Evaluation of New York Times Stories

            This blog post evaluates a couple of New York Times articles, answering a few simple questions that dissect each of the articles. The two sections that the articles come from are from the Science and Tech section of the New York Times. The articles cover the possibility of Apple introducing virtual reality to their line of products, and a revisiting of The Challenger Space shuttle disaster almost thirty years later. Links to articles are embedded in the titles.

The Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster, 30 Years Later

Unknown. "File:Space Challenger Shuttle (04-04-1983).JPEG" 4/4/1983 via Wikimedia Commons.
Public Domain License.

            This article written by Karen Workman from the New York Times revisits the tragic day, January 28th, 1986. The article does not have a main character/protagonist seeing as though it is more of an article to commemorate that day. The writer covers all key points like who was on the shuttle, the significance of this launch, and what went wrong. She also includes a short snippet about another one of NASA's other disasters that happened in 2003. The article recapped how shortly after launching, the Challenger exploded over the atlantic ocean. For this specific piece of writing there is no debate or argument that goes on, it just presents the facts. However, the article includes a twenty minute Retro Report video that covers what happened during the time the Challenger exploded. The video covers the debate the night before the launch (between NASA officials and private business owners) where engineers said they should delay the launch because it was too cold and the O-rings would fail. Since the launch date had already been scheduled, the engineers were ignored and the launch was approved for the following day. This article, in the form of a Quick Reference Guide, was informational and well-written only presenting the facts of what happened 30 years ago.

Apple Sets Its Sights on Virtual Reality

matcuz. "Apple Inc Mac Apple Store Store Macintosh" 12/25/12 via pixabay.
CC0 Public Domain License.

            Writers Katie Benner and Nick Wingfield wrote their article (found in the tech section) about Apple's possible investment into the virtual reality world. Apple is described to be behind on the whole virtual reality train; Samsung, Google, even Facebook have made huge investments into creating their own products that deliver a virtual world to their consumers. The writers inform the readers about some of the virtual reality products that are already available from Apple's rivals. The only specifics released about Apple's actions is their recent purchase of an up-and-coming augmented reality start-up by the name of Flyby Media. Other than this information, the article serves as a recap of what is already available. It was most likely written to give Apple consumers a taste of what could be coming in the near future.