I had been planning on starting a section on Apps for Windows since some time now, and no better way to start with version 2 of one of my favorite applications, The New York Times Reader. Previously based on WPF, and now shifted to Adobe Air, for cross platform compatibility, the new Times Reader 2.0 is available for Windows, Linux and OS X users. It contains some new enhancements over version 1, but most of the changes have been cosmetic. It really looks as if it was designed for the Mac only, if you take a cue from the new UI. It’s clean and slightly gray, with excellent typography and streamlined navigation. While the application itself is free, along with some of the news sections, you’ll have to shell out $3.45/week for full access. That shouldn’t stop you from enjoying the free version though, as it could cater most users very well with its variety of content. The available news sections increases on Sunday, with Magazine being the added free section for that day with several other paid ones.  Read more...

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Microsoft Vine is the Redmond Giant’s take on Twitter. It’s actually more focused on the real time web and happenings rather than starting conversations as in Twitter. Vine will be used to stay in touch, informed and involved when it matters. It comes with its own slick looking desktop app, based on WPF.  Read more...

Permalink: Microsoft Vine to take on Twitter and the Real Time web