The Year That Was and Wasn’t
The past year has been bad—but what made it bad, more or less? To find out, we asked a group of writers and thinkers: What were the most important events of 2016, and what were the least?
technology
A collection of 110 issues
The Year That Was and Wasn’t
We asked writers and thinkers to tell us: What were the most important events of 2015—and what were the least?
Save the Humans
Environmentalists are increasingly hugging people, not trees. Can solving climate change and achieving “climate justice” become the same thing?
The Downstairs Gays
Social media makes it easy to virtually tour our neighbors’ homes—and really, their entire lives. The hard part: finding the clear divide between entertainment and cyberstalking.
How the Other Half Shares
When the media talks about social media, it’s always about young, white Americans. We spoke to a wider sample—including a sex worker, a pastor’s wife, a rapper—to see why people do what they do online.
Silicon Valley High
No one’s surprised in Silicon Valley when a 12-year-old runs the family e-commerce store. But going to the same high school as Steve Jobs and liking it are two different things.
Against the Clock
The invasion of the Apple Watch is imminent. While the technology future it heralds is exciting, some of our wrists are already spoken for.
Kiss From a Mall Cop
Your party-conversation brief on the most important stories that no one’s talking about anymore—the plight of the Segway, internet child exchanges, Ebola, the current fortunes of Seal, and more.
This Will Be the Year That Was
If you can't wait to find out what 2015 will bring—from John Galliano's Cosby sweaters to Jenny McCarthy getting polio—wait no longer. (Spoilers ahead.)
The Long Play
A marriage in the digital era begins with an invitation to listen to a record. Rediscovering vinyl, sonic memories, and the joy of sitting down to do one single thing.
Catching Up With the Mp3 Bloggers
A decade ago, and then again five years later, we gathered a set of music bloggers who pioneered online music discovery—often to the chagrin of record labels. Now we reconvene to discuss the current state of listening to and reading about music online.
Blues on Wheels
A writer becomes a carrier for the United States Postal Service out of a long-held love for the mail. What she discovers are screams, threats, lies, labor violations, and dog attacks.
Our Better Shelves
After visiting more than 2,000 independent bookstores—at least virtually—the Amazon annihilation, Orwell misquotes and all, doesn't seem quite so inescapable.
The Medium
Talking about language is already tough. Try discussing a brand new language via Skype with two hearing linguists, plus another via text, who happens to be deaf, and see what you learn.
A Brief History of Bloggering
Even a fake history of blogging—going back to the Old Internet, when HTML templates were so raw—offers insight into how we reached today’s web and survived comments.
This Is How I Post
Over the past decade, social media has made us all big communicators, but we’re giving off more noise than signals. An argument for the handwritten note.
Who Goes There
The Heartbleed Bug exposed a well-known secret: Passwords suck. But that’s really nothing new—just ask the Romans. Explaining the password’s past and future.
Tale of the Transcription Tape
Sometimes a love scene calls for [WHIMPERS], sometimes it needs [YELPS], but knowing which one to use makes all the difference. The secret life of a professional closed captioner.
The Jennifer Berman Club
We all have doppelgängers, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends with them. One Jennifer Berman reaches out to other Jennifer Bermans.
Send, Dad
Ever since my dad got an iPad last year, he sees it fit to multitask: Read an article, and text me about it.
Watch and Learn
YouTube tutorials are the classrooms of the 21st century. Are they enough to make you a better person?
This Will Be the Year That Was
At the dawn of 2014, we anticipate what will happen in our new year. This is what will happen.
The Year That Was and Wasn’t
We gathered writers and thinkers to consider everything that happened over the past 12 months and asked them: What were the most important events of 2013—and what were the least?
Burying the Present
Thirty years ago, two friends created a vision of the future—a space opera put to tape—and buried it in a time capsule. Listening again today, it turns out we remember the past as it never quite was.
Spies Like Them
A group of gray-haired representatives from across Europe gather in a central London gentlemen’s club to discuss the United States’ aggressive spying techniques.
Very Visible Cities
Giant Chinese pigeons, Scarlett Johansson’s daughter, and deliberately un-green urban living: What to expect from London, Los Angeles, and Moscow in 2040, 2070, and 2100.
