Two independent research teams report today in Science that they’ve taken key strides toward harnessing the energy in sunlight to synthesize chemical fuels.

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The New York Times Co. released financial results for its most recent quarter on Thursday morning. More than anything, they are a snapshot of a traditional media giant that is trying desperately to move into the digital future, but keeps getting dragged back down by the weight of its declining legacy businesses. The paper’s newly launched “metered access” pay plan has brought in 100,000 subscribers, and its online advertising revenue rose. But that was more than offset by a sharp drop in profits and a continuing decline in ad revenue. For the NYT, it seems to be one step forward and two steps backwards.

Not surprisingly, the Times tried to focus on the good news: that about 100,000 people have signed up as a result of its subscription plan (although visitors and pageviews have fallen, according to some estimates). Although the news outlet didn’t give specific dollar figures, those subscriptions will likely produce about million in annual revenue for the company — depending on how many of them signed up for the initial discounted offer of 99 cents a week. As Felix Salmon of Reuters noted, signing up 100,000 new subscribers puts the newspaper one-third of the way to its target for the year.

So much for the good news. Unfortunately for the NYT, making million in a year from its subscription plan is a drop in the financial bucket: the company’s operating costs for its News Media Group, which includes the New York Times and the Boston Globe, were 0 million for the first quarter alone. Even if the subscription plan hits its goal of 300,000 subscribers, it will only generate about million in revenue, which is barely enough to move the needle for a company of the NYT’s size — and that’s not including the cost of implementing the wall in the first place.

The bad news in the paper’s financial statements spilled from almost every line: profit for the quarter fell by more than 50 percent, and operating profit was down by almost 30 percent. Advertising revenue fell by more than 4 percent compared with the previous year, circulation revenues fell by almost 4 percent as well, and newsprint expenses climbed by almost 13 percent. Digital advertising rose by 4.5 percent, but didn’t even come close to making up for the 7.5 percent decline in print advertising, which still accounts for about 70 percent of the company’s overall ad revenue.

To add insult to injury, the company’s former star online performer — About.com, which has produced consistent revenues for the NYT since the company acquired it in 2005 for 5 million — got hit by Google’s recent “content farm” algorithm updates: the unit’s revenues were down by more than 10 percent, and its operating profit fell by 14 percent. That’s not as bad as the impact likely was on Demand Media, but it’s still not good.

In a statement, CEO Janet Robinson said that the results reflect “the continuing transformation of our company,” and that the subscription plan and other developments offer “reason for optimism about the future of our company.” But it’s hard to see how even million is enough to produce much optimism, since that won’t make up even a fraction of the ongoing decline in print advertising.

There are those in the media industry who appear to have made the transition from traditional media to new media, or are closer to it than the Times: the Journal-Register Co., under CEO John Paton, has revamped the entire company with a “digital first” approach, and recently paid staff bonuses based on its profitability. Unfortunately for the NYT, the chain of small dailies and weeklies couldn’t accomplish this without effectively going bankrupt first — just as the Christian Science Monitor couldn’t accomplish its transformation without shutting down its daily newspaper and focusing exclusively online.

Neither of those seem like realistic options for the New York Times, which is trapped between a shrinking traditional past and a digital future that doesn’t even come close to paying the bills. And the harsh reality is that there is no magic bullet, digital or otherwise, that is going to make that transition any easier.

Post and thumbnail photos courtesy of Flickr users jphilipg and Zarko Drincic

Related content from GigaOM Pro (subscription req’d):

• NewNet Q1: Content Farms and Niche Networks on the Rise
• NewNet Q1: Content Farms and Niche Networks on the Rise
• What the New York Times Can Learn From Rupert Murdoch’s Paywall

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Smart has given the diminutive ForTwo a makeover that sends the iconic little city car two steps forward and one big step back.

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Is it two steps forward, one leap back for Firefox Mobile?

Originally posted at The Download Blog

By Chris Scott Barr

Every time I see a new ebook reader, I think that they’re maybe two steps away from being ready for me to buy. I love the concept of being able to read books, comics or anything from just a little pad. If you’ve ever tried to read a book that contains the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, you’ll understand why I want an e-reader. Well the latest one from Irex is another step in the right direction.

