This video produced by the Nieman Journalism Lab shows the various devices the folks at The New York Times R&D Lab are working with, including some e-ink prototypes, while figuring out how to transition from the old broadsheet to whatever the heck ends up being the next standard.
I’d like to call special attention to the smart layout demonstrated in the New York Times reader software for Adobe Air (which was just released here). Not only does it automatically format the page to the size of the screen, but as the screen gets bigger, it appears to include more and more stories, mimicking the “scanability” of a conventional newspaper. The important decisions made by the editors who layout the pages of a newspaper each day–the people who actually decide what is most important for you to pay attention to and communicate that through story placement and headline size–can often go unnoticed. That means they’re doing a great job. This is entirely lost in an RSS feed.
If a practical device comes out that is easy to update each morning and manages to maintain that presentation, it’s game over for paper. And by the looks of it, it’s right around the corner.
New York Times R&D Lab
Most Depressing Photo Caption Ever Written
From “Soul-Searching in Akron, Ohio, Over Stimulus Use” in today’s New York Times, beneath a picture of a bridge over an area neighborhood:
Officials in Akron, Ohio, plan to use federal money to build a fence on the All-America Bridge to deter jumpers. Neighbors below say bodies have damaged roofs.
Damn, Akron.
Laser-like Focus
Author Winifred Gallagher’s new book Rapt was reviewed in the science section of The Times over the weekend. The book explores the science behind a human’s ability to concentrate. Among other things, Gallagher claims that multi-tasking is a myth. From the Times article:
“You cannot do two things at once. The mechanism of attention is selection: it’s either this or it’s that.” She points to calculations that the typical person’s brain can process 173 billion bits of information over the course of a lifetime.
“People don’t understand that attention is a finite resource, like money,” she said. “Do you want to invest your cognitive cash on endless Twittering or Net surfing or couch potatoing? You’re constantly making choices, and your choices determine your experience, just as William James said.”
The article mentions interesting technological advancements in the ability to enhance an individual’s focus. While ADD and ADHD sufferers may be limited to drugs now, in the future, they may be able to rely on a device that can trigger their ability to focus with skull-penetrating lasers.
Ear Plugs to Lasers: The Science of Concentration
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