I've been playing with the New York Times reader for Windows  The Times Reader is a standalone application that streams and presents the New York Times onto your PC. It's better than reading the times on the web because it synchs and because it's got a more "Newspapery" interactivity.

It flows the text smartly and plugs in photos and plug ads as you flip through the pages and has the requisite search and annotative features you'd expect from an electronic document reader. Frankly, If I had a Tablet PC, it'd probably be the killer ap. It's got a clean look and feel and the pages move and zoom smoothly.

The app is Windows XP/Vista only, although an outdated FAQ suggests that a Macintosh version is forthcoming. I wouldn't hold my breath. And Linux? Maybe Wine? It requires .net 3. Does that run in Ubuntu yet? Probably not.

Anyway, at $15 a month, it's a reasonable way to enjoy the Times, which, last I checked was over $40 for the print edition. (If you subscribe to the print edition, by the way, you can use reader for free.) Up to five computers are allowed to run the reader per account.

If the Journal Sentinel had a similar product I would subscribe in a heartbeat.

Microsoft OS users can sample the Koolaid for thirty days for free.