Hasta La Gadget!

The dust-up over the New York Times‘ Tesla Model S review may have left no real winners, but that doesn’t preclude at least trying to reach the truth. According to the newspaper’s Public Editor, Margaret Sullivan, the final answer rests where it often does: in between the two extremes. Following interviews with driver John Broder, Tesla staff and others involved in the tale, the scrutineer believes the review was conducted honestly, but that improper decisions and less-than-precise notes led to the charging woes and accusations of deception that characterized the drive. Broder should have topped up the way the company recommends, but wasn’t planning on dragging anyone through the mud, Sullivan says. Whatever you think of her verdict, it’s enough for Tesla founder Elon Musk to relax — he’s already saying that the inspection “restored” his trust in the Old Gray Lady’s integrity. About the only demand we have left is to get enough Supercharger stations that there’s never a repeat incident.

Filed under: Transportation

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Source: New York Times, Elon Musk (Twitter)

Data logs of the Model S that left New York Times reporter John Broder stranded revealed a “violation of common sense” according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, but Broder is now offering his side of the story to help make sense of the information. According to the journalist, he wasn’t provided with “detailed instructions on maximizing the driving range” before his trip, and he placed roughly a dozen calls to the folks at Tesla about how he could address the car’s declining range and make it to his destination. Apparently, some of the doubt-instilling data was caused by following the advice of Tesla representatives on how to maximize the vehicle’s charge. For example, Broder says the auto lost a drastic amount of juice while parked in the cold over night, and a low-power one-hour charge was recommended by Tesla reps in conjunction with driving at a moderate speed to “restore” the lost power.

Broder also mentions that he didn’t drive around a parking lot to run down the battery, but did so since he couldn’t find the poorly-lit and unmarked Supercharger at night. New York Times Public Editor Margaret Sullivan called Musk several times throughout the day and couldn’t get ahold of him, but plans to ask the company’s founder to open source the logs and other information. Come Friday, Sullivan expects to have some conclusions on the matter. Click the bordering source link to see Broder’s entire point-by-point response to the logs for yourself.

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Source: The New York Times (1), (2)

The newspaper of record announced today that it will be arriving on Windows 8 tomorrow, offering up full articles, videos, photos and blogs to subscribers. Non-subscribers, on the other hand, will just get access to the Top News section. Also new in the world of New York Times / Microsoft teamups is the arrival of a NYT channel in the Bing News app. More info on both after the break.

Continue reading New York Times releases Windows 8 app for all the news that’s fit to tile

Filed under: Software

New York Times releases Windows 8 app for all the news that’s fit to tile originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 14:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google recently paid the FTC $22.5 million and Facebook was ordered by the commission to change the way it handles data, but you might be surprised to hear that both companies did nothing wrong. Well, not exactly, but by settling their privacy violation cases, the internet giants are entitled to deny any misconduct. The New York Times reports that J. Thomas Rosch, a commissioner who voted against both settlements, feels that current rules will invite “denials of liability in every case in the future.” Rosch wants the policy changed so companies can’t deny responsibility when settling, much like the way the SEC handles similar indiscretions. Most of his colleagues weren’t in a hurry to back his opinions, but three did say that refining the process could “avoid any possible public misimpression” of how the FTC strikes such deals. The commission is expected to look at the issue in the near future, but until then, we’re sure you’re more than able to separate the reality from the legalese.

Filed under: Internet

FTC considering new settlement process so companies can’t deny wrongdoing originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Aug 2012 20:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looks like the New York Times is signaling the death knell for RIM, albeit subtly. In a move that surely underscores the withering faith content companies have for the once beloved platform, the venerable Sulzberger-backed news organization has pulled all support for its DealBook Reader and NYTimes app for BlackBerry as of July 23rd. Users that attempt to access that application in the days since will find a stale content list that no longer updates and are being urged, instead, to visit the paper’s mobile site for a “more complete… experience.” And as if the ailing Waterloo-based company hadn’t suffered enough indignity, it’s been cast out of the developer pen alongside WebOS, joining PalmPre users on the reject list. Not to worry though, the Times crossword app has yet to get the axe — that’s got to be some consolation, no? You can check out the NYT’s official line on its decision at the source below.

[Thanks, Dhruv]

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

New York Times ends support for official BlackBerry, WebOS apps originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 17:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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