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the browserBrowser, TheCulture and technology.2NA=1154&NC=1217&DI=4098&PS=58543&PI=7315Browserfalsefalsespacernotembeddedthe browserSpeak, AtariMichael Agger1/123122/2202502/aggerm.gif4242http://img.slate.com/mediafalse20091120102307AMFridayNovNovember1011/20/2009 3:23:07 PM63394309387967126920091120102307AMFridayNovNovember1011/20/2009 3:23:07 PM63394309387967126920091120102307AMFridayNovNovember1011/20/2009 3:23:07 PM633943093879671269false2008101711612PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:16:12 PM6335984617200000002008101711612PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:16:12 PM633598461720000000falseHow the 2600 forged the home video game future.noSpeak, AtariHow the 2600 forged the home video game future.noBorn in the early 1970s, I've experienced only a few world-changing events along the lines of the automobile, the telephone, and the television. Sure, I was around the campus computer cluster when NCSA Mosaic was installed in 1994, but the Internet didn't make a grand entrance. (The UC Museum of Paleontology, a prominent early Web site, was only so interesting.) The World Wide Web doesn't compare with 1981, when my brother and I got an Atari 2600 for Christmas. Before Atari, no video games at home. After Atari, video games all the time. Males of a certain age will regale you with tales of long mornings roping cattle in Stampede and the distinctive thumb cramp that the joystick delivered. But enough nostalgia for now. Nick Montfort and Ian Bogost, two professors of media studies, have written a book, Racing the Beam, that approaches the beloved machine from a new angle: What was it like to program for the Atari 2600?truenotochyperlinkno20093955412PMMondayMarMarch173/9/2009 9:54:12 PM63372218052000000020093955412PMMondayMarMarch173/9/2009 9:54:12 PM633722180520000000the browserSocial WarfareMichael Agger1/123122/2202502/aggerm.gif4242http://img.slate.com/mediafalse20091120102257AMFridayNovNovember1011/20/2009 3:22:57 PM63394309377943085520091120102257AMFridayNovNovember1011/20/2009 3:22:57 PM63394309377943085520091120102257AMFridayNovNovember1011/20/2009 3:22:57 PM633943093779430855false2008101711612PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:16:12 PM6335984617200000002008101711612PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:16:12 PM633598461720000000falseGoogle and Facebook battle for your friends.noSocial WarfareGoogle and Facebook battle for your friends.noEvery so often I am reminded how primitive the Web really is. This usually happens after chatting with someone who works for Google. Recently, I interviewed David Glazer, who thinks about "being social" for the big G. He pointed out the caveman quality of socializing online in 2009. We have friends on Facebook, shared items on Google Reader, blogs on Tumblr, bookmarks on Delicious, and a login at the New York Times, with each of these sites requiring different passwords and user names. Barbaric. And while there are smart companies such as FriendFeed and Plaxo that unite these activities in one place, we are far from what Google describes as the Holy Grail: "Any app, any site, any friend."truenotochyperlinkno200911450826PMWednesdayJanJanuary171/14/2009 10:08:26 PM633675497060000000200911450826PMWednesdayJanJanuary171/14/2009 10:08:26 PM633675497060000000the browserFresh MooseMichael Agger1/123122/2202502/aggerm.gif4242http://img.slate.com/mediafalse20091120102308AMFridayNovNovember1011/20/2009 3:23:08 PM63394309388212319620091120102308AMFridayNovNovember1011/20/2009 3:23:08 PM63394309388212319620091120102308AMFridayNovNovember1011/20/2009 3:23:08 PM633943093882123196false2008101711612PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:16:12 PM6335984617200000002008101711612PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:16:12 PM633598461720000000falseWhy Sarah Palin is a locavore.noFresh MooseWhy Sarah Palin is a locavore.noWhen John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate, hunting entered the national conversation in a way it hasn't since 2006, when Dick Cheney shot a donor instead of a quail. Palin, in fashioning herself as a leader for Joe Six-Pack America, has emphasized her prowess as a sportswoman. Her office has released photos of her with a dead moose, a dead caribou, and several dead salmon. She was recently spotted in Pennsylvania carrying a tote bag with the logo "Real Women Hunt Moose." One bowhunting company was so excited (or shameless) that it introduced a new model called the Sarah-Cuda in honor of the governor. Love the pink camo.truenotochyperlinkno2008101754723PMFridayOctOctober1710/17/2008 9:47:23 PM6335986244300000002008101754723PMFridayOctOctober1710/17/2008 9:47:23 PM633598624430000000the browserBlogging for DollarsMichael Agger1/123122/2202502/aggerm.gif4242http://img.slate.com/mediafalse20091120102308AMFridayNovNovember1011/20/2009 3:23:08 PM63394309388147119120091120102308AMFridayNovNovember1011/20/2009 3:23:08 PM63394309388147119120091120102308AMFridayNovNovember1011/20/2009 3:23:08 PM633943093881471191false2008101711612PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:16:12 PM6335984617200000002008101711612PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:16:12 PM633598461720000000falseHow do bloggers make money?noBlogging for DollarsHow do bloggers make money?noLast week, the blog search engine Technorati released its 2008 State of the Blogosphere report with the slightly menacing promise to "deliver even deeper insights into the blogging mind." Bloggers create 900,000 blog posts a day worldwide, and some of them are actually making money. Blogs with 100,000 or more unique visitors a month earn an average of $75,000 annually—though that figure is skewed by the small percentage of blogs that make more than $200,000 a year. The estimates from a 2007 Business Week article are older but juicier: The LOLcat empire rakes in $5,600 per month; Overheard in New York gets $8,100 per month; and Perez Hilton, gossip king, scoops up $111,000 per month.truenotochyperlinkno200810162854PMWednesdayOctOctober1810/1/2008 10:28:54 PM633584825340000000200810162854PMWednesdayOctOctober1810/1/2008 10:28:54 PM633584825340000000the browserGoing DarkMichael Agger1/123122/2202502/aggerm.gif4242http://img.slate.com/mediafalse20091120102308AMFridayNovNovember1011/20/2009 3:23:08 PM63394309388352950020091120102308AMFridayNovNovember1011/20/2009 3:23:08 PM63394309388352950020091120102308AMFridayNovNovember1011/20/2009 3:23:08 PM633943093883529500false2008101711612PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:16:12 PM6335984617200000002008101711612PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:16:12 PM633598461720000000falseSpying on other people's computers.noGoing DarkSpying on other people's computers.noThe good ol' Internet: always coming up with new solutions to old problems. Modern man suspects wife is up to something. Modern man installs PC Pandora, a spyware application that records keystrokes, takes surreptitious screen shots, and monitors chat sessions—all for the low, low price of $49.95. Success! Modern man writes a congratulatory note to the company, which it posts on its "testimonials" page:truenotochyperlinkno2008812122113PMTuesdayAugAugust128/12/2008 4:21:13 PM6335414047300000002008812122113PMTuesdayAugAugust128/12/2008 4:21:13 PM633541404730000000200311442729PMTuesdayJanJanuary161/14/2003 9:27:29 PM631781584490000000200311442729PMTuesdayJanJanuