New York Times Updates iPad App: Little Innovation - PC World

At last, the New York Times' iPad app is complete. Gone is the scant selection of "Editor's Choice" articles that Steve Jobs reportedly hated, and in its place is pretty much everything that the Times' website offers.

Just one big catch: The app is loaded with reminders that, come next year, the free ride is over. You already have to set up an account to read most sections. Soon, you'll need a paid subscription. As a premium package, I don't think the New York Times app passes muster.

The content's all there, and that's wonderful, but the layout lacks imagination. Essentially, it's NYTimes.com without scrolling. Stories appear in a familiar thumbnail format, sometimes with images, and long articles are spread across several pages, navigated with finger swipes. Embedded video is a nice touch when available, and I like the photo and video galleries. Still, if you're hoping for a new kind of tablet reading experience, it's not here.

I want to see the Times' app do more with social media. You can share links with Facebook and Twitter, but you can't see any conversation around the stories. A better app might also try to personalize the paper for readers. Why not create a "playlist" of articles based on reading history? Or how about the ability to mark an online article for later reading on the iPad? Even the basic organization of the app is too conservative. It's a list of sections and a list of stories, that's all. Meanwhile, apps from NPR and BBC have streamlined the reading process by letting you swipe between entire articles, eliminating the need to navigate. They're more fun to read than the Times' app, and they're going to stay free.

As the Times' own Nick Bilton wrote in his latest book, people don't really pay for words. "Imagine if I said I would sell you this book on Post-it notes," he wrote in I Live in the Future & Here's How it Works. "Would you still want to read it? Probably not. The experience would be terrible to consume." As it stands, the Times' iPad app is too much like a series of sticky notes, and not enough of a new take on delivering the news.

(Disclosure: I've written for the Times on a few occasions.)

For more smart takes on technology, visit Technologizer.com. Story copyright © 2010, Technologizer. All rights reserved.

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US was told of American's ties to Pakistani militants - Washington Post

Three years before Pakistani terrorists struck Mumbai in November 2008, federal agents in New York City investigated a tip that an American businessman was training in Pakistan with the group that later executed the attack.

The previously undisclosed allegations against David Coleman Headley, who became a key figure in the plot that killed 166 people, came from his wife after a domestic dispute that resulted in his arrest in 2005.

In three interviews with federal agents, Headley's wife said that he was an active militant in the terrorist group Lashkar-i-Taiba, had trained extensively in its Pakistani camps, and had shopped for night-vision goggles and other equipment, according to officials and sources close to the case. The wife, whom ProPublica is not identifying to protect her safety, also told agents that Headley had bragged of working as a paid U.S. informant while he trained with the terrorists in Pakistan, according to a person close to the case.

Federal officials say the FBI "looked into" the tip, but they declined to say what, if any, action was taken. Headley was jailed briefly in New York on charges of domestic assault but was not prosecuted. He wasn't arrested until 11 months after the Mumbai attack, when British intelligence alerted U.S. authorities that he was in contact with al-Qaeda in Europe.

In the four years between the wife's warning and Headley's capture, Lashkar sent him on reconnaissance missions around the world. On five trips to Mumbai, he scouted targets for the attack, using his U.S. passport and cover as a businessman to circulate freely in areas frequented by Westerners. He also met in Pakistan with terrorist handlers.

In March, Headley pleaded guilty to charges of terrorism in the Mumbai attacks and to a failed plot to take and behead hostages at a Danish newspaper. He is cooperating with authorities.

It is not clear from the available information whether a different response to the tip about Headley might have averted the Mumbai attacks. It is known that U.S. anti-terrorism officials warned Indian counterparts several times in 2008 about a possible attack on Mumbai, according to U.S. and Indian officials.

Former DEA informant

The handling of Headley's case calls into question the progress of U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies in improving their coordination and the ability to "connect the dots" and deter attacks. It also raises questions about a complicated relationship between U.S. authorities and a confessed terrorist.

Court records and interviews show that Headley served as an informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration, starting in the late 1990s. But a former senior U.S. law enforcement official said Headley's work as an informant ended before the Mumbai attacks in 2008. He could not say whether Headley worked for the drug agency during the years when he was helping to plan the attack.

"Headley was closed as an informant because he wasn't producing anything," the former senior official said. He said he thought Headley's relationship with the DEA ended "years" before Mumbai, but he did not have more precise information.

Federal officials refused to discuss the 2005 tip, other than to confirm that the FBI conducted an inquiry into the allegations made by Headley's wife.

FBI officials said they could not comment on the agency's role in the case because of ongoing prosecutions in Chicago and overseas. A DEA spokesman declined to comment because of a policy against discussing informants. New York police officials confirmed the details of the arrest in the assault case, but they declined to discuss the terrorism inquiry.

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As Democrats' message lags, GOP awaits huge wins - Washington Post

WASHINGTON -- Two weeks before Election Day, Democrats fear their grip on the House may be gone, and Republicans are poised to celebrate big gains in the Senate and governors' mansions as well.

Analysts in both parties say all major indicators tilt toward the Republicans. President Barack Obama's policies are widely unpopular. Congress, run by the Democrats, rates even lower. Fear and anger over unemployment and deep deficits are energizing conservative voters; liberals are demoralized.

Private groups are pouring huge sums of money into GOP campaigns. An almost dizzying series of Democratic messages has failed to gain traction, forcing Obama to zigzag in search of a winning formula.

With early voting under way in many states, Democrats are trying to minimize the damage by concentrating their resources on a dwindling number of races.

"The poll numbers and the enthusiasm on the right versus the lack of the enthusiasm on the left suggest a pretty big Republican night," said former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey, who once headed the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

With Democrats in power while the unemployment rate stands at 9.6 percent, "it's difficult to say, 'Well it could have been worse,'" Kerrey said.

Polls, campaign finance reports and advisers in both parties indicate that Republicans are in line to seize on a level of voter discontent that rivals 1994, when the GOP gained the House majority for the first time in 40 years. Democrats are embattled at every level.

HOUSE:

Republicans need to win 40 seats to regain the House majority they lost four years ago. Even some Democratic officials acknowledge that their losses could well exceed that.

A GOP takeover would depose Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as the first female House speaker and force Obama to negotiate with Republicans on every significant legislative issue.

Every day brings fresh evidence of Democratic officials virtually abandoning House members whose re-election bids seem hopeless. Republicans are expanding the field to pursue races that once appeared unattainable. In the coming week, Republicans or GOP-leaning outside groups plan to spend money in a 82 House races that they see as competitive or within reach of a last-minute upset.

Democrats, desperate to hold their losses to three dozen seats, plan to run TV ads in 59 races in the remaining days. But their chief House campaign committee has recently canceled millions of dollars worth of advertising for struggling Reps. Steve Driehaus and Mary Jo Kilroy of Ohio, Suzanne Kosmas of Florida, Betsy Markey of Colorado and Steve Kagen of Wisconsin.

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