Now Boarding
More and more, we communicate today in short bursts of text. Letters may be dead, but we still write to each other constantly. A man considers what could be his last words to his children from a departing airplane.
Super Sad Tiny Home Fetish
Micro-living is no longer just for the very poor and the very bohemian. But how much space do we really deserve? Tracking down the minimum square-footage below which no one should be forced to endure.
The Internet of Actual Things
As we progress from smartphones to smart toasters, our things are becoming increasingly connected. Soon they'll be on Facebook alongside us. From there, it's only a few steps to tactful beds.
The Year That Was and Wasn’t
We gathered writers and thinkers to consider everything that happened over the past 12 months and asked them: What were the most important events of 2012—and what were the least?
Touching From a Distance
Technology is moving so fast, it’s easy to overlook that what's to come is already right in front of us. Stop for a moment, and you’ll see the future.
Paris and the Data Mind
Registering everything from fitness levels to sleep patterns, personal tracking devices satisfy our desire for self-knowledge. But when we hand control to our holograms, we may be surprised at what they want.
For the Price of a Dime
Since the 1980s, changing social mores, rising gas prices, and advancing technology have resulted in an information gap just screaming to be studied. A guide to demystifying songs from the ’80s for later, digitally native generations.
The Sound of the Internet
If the internet makes a sound (and it does), are you listening? Our correspondent uses software to transform the digital ephemera of web browsing—from network traffic to JavaScript, browser histories to JPGs—into music.
Enjoy the Silence
Just because no one uses payphones doesn’t mean the phone booth needs to go the way of the dodo. One man’s plea for preserving society’s greatest unused invention.
Don’t Leave Me
World War II had veteran parades. Vietnam War vets were often ignored, if not shunned. For the current generation of war-weary Americans, solace comes on YouTube.
The Truth Will Set You Free
I knew when I was in trouble—like the time I was 13 and was caught watching porn on my dad’s computer—and I knew I couldn’t escape my fate. Nor would I have wanted to.
Home for the Holiday Tech Support
When the annual trip home becomes a customer-service visit to “fix the internet,” sometimes even bourbon can't save the day. We gathered a half-dozen of our favorite tech writers and editors to help anticipate the headaches of 2011.
Picture Me Not Posting
If distractions poison a writer’s ambitions, then surely a summer with no internet access is the antidote?
Handheld Time Machines
Cities are full of noise and scuffle, and they don’t always reveal their history. Armed with a fistful of maps from 1901 and a smartphone bristling with data-recording apps, one man tries to uncover a city’s secrets.
PAX Primer
Every year, tens of thousands of gamers descend on Seattle to attend a convention that began as a webcomic, and has grown into the epicenter of gaming culture. An account from this year's event, which encompassed nearly every imaginable game genre—and a few never before imagined.
The Age of Mechanical Reproduction
When it comes to in-vitro fertilization, nothing is normal. Your world is upside-down. Your doctor compliments your wife on her monkeys. Then, when every dollar and exertion has gone toward a single hour of hope, it begins to snow.
Cloud Fracas
Once again, our British explorer discusses the latest news with a talking dog while they investigate odd features of the English countryside. This week: iCloud and deadly mud pits.
What Your Salute Says About You
How you start an email reveals a lot more about your intentions than you know. Common e-greetings for etiquette voodoo.
Mary Poppins Has a Tumblr
Children easily comprehend the web—almost as easily as new parents grasp fear. Exploring his computer's "parental controls" for the first time, our writer tries to preserve his innocence a little longer.
Will the Real Frank Smith Stand Up
Sharing a name with thousands of other men, even hundreds of thousands, can make for interesting email. Some of the messages that have landed in his inbox.
Who You Are and Who You Say You Are
The internet’s been tamed, social media’s a food court, and everyone is positive, full of likes. But that’s only if you buy the algorithm of conformity.
What Is a Career Move
Following his triumphant appearance on Jeopardy, IBM's Watson supercomputer strikes a deal to replace Charlie Sheen on CBS's hit comedy Two and a Half Men.
When the Crescendo Is the Least of Your Worries
After practicing with his iPod—and feeling pretty good, actually—a novice discovers the extreme fear of conducting a professional orchestra.
