nytimes

The 404 1,193: Where we take the number 2 train (podcast)

Welcome to today's show, where we're finally analyzing the food photography trend for what it is, with the help of this article in the New York Times that profiles restaurateur David Bouley and the creative tactics he's come up with to stop the dining room distractions.

The way we see it, the problem with food photography is that we've collectively lost our shame and sense of subtlety when it comes time to dine. Instead of snapping a quick 3-second iPhone pic, we've seen folks stand on chairs, use tripods with a giant dSLR, and even ask the restaurant to adjust the ceiling lights to suit the mood of the picture.

The fact is that there's really no better way to prove you're eating above your budget than to take a picture of it. Argue all you want, it's just a tacky move and plenty of restaurants agree. Check out today's show to hear some places are doing to avoid the awkwardness.… Read more

Study: Facebook at bottom on customer satisfaction

Facebook may be one of the most popular Web sites around, but it doesn't seem to be one of the most loved.

The social network scored dead last in a new study out today that tracked customer satisfaction among a variety of Web sites and companies. Produced in partnership with analytics firm ForeSee Results, the 2011 American Customer Satisfaction Index E-Business Report analyzed how users feel about news sites, search engines, and social networks.

Although Facebook's reputation actually grew 3 percent from last year to reach 66 out of 100, the site was at the bottom of the … Read more

NYTimes.com readers ponder how much they'll pay

So, what we all knew was coming has now finally been announced, and no, I'm not talking about a tablet from Apple.

I'm talking about the New York Times and the paper of record's announcement Wednesday that it has decided to begin implementing some form of fee for frequent online readers next year.

As my colleague Larry Dignan over at ZDNet wrote earlier today, NYTimes.com users will be able to read a small number of articles for free each month, but will have to pony up if they exceed that cap.

The Times, itself, puts it … Read more

Pocket Times

If you can live with fielding the occasional ad (and you can), you're rewarded with the New York Times' online content for free on your iPhone or iPod Touch. From an interface perspective, it holds no surprises, just good, solid navigation and support for images. Screens show the latest headlines, the most highly e-mailed stories, your saved stories, and a search pane. The "More" screen lists the paper's other categories, such as movies, travel, and World news. Click a topic to quickly pull down the stories therein.

Apart from the reader, extra features are limited. You … Read more

The 404 211: Where Wilson wears a BeenVerified condom all day

Our reservoir of embarrassing stories about Jeff is bottoming out, so we're happy to welcome his old chums from BeenVerified.com to refill the glass. Josh, Ross, and Jay are ushering in a new generation of background checks for employers and job seekers, but today they're not afraid to use their powers for evil to dish the dirt on our fellow co-host. They also help us weigh in on virtual larceny, the problem with young whippersnappers, how to answer a professional call of doodie, and Josh spouts praise for his favorite luxury gadget: the $5,000 toilet.

We spend the first half of the show talking to the guys about their brand-new company, BeenVerified. They're no strangers to starting innovative sites, and this one is no different. In an age where employers are starting to perform pseudo background checks through social networking sites like FaceBook and MySpace, BeenVerified takes it a step forward and offers a background checking service for employers and job seekers alike. After talking to Josh, Ross, and Jay, we're afraid to see how many skeletons in our respective closets, but here's the beauty of the site: users must approve the release of their information to the public before anyone can see it, so if don't want to be exposed, just say no! Of course, seekers will benefit from being an open book in general, so let that freak flag fly. Best of all, you can apply it to other transactions in your personal life, for example, screening Craigslist meetups, online daters, and nannies. Listen to today's knee-slappin' show and check out the animated short below for more about BeenVerified.

Episode 211 Download today's podcast … Read more

Verizon customers to get NYTimes.com to go

Verizon Wireless and The New York Times have just announced a joint effort to offer mobile access to NYTimes.com (which is at mobile.nytimes.com) via several of Verizon's own feature phones. As long as you have a Mobile Web subscription (Unlimited Mobile Web is included with a $15 monthly V Cast VPak package) and a compatible phone, you will get access to the content without an additional charge. The NYTimes.com mobile site includes news of the election coverage, opinion pieces, sports news, and more.

More new-media projects on the way for the 'New York Times'

Last month, we reported that The New York Times would be expanding its online-media reach with TimesPeople, a sharing and bookmarking feature on the site.

But that's not all for the Gray Lady's digital makeover, Silicon Alley Insider reported Wednesday. Also on the way is a set of application program interfaces (APIs) to get Times data to third-party sites, a custom widget generator that bloggers can use to embed news on their sites, and an expansion of TimesPeople so that it's on the Web site rather than in the form of a Firefox plug-in.

There's also … Read more

'New York Times' goes social with TimesPeople

The New York Times has added a new feature to its Web site that takes a few cues from Facebook and Digg: TimesPeople, now in beta.

TimesPeople users can build up friends lists and can see a "news feed" of which stories their friends are recommending, sharing, and commenting on. Times online readers have been able to comment on stories, as well as rate reviewed restaurants and movies, for some time now, but recommending is new.

TimesPeople is currently available only as a Firefox browser plug-in, but software engineers told CNET News.com that it would eventually be … Read more

A hard look at digital picture frames

David Pogue has written up a review of seven LCD picture frames (you know, the kind that sit on a desk or mantlepiece and have pictures you've taken pushed to them by various means), and his critique is not pretty. He lays into most of them pretty harshly and concludes that most have had some very basic things screwed up by inattention to the user experience. Why, he asks, can't the manufacturers be bothered to do what's right?

I'm sure they have all kinds of excuses for compromise: "That would cost money," "That … Read more

'Freakonomics' moves to prime time

The New York Times seems to have figured out one way to deal with news blogs: treat them as a column--sort of.

As of Wednesday, NYTimes.com became the exclusive host of Freakonomics, the social-economics blog based on the best-selling book of the same name, placing it under its Opinions section.

The blogs' authors, Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt, however, do not appear alongside esteemed New York Times columnists, but floating above the paper's daily podcast. It's an undefined space left of the Letters section that doesn't list any other specific blogs.

While the placement may be … Read more