SEATTLE — April 28, 2006 — Today at the American Society of Newspaper Editors convention, The New York Times and Microsoft Corp. unveiled a prototype of a new PC-based software application for news distribution called Times Reader. Available for download in the coming months, Times Reader is a New York Times application that takes advantage of Microsoft® Windows Vista™, the next generation of the Windows® client operating system, to enhance the online and offline reading experience of The New York Times.
“The Times Reader is a great next step in melding the readability and portability of the newspaper with the interactivity and immediacy of the Web,” said Arthur Sulzberger Jr., chairman of The New York Times Company and publisher of The New York Times. “We continually look for new ways and the latest technology to deliver our distinctive brand journalism to satisfy our audience’s changing expectations for consuming media.”
The Times Reader enhances the onscreen reading experience through Windows Presentation Foundation, Microsoft’s advanced display technology in Windows Vista. As readers change font or window size, the text dynamically re-flows to optimize both readability and on-screen layout. Dynamic text flow assures that readers will get the best experience across a wide selection of desktop and mobile devices. Once content has been synched, readers can continue reading whether they are online or offline.
Overall, the Times Reader enhances the onscreen reading experience through Windows Presentation Foundation, Microsoft’s advanced display technology in Windows Vista. The text in Times Reader is displayed in columns and formats to fit the size and layout of any computer screen and enables readers to customize the display according to personal preferences, such as font size and content relevance. The Times Reader also uses the same font styles as the printed newspaper, extending the strong brand identity of The New York Times.
“The Times Reader is a powerful example of how companies can use software to forge new types of customer connections that span beyond the browser to the desktop and mobile devices,” said Bill Gates, chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft. “The New York Times is setting a standard not only for media organizations, but for all companies looking for new ways to interact with consumers through software.”
To build the Times Reader, the New York Times took advantage of the programming model for Windows Vista, WinFX®, which simplified the development and expanded the set of available capabilities for the new application. In the coming months, Microsoft plans to publish a software development kit, including guidance and best practices, for companies building similar content distribution applications.
Expanded Functionality: Content That Travels With Readers
While providing the look and feel of the newspaper, the Times Reader also provides the increased functionality of the Web, including continuous updates, multimedia and hyperlinks. It ensures that users have the latest information by synchronizing via the Web and allows them to read it online or offline. Business travelers or commuters, for example, can synchronize their laptops before getting on an airplane so they can bring along the latest New York Times content and read it when it is most convenient.
The following are among the features of the Times Reader:
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The ability to annotate and clip documents
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A News in Pictures feature that creates a slide show of all the images in a day’s issue, which also acts as a gateway to the printed content that correlates with the image
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A locally stored seven-day archive
For advertisers the prototype provides another creative platform to reach readers. It combines the high-impact nature of print with the interactivity and metrics associated with the Web.
About The New York Times
The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading media company with 2005 revenues of $3.4 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other daily newspapers, nine network-affiliated television stations, two New York City radio stations and 35 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. The Company’s core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Microsoft, Windows Vista, Windows and WinFX are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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