The Ghost in the Machine Is a Jerk
Everyone has computer problems--only a chosen few are driven insane by them. A defense of daily paranoia.
Diminish Your Reality
The technology horizon is brighter than ever—or maybe it’s just set that way in your preferences. A look at the new devices and trends expected to take the tech world by storm in 2011.
JuniorHighLeaks
Everyone's doing it: Broadcasting private communications for all the world to see. The latest messages could usurp the power elite of the eighth grade.
I, Reader
You are what you read. For some, that means 22 boxes of books. Facing a storage crisis of bibliolatry proportions, our writer surveys e-readers and a life spent reading.
A Question of Bandwidth
Walk across the office, or send an email? A look at how much time we save—or not—when we opt for the technological solution.
The Biggest Spinoff Product Failures of 2010
Every year, brands leverage themselves to monetize potential revenue streams—and this year was no different.
Planet Zoo
More than a generation of Americans have been urged to save the Earth. A survey of the current climate and every H.G. Wells-inspired geoengineering project shows it’s time to pray for Homo sapiens.
My Country, My Train, My K-Hole
There are plenty of good reasons to ride a train cross-country, but for our correspondent and his attention index, hitting the rails has one purpose: to escape the merciless internet.
Twitter and the Void
What kind of sound does a single tweet make? Our writer considers the reasons she left Twitter, and what it would take to bring other lapsed Tweeters back online.
From Cover to Cover
Music connects to memories, and so do album sleeves. From ELO’s spaceship to Róisín Murphy’s see-through top, the covers that made one writer a fan.
Pushing Your Buttons
Introducing iBox 2G, the fastest, most powerful way to satisfy your greed and simultaneously kill a complete stranger.
The Game of Love
Anyone who says video games shouldn't appeal to adults, let alone women, has never flirted with General Carth Onassi. Exploring a virtual courtship.
OK Genius
Apple’s iTunes software claims to be a Genius at making mixes. We beg to differ, knowing how mixes should be made, and propose a duel of “Fingertips.”
2009 Editors' Awards for Online Excellence
We maintain a list throughout the year of our favorite new websites--the ones that entertain and inform our wired lives. Presenting the 2009 Eddys, celebrating the best of a fleeting medium.
The Transient, Digital Fetish
As the world goes Kindle and iPhone-mad, paperbacks and mixtapes become worthy of devotion. Watching a music collection disappear and wondering what it meant.
One Spring Day
As winter wanes, everyone grows tired of the cold and damp, whether they live in San Francisco, Austin, or London. A day in the life of TMN's editors and writers on the first day of spring.
It Is My Wish
Some hope for peace, others for environmental protection—and that’s because TED Prize wishes aren’t often granted to neoconservatives.
Mr. Bowyer’s Fantastic Machine
Lots of machines can manufacture things. What about one that could produce everything, including itself? Visiting the man who taught a machine to replicate.
Writing My Twitter Etiquette Article: 14 Ways to Use Twitter Politely
Every form of communication deserves an etiquette manual, if only so we can treat our fellows better, even in 140-character bites.
Programming in English, or Translate :: ParseLib :: English
Computer code may not be gobbledygook, but that doesn't make it art. A survey of the field of programming-cum-poetry to find the ghost (of Hamlet's father) in the machine.
Re: Cephalopod
Now that Congress has approved domestic wire-tapping, no one can prevent the U.S. from becoming a surveillance state. No one, that is, except for cathym17@zipmail.com.
A Survivor's Journal
America weathered Y2K, Viagra junk mails, and Web 2.0. But will it survive the next technological crisis threatening civilization?
Emails From My Father
Emails have about as much room for nuance as Post-It notes, and less staying power. But sometimes they’re pure poetry.
2008 Editors' Awards for Online Excellence
The internet: There sure is a lot of stuff on it. In the course of a year of browsing, we've discovered some favorites that deserve some sort of award--in fact, this sort of award. Presenting the 2008 Eddys.
More Than Meets the Eye
There is a distinct possibility that, within our lifetimes, robots will be everywhere--taking out the trash, day-tripping to Mars, winning the Nobel prize. During the past month, news about robots was frequently amazing and sometimes terrifying.
