Times Reader

I've been testing out The New York Times Reader, an electronic newspaper of sorts created by the newspaper giant and Microsoft. My feelings are mixed so far.

The Reader is very well designed, easy to use and does a good job of bringing the newspaper-reading experience to the computer screen. It's prettier than a regular Web site (it incorporates photos better than any online newspaper I've read) and is easier to use than PDF-based "electronic editions" many newspapers, including mine, sell. I can see it being especially handy for Tablet PC users. The software downloads the entire paper at once, so users don't have to stay connected to the Internet to read. And it's easy to highlight and annotate articles, which users can then send -- with the notes embedded -- to friends and colleagues.

On the other hand, this works only for the New York Times, at least for now. Does this mean Microsoft expects readers to install a standalone reader for every publication they buy? Or is this going to be an semi-open format, like Microsoft's old Reader (not to be confused with this Microsoft co-created NY Times Reader)? Microsoft's original press release doesn't say.

This really should be a browser plug-in of some kind. When users go to NY Times Web site, the plug-in could spring into action and download the site in the Reader format.

You have to hand it to the Times, though. They've been on the cutting edge of this media transition and seem to be willing to experiment with electronic media. It'll be interesting to see if this one goes anywhere.