The new Irex DR800SD e-reader has an 8.1-inch display, making it one of the larger readers on the market. Unlike the Kindle family, the screen takes up almost the entire face of the device, making it a much sleeker design. Since there are no buttons on the front, they’ve opted for a touch screen. Don’t get too excited here, unlike Sony’s latest reader it isn’t a capacitive screen. You’re still going to need a stylus to work it. They chose this route because the current capacitive screens actually make the text less readable due to the extra layer of glass that needs to be used.

Other notable features include free 3G service from Verizon for downloading e-books and periodicals, an SD card slot (2GB card is included) and a user-replaceable battery. As for document support, it currently works with Adobe PDF, EPUB, Newspaper Direct, Fictionwise, eReader and TXT. They’ve also partnered with Barnes & Noble and NewspaperDirect for content.

The biggest issue I have with the Irex is the price. $399 is still a lot of money to pay for a device that lets you read books. Sure, when you stack it up against the competition, the price seems rather reasonable for what you’re getting. I’m more suggesting that the prices for e-readers in general still need to come down before they really become mainstream. Look for it to hit stores at the end of October.

[ Irex ] VIA [ Crave ]

This article covers simple steps that any user can follow to rapidly make any computer faster. Implementing either of the first two steps in this article should take less than 15 minutes using a PC or Mac.

Step 1 -  Clean the computer registry

Slow computers often have errors in their registry. The registry is similar to the nervous system of the computer and its function is to connect software hardware and computer files. Errors often lead to the corruption of the registry, and reduce the computer speed . A simple step is therefore to locate then fix registry errors. Users can in theory attempt a manual cleanup of the registry, however this is not recommended due to the high likelihood of further errors occuring. Registry cleaner software are a faster, more reliable alternative to remove errors, unused file, poor links and deal with ActiveX components. Click on compare registry fix software for more information.

Step 2 – Delete and block adware and spyware

Another common reason leading to computers slowing-down, is the large number of spyware and adware, which are downloaded from the Internet, often without the users knowledge. Typically this occurs when downloading videos, music or other files from peer to peer (P2P) networks. One of the simplest solutions to improve any computer’s speed is to use an anti spyware or adware software to scan, remove and block these unwanted threats. In order to try out the right anti spyware or adware program, it is preferable to use a trial version which is usually free. Among the key features to consider are Ease of Download and Simplicity of Use, Automatic Backup, Quality of Customer Service, and of course the overall effectiveness of the software. The best software tend to be the simplest to use and rely on a research capability that constantly updates the software for new threats. Click on best adware spyware removal for more information.

Step 3 – Eliminate viruses

Unsurprisingly many computer viruses can slow down computers and drive down response times. Computer viruses must be deleted for two reasons, firstly they often damage files, secondly they tend to waste memory and disk space. By running the latest version of the best anti-virus programs, users should overcome these problems and be in a better position to improve their computer performance.

Step 4 – Simple housekeeping tasks

There are many simple housekeeping tasks which can be done to improve the speed of any computer, for example uninstalling any software that is not needed.  Stopping programs launching automatically is also useful to speed up any computer and is usually very straightforward. These straightforward tasks generally deliver marginal improvements.

Step 5 – Optimise the Hard disk

For hard disks which are smaller than 2GB then at least 200MB of disk should be kept free and at least 500MB for larger hard disks. Computer speed also depend on the free space on the hard disk, as temporary files are placed there by computer software. This also enables the operating system to swap files using the hard disk as it runs out of RAM. The system can slow down significantly in that event, if space on the hard disk is insufficient. To check the hard disk itself it is recommended to use a disk scanning programs such as Scandisk for Windows. For example, whilst the hard drive may be large enough, the problem may be that it is too fragmented or that some of its sectors have been damaged. Running a defragmentation program is another step that can be completed to improve  the speed of any computer.

Step 6 – Optimising the RAM

Some programs are poorly designed and do not release RAM resources after they are closed. This reduces the amount of memory available for other programs. Computers frequently run out of RAM after a while. In order to overcome this, ugrading the RAM is probably necessary. An alternative option, which is also free is simply not to use certain programs simultaneously.

Step 7 – Stop the computer from overheating

Faulty fans are a common cause leading to the computer overheating, slowing down then freezing as a result. To overcome this problem, installing a new fan is the best solution which will reduce the computer’s temperature by increasing the airflow and ultimately improve response time.

For more information click on how to make my computer faster.