Section: Web, Websites  The news industry in trying to discover new ways to earn money as print sales and subscriptions continue to follow years-long declines. The New York Times is going back an old method of making money: charging readers for their online content.
Times executives at a PaidContent.org conference explained that NYTimes.com will implement a “metered model” early next year. The newspaper made the announcement a month ago, but provided additional information at the conference. Under the new model, people will be able to read a set number of articles for free before they are eventually asked to pay for reading new articles. This method would allow The Times to earn money from subscriptions but still have a high level of traffic in order to charge advertisers for appearing on its website. The “metered model” will also extend to the popular NY Times iPhone application. Executives revealed that their iPhone app has been downloaded more than 3.2 million times and it would be updated to reflect the change in strategy when NYTimes.com begins charging readers. The Times already tried getting readers to pay for certain content with their TimesSelect subscription service, which was ended after 18 months. What makes this scenario any different? Nothing.
I’ve been a heavy Internet user since 1998 when I was an inquisitive 8th grader amazed by the blazing fast speeds of a 56K modem. I’m now an adult with broadband and I’ve still never paid for a news outlet’s subscriptions. Pay walls have never been an incentive for me to pay because they don’t cover the web’s entire landscape. If I can’t read an article at The NY Times, there’s likely a free alternative at the Chicago Sun, Miami Herald, or hundreds of blogs that run the same stories. Despite its history and high-level of journalism, I’m not going to pay for what I can get for free. Times executives remained confident during a panel at the PaidContent.org conference. When asked if they might repeat the failures of TimesSelect, Janet Robinson said, “[TimesSelect] was not a failure. It proved that people were willing to pay for content, certainly of a premium nature.” Then why did The Times abandon TimesSelect? “We were making good money off of TimeSelect,” responded CEO Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. “We simply knew we could make more by taking it down.”
The Times will likely discover that the same remains true today. Read [Yahoo] Full Story » | Written by Andrew Kameka for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Gadgets / Other, Green, Web, Google  Google is notoriously known for owning just about everything about anyone (searches, email, documents, instant messenger, etc.), but they are not even close to feeling satisfied.
Google no doubt has its hand in more than just personal data on all of its servers, however, energy has always been an interest. In fact they have an entire section of their website dedicated to displaying their work in make the world just a little bit greener. If you visit their site, you will notice that Google has been making little steps to making both their servers more efficient to making plug-in hybrid cars. In fact, in 2007, Google released RE<C , an initiative to discovering a renewable energy source cheaper than coal. However impressive and satisfying this must be for the eco-friendly Google user, Google has its sights set higher. Rather than being happy with their company’s reduced carbon footprint, Google has decided to try selling the energy. Having already applied and been granted the authority to “buy and sell energy in bulk…” by The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission(FERC). This does not necessarily mean consumers will soon be able to power their house with “Google Power.” But instead, allows Google to better manage their own energy consumption. Read [CNET Via Engadget] Full Story » | Written by Hunter Clarke for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Web, Web Browsers  Google is saying “Hello, HTML5” and goodbye, Google Gears. In a message posted on the Gears API Blog, Gears Team member Ian Fette explained why development has been slow:
“If you’ve wondered why there haven’t been many Gears releases or posts on the Gears blog lately, it’s because we’ve shifted our effort towards bringing all of the Gears capabilities into web standards like HTML5.”
Google has opted to focus on HTML5, which promises to offer many of the same online-to-offline functions for web apps currently available in Gears. It’s not yet easy to convert a Gears app to an HTML5 app, but Gears will be dead in the water once that technology arrives. Google will no longer invest resources into adding new features, and it will not support Safari on OS X Snow Leopard or later. Firefox 3.6 and Internet Explorer will be supported for the time being. The problem with Gears is that it parallels the innovations that are also available in HTML5. Google has been a strong advocate of HTML5 and adding new features to Gears doesn’t make sense if they can focus on adding to what they believe will become a new web standard. Browsers are increasingly adding native support for offline functions for GMail and other services, so the need for Gears is dwindling. Developers and companies who have invested time in support Google Gears won’t like hearing that work will soon be for naught. The best they can do is join the HTML5 bandwagon and hope Google can cook up a worthy conversion tool. Read [Gears Blog] Full Story » | Written by Andrew Kameka for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Email / IM, Smartphones, Mobile According to a Wall Street Journal interview with Sanjay Jha, Motorola’s Co-CEO and head of the mobile division, the company is open to working with Windows Phone 7 Series. The interview touch mostly on the Motorola’s ideas regarding sharing it’s MOTOBLUR OS Skin with it’s set top box division. Has MOTO gone nuts? It was just a few short months ago that Motorola was reeling from the downward spiral of Windows Mobile and their stagnant RAZR line. Once king of the hill, the RAZR phone remained largely unchanged and slowly became less relevant in the market. With Android, the company was able to get a major smartphone on the Verizon network, which pumped money into marketing the device. The Moto Droid currently sits as the best Android phone on the nation’s biggest network. Perhaps Jha has learned companies can’t sit still and be happy with success. Now that Moto has found its way back into relevancy, the company is keeping its eyes out for the next wave. Heck, Jha was quoted as saying if he had the R&D budget, he’d build his own darn mobile OS. When asked pointedly about having the Microsoft OS on Motorola phones, Jha said, “I’m open to it…I think I need diversity in our portfolio.” From what we’ve seen of Windows Phone 7 Series, the OS looks promising. Kudos for Motorola for not pulling a RAZR move yet again. Read: [WSJ] via [Gizmodo] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
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