmers need to work on getting the app to respond faster. There are some other strange issues. While reading page 3 of a section the app jumped back to page 1 while I wasn't even touching the screen. Huh? While reading this morning's election news, I was struck that the same images and slide shows appeared on many pages; I even saw the same image twice on one page. No self-respecting editor would put a newspaper together that way, and there are surely some clever options the developers can use to stop this visual overkill. I like the Times, and I wish them well with this app, but it must improve before they start charging people. Check the gallery to see the superfluous graphics. %Gallery-106610%
The Shattering hits The New York Times best-seller list
Blizzard has let us know that after only a short time available on bookshelves, The Shattering by Christie Golden has hit The New York Times best-seller list. This makes The Shattering Golden's and Blizzard's second NYT best-seller after Arthas: Rise of the Lich King. Congratulations to Christie and Blizzard, as the book is awesome and totally deserves the recognition that it is getting. The Shattering – New York Times Best Seller Despite having just been released earlier this week, The Shattering by Christie Golden has rocketed into the New York Times best seller list. This prelude to Cataclysm follows major faction characters as they adjust to life after the war with the Lich King, before being abruptly attacked by the land and elements themselves. What is leading to these devastating earthquakes and ship-sinking squalls? Magni believes he has found the secret through his brother's research, while Thrall believes an already shattered world holds the secrets. If you're looking forward to the Cataclysm expansion, this is a must-read to catch you up and prepare you for the epic story about to be unveiled. The book is available in the Blizzard Store (http://us.blizzard.com/store/details.xml?id=1100001208) and all fine book retailers. source
NYTimes for iPad app delivers entire newspaper for free... until 2011
Remember that New York Times Editor's Choice app that hit right alongside the iPad's launch? Hello, overhaul. NYTimes for iPad was just unleashed today, with many describing the results as an ideal newspaper-to-tablet port. The primary difference? This is the entire New York Times, delivered to your iPad free of charge (assuming you're a registered member of the site, which can also be accomplished for no charge). The new app brings over 25 sections of content to readers, but the glorious fun is sure to be short lived; The Times is planning to launch a pay model next year, and after that wall goes up, the app will also require a paid subscription. Enjoy it while it lasts, we guess.