A World Without Me
Assume all human life within an apartment suddenly and inexplicably vanishes, said human life consisting entirely of me. What happens next?
Please Spool to End of Tape Before Playing Other Side
For music listeners of every era, our audio formats define us—until we grow up and upgrade. Remembering the sweet squeak of cassettes.
How to Make Friends and Poke People
Facebook is old news for the sub-30 set, but plenty of their elders are tuning in, logging on, and tossing cows.
One Day on the Internet
In a world that revolves around email addresses and instant messages, much human interaction comes in bits and bytes. We spent a day keeping track of our keystrokes around the globe.
Web Noir
When writing for online magazines, crime doesn't always pay--but it can earn you a fashionable T-shirt. Investigating the current era of crime fiction on the web and the magazines that are making new voices heard.
2007 Editors' Awards for Online Excellence
We read and see a lot of websites, and though most are terrible, some are extraordinary.
Will You Watch My Computer for Me?
Good manners and solidarity require us to monitor each other’s things in a public library. But what happens when Iranian porn addicts get involved?
Wii Feel Your Pain
Nintendo's gaming system has thrilled many players with its motion-sensing capabilities, some to the point of harm.
Googling for Trouble
The search company has asked that people tread lightly when verbing its name--but can it turn away history's momentum?
iPod Etiquette
We have something important to discuss. Are you listening? Oh, seriously, will you take out your earphones? Yes, both of them.
Acmegate
The White House has a secret that not even an Acme Ultimatum Dispatcher could eke out.
The Future of Organized Labor
From economists to politicians, pundits the nation over argue organized labor is fast becoming extinct. If unions survive, it's safe to assume not much will change when it comes to ground-level operations. People, after all, will be people. And robots will be robots.
2006 Editors' Awards for Online Excellence
Web Geeks Unite! was the original slogan when The Morning News launched in 1999, and though our mission has changed, the spirit is undiminished.
We'd Like to Hear You Never
Yapping on cell phones has gotten out of hand—on the bus, on the street, even in subways, civil life is trampled with every outspoken call.
Bend Me, Shape Me
Producing music from printers, hacking Speak ’n’ Spells for backing vocals—it’s not trendy garage band style, but then, it’s not exactly rock and roll. A look into the engrossing world of circuit bending.
Dating on Demand
Before you know it, married life can become routine. One way to keep things interesting is by trolling video dating services. The consequences may be greater than you think.
BetweenTheLines.com
Tired of having your work rejected by editors left and right? The Frustrated Amateur Writers Network may be just what you need to jump-start your writing career. They won't be able to get you published--but they can help you feel better about it.
Foolish Chances With Words
Laptops make writing easy to produce, and easy to erase. At least with typewriters you’re creating something that, however terrible, lives in the world.
Barnosky and I
You’ve received the credit card statements, the cancelled checks, the postcards from Aruba. But only at the end of a case of identity theft will you discover how much was really taken from you.
I, Servant
Admitting you have a problem is a big hurdle to face, but confessing you need help can be even more difficult, especially when you're forced to choose your own path. So: Will it be robot or monkey?
The Last Hurrah of the Mash-Ups
All of these unlikely musical pairings are bound to get unlikable soon. But rest assured somebody out there will still appreciate the effort. Reviews of the very last of the famous international long-playing records.
Changed Equations That Changed the World
As it turns out, the rules of science are more flexible than you'd think. When you tinker with the mechanics of the universe, however, you'd better be prepared for drastic repercussions.
Downloading for the Greater Good
Fall semester is fast approaching, when students in our best universities will resume buying their essays off the internet and plagiarizing like crazy—and good for them! Why downloading term papers is an asset to higher education.
2005 Editors' Awards for Online Excellence
Web Geeks Unite! was our original slogan when we launched this site in 1999, and while the tagline has changed, the spirit is undiminished.
Tempting but Ill-Advised Email Auto-Responses
Email can be a time-saving, productive tool; that is, except when your friends and family are the ones behind it.
MiniDisco
Portable audio used to be strictly for joggers and the kids who smoked under the bleachers, but these days everybody and their guidance counselor has an iPod. So how did headphones become fashionable, and MiniDisc devotees get left by the wayside?