Maybe Apple’s subscription system is a good thing after all. It has been for Condé Nast, at least. The company has drawn 242,000 digital customers in the six week period since introducing Apple’s subscription method. A big part of that appears to be The New Yorker’s iPad edition, which has garnered praise for its simplistic approach.

Monica Ray, Executive Vice President of Consumer Marketing for Condé Nast, says that the numbers provide a reason to feel optimistic:

We were at the forefront of introducing digital subscriptions, and the results have been encouraging―better than we could have imagined in many cases. The digital counts are increasing every day, and while this represents a small portion of our subscription circulation, we find it incredibly promising, especially given the short time we have been marketing subscriptions.

Once again, it sounds as if Steve Jobs knows best. Now, who wants to convince him to lend the government some money?