https://web.archive.org/web/20210219012551/https://www.polit...
[–] projektfu 2 days ago
[–] abandonliberty 2 days ago
[–] evtothedev 2 days ago
[–] jeffhwang 2 days ago
it was also the era when Microsoft was trying to expand it's dominance in software into new realms as well as into media such as Slate and MSNBC.
See this 1996 cover of Wired Magazine: https://www.originalmagazines.com/products/wired-magazine-ju...
[–] flowerlad 2 days ago
I think it was more of a defensive play. Keep in mind that Microsoft saw the web as a threat. Gates was worried that the browser will undermine their OS monopoly (which it eventually did). Gates launched a bunch of web sites including Slate, HomeAdvisor, CarPoint, Sidewalk, Expedia, MSNBC and so on, and told the world that he didn't expect any of these sites to be profitable any time soon, which in my opinion, was intended to dissuade others from investing in the web.
[–] ralph84 2 days ago
[–] ssl-3 2 days ago
A sticker, a suck-branded Gold Circle Coin condom, and something else that I can't recall right now. (I still have the sticker on an old ammo can.)
[–] Bluestein 2 days ago
Solid collectible, right there.-
[–] ssl-3 9 hours ago
It was delivered in a regular business-sized envelope.
The clamshell got squished between themselves and myself, and the combination of squish-damage, sharp edges, paper abrasion, and otherwise-unadorned latex condom made me cast serious upon its efficacy in co-partner use.
The three parts were largely loose inside of the envelope: Front half of sharp clamshell (with suck logo sticker), rear half of sharp clamshell, and a condom just kind of hanging out in there somewhere.
I don't remember what teenager-me did with the actual (and seriously mostly-useless) non-lubricated latex condom that was inside of that tiny thin-metalled tin, and it may be likely that it would have been something that is positively inappropriate to discuss in polite company even today.
But I do know that its potential transport damage did not meet the much, much higher standards that were in-keeping of the rubbers that I was using with my girlfriend of that time.
So whatever came of it, I am quite sure in saying that its efficaciousness was untested by my behest.
And the tin was surely discarded. (I probably tried to keep the well-matched gold foil sticker with the suck logo, but I must have failed.)
All of the condom parts arrived, and none of the important ones were trustworthy. 1/10 on that particular freebie item.
(The orange-pink transparent is still holding on very well.)
[–] roryirvine 2 days ago
And if you bend the rules a bit, Bianca's Smut Shack might sort-of count too - probably the first truly great website of any sort.
[–] euroderf 2 days ago
FWIW they had it in for Trump from the start.
[–] tptacek 2 days ago
The big difference though is that Slate has always had corporate ownership, first by Microsoft and then by Graham Holdings. It's never really had to stand on its own feet.
[–] satellites 2 days ago
I'm in the Seattle area now and the Seattle Times has been a great source of independent local and national news. Most local city news orgs have gone under at this point but I'm glad we still have one here.
[–] Spooky23 2 days ago
I subscribe to Apple News and get most of the stories from them now. They basically push 2-3 stories a day.
[–] karel-3d 2 days ago
On the other hand, I also don't see anything else that's particularly interesting or thought provoking. Which is kind of sad for this US election season.
[–] tptacek 2 days ago
[–] qingcharles 2 days ago
RIP Salon. When it launched in 1995 it was a total breath of fresh air and it launched at a time when the optimism for the future was through the roof.
[–] basch 2 days ago
I’d like to see a better way to shutter journalism. Some kind of entity, possibly distributed, similar to archives that: holds domain names, fixes link rot, removes all formatting caused by dead ads, and hosts the actual content that had been abandoned or donated;, while also offering new navigation and discoverability through the collections. Ideally a single CMS replacing for all the articles.
It could be partially funded through libraries similar to perma.cc and look a bit like Wikipedia/longform/longreads.
[–] ProAm 2 days ago
[–] tptacek 2 days ago
[–] jmspring 2 days ago