Comments for NYT Article Skimmer: Recreate the Sunday Morning Paper in Your Browser

NYT Article Skimmer: Recreate the Sunday Morning Paper in Your Browser

2009-02-13T22:32:33Z

The New York Times just released an interesting new online product that tries to recreate the experience of spreading out the newspaper on Sunday morning. The new 'article skimmer' gets back to the basics with a streamlined interface that lets you quickly scan the top headlines in every section of the Times. Basically, this is an experimental new interface for reading the Times online, though the links to the actual articles still take you to the standard NYT pages.

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As Andre Behrens points out in the announcement, the Times is trying to recreate the skimming experience of the physical newspaper, where you often discover random articles that you would probably never notice in the online version.

The layout of the new online application is somewhat similar to that of the Times Reader desktop application, but the team is also trying out some new features. Older articles, for example, gradually fade out as they get older. The newest articles just have a white background.

Overall, the app feels very fluid and lightweight, and the article skimmer provides a great interface for browsing the site's content. It is just a shame that you can't actually read the articles in the same interface.

The New York Times has done a lot of interesting things on the web lately, including opening up an API that allows developers to search the newspaper's articles.

The newspaper business is clearly struggling to reinvent itself on the web, and this experiment is only a small step in this direction - but it is experiments like this that make it clear that there is still a lot of life left in the online newspaper business.

Disclosure: ReadWriteWeb has an existing syndication arrangement with The New York Times

Comment from Graham on 2009-02-13

2009-02-13T23:00:56Z

This looks like a good layout, but skimming means I get to ignore parts of the article while the ones I care about get into my head. When my browser does that for me I'll be happy. Developers, get to work :p

Comment from Joe McCann on 2009-02-13

2009-02-14T00:23:41Z

Very cool concept and UI, however, it COMPLETELY fails for accessibility. Simply disable JavaScript or try to navigate with the keyboard. App developers really need to start and pay attention to accessibility when developing their apps. Relying on JavaScript for XML parsing and page rendering is an insult to accessibility.

At the very least, the developers should be using some of the techniques described in the WAI-ARIA draft.

Comment from Ralph Mercer on 2009-02-13

2009-02-14T01:22:54Z

this is an outstanding format, wish that we could setup our social media mash-up in this format..

Comment from Coleman on 2009-02-13

2009-02-14T01:57:35Z

this ui isn't really new, but it is good.

Comment from Juha Makkonen on 2009-02-13

2009-02-14T01:59:19Z

Ralph: I guess that displaying a rss-newsfeed with a title + e.g. 50 first characters from its description would make something similar. It could utilize SimplePie as its architecture.

Comment from Steve on 2009-02-13

2009-02-14T03:50:11Z

Looks quite good, but what fails is the non-intuitive URL. And don't tell me to bookmark it. Out of curiosity, I also downloaded the desktop-based "Reader." Meh.....

Comment from cicek on 2009-02-13

2009-02-14T04:08:04Z

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Comment from JV on 2009-02-14

2009-02-14T16:25:25Z

Looks like the Drudge Report to me. If you can't beat'em join'em.

Comment from Dale Larson on 2009-02-14

2009-02-14T20:13:26Z

As much as I've lived online for 20+ years, I still love doing my reading on paper. Creating better new ways to make long form content comfortable to browse, skip, flip through, or what-have-you online is still an unsolved challenge. Bravo to NYT for taking it on and continuing to experiment here. I'd love to discover that they come up with something so compelling that I'd pay for a subscription (or otherwise help them monitize) a carefully edited/curated view on the most important news and issues of the day.

Comment from Blubadger on 2009-02-14

2009-02-15T00:30:48Z

Netvibes now has a "magazine view" that will do this sort of thing to an RSS feed. (More attractively, with no impact on accessibility.)

To me this looks like a sop to obsolete habit. Just because news has traditionally come in 8 columns on a wood-based medium doesn't mean that columns or paper are intrinsically superior.

Comment from Tony on 2009-02-15

2009-02-15T19:30:32Z

I really dig this interface, but I think it needs a way to filter by date.

Comment from michael on 2009-02-16

2009-02-16T15:10:33Z

@Joe McCann (#2)
"it COMPLETELY fails for accessibility."

First - I would say that Accessibility standards FAIL in general. They can't keep up with the direction the web is going and should be over-hauled. This is an increasing concern.

