The NY Times has announced a new software-based reader in partnership with Microsoft.

As newspapers struggle to adapt to the online environment, this announcement should be seen as a first step towards new ways of making newspapers relevant.

Still, at this stage both the Windows reader and the portable gadgets that will carry this software feel like cool technologies in search of a market…

In the meantime, I hope the increase in tech spend by newspapers does not come at the expense of more budget cuts on journalism. After all, if you are the NYT you will still need some quality original content for your cool-flashy-portable-new-web3.o reader gadget, won’t you?

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