Second - Yes, you could do more on this in terms of accessibility but this isn't meant for mass consumption. But the sites called 'prototype' for a reason...

pro.to.type
Pronunciation [proh-tuh-tahyp]
noun, verb -typed, -typ⋅ing. –noun
1. the original or model on which something is based or formed.
2. someone or something that serves to illustrate the typical qualities of a class; model;

Its a playground for developers at NYT to try out new things without having to going though a full project production cycle. If this were on the 'real' NYT site I'm sure it would have gone through more checkpoints.

Comment from Igor on 2009-02-16

2009-02-16T23:34:52Z

MSN has a much better UI for similar usability concept at http://www.wonderwall.com Clearly NYTimes content would need different styling, but I really like wonderwall's side-scrolling feel.

Comment from Andrew on 2009-02-18

2009-02-18T18:16:18Z

This looks way to much like http://www.newser.com/, except worse.

Comment from çiçekçi on 2009-03-13

2009-03-13T17:18:59Z

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Comment from neon on 2009-03-26

2009-03-26T21:33:35Z

thanks web.

Comment from çiçek on 2009-03-28

2009-03-28T08:37:10Z

thankıs

Comment from aaron on 2009-04-14

2009-04-14T19:48:51Z

neat concept but not really anything new!

Comment from Oyun on 2009-04-26

2009-04-27T01:38:37Z

ı have followed your writing for a long time.really you have given very successful information.

Comment from neon tabela on 2009-05-05

2009-05-05T23:05:18Z

this in terms of accessibility but this isn't meant for mass consumption.

Comment from çiçekçi on 2009-06-09

2009-06-09T18:03:08Z

For sharing thank you very much good very beautiful work

Comment from cet on 2009-06-21

2009-06-22T06:38:49Z

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Comment from parier en direct on 2009-07-06

2009-07-06T11:02:35Z

very beautiful work

Comment from hikaye on 2009-07-17

2009-07-17T13:24:55Z

Here is an article that can help you decide if your project is doomed.

Number 95? You have cut and pasted code from The Daily WTF.

Its a must read…

Comment from dekorasyon on 2009-07-27

2009-07-27T14:11:01Z

. Bravo to NYT for taking it on and continuing to experiment here. I'd love to discover that they come up with something so compelling that I'd pay for a subscription (or otherwise help them monitize) a carefully edited/curated view on the most important news and issues of the day

Comment from Gazete Oku on 2009-07-28

2009-07-28T18:13:04Z

looks like a good layout thanks.

Comment from çiçekçi on 2009-08-06

2009-08-06T14:43:50Z

thankıs

Comment from çiçekçi on 2009-08-07

2009-08-07T07:19:22Z

thankıs

Comment from çiçekçi on 2009-09-02

2009-09-02T16:02:27Z

For sharing thank you very much good very beautiful work hi

Comment from çiçek on 2009-09-15

2009-09-15T20:31:19Z

thankıs

Comment from sohbet on 2009-09-20

2009-09-20T10:01:18Z

The new york times published in this browser is a really nice application

Comment from İstanbul çiçekçi on 2009-09-22

2009-09-22T20:46:58Z

there is never such a thing can renew itself shall not sit, as long as you can in this new world has the technology to follow you, congratulations and good luck nyt

Comment from porno on 2009-10-03

2009-10-03T23:52:09Z

Thank you
The new york times published in this browser is a really nice application

Comment from meyve sepeti on 2009-10-04

2009-10-04T20:23:17Z

online edible arrangements... thanks

Comment from cicekci on 2009-10-21

2009-10-22T06:54:22Z

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Comment from sikiş on 2009-11-01

2009-11-01T13:17:32Z

Comment from cicek on 2009-11-01

2009-11-01T17:13:37Z

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Comment from cam balkon on 2009-11-04

2009-11-04T17:36:30Z

Here is an article that can help you decide if your project is doomed.

Comment from evden eve nakliyat on 2009-11-19

2009-11-19T12:40:56Z

Well – ok. I’m sold. I usually try to get away with as little Javascript as possible – but you’ve made very good points both above and on your FlashObject page about why this method is “best”. Plus – it checks the Flash Player version – and you’ve included the express install feature.

Thanks for the great resource.

Comment from Çİçekçi on 2009-11-20

2009-11-20T21:52:29Z

thanks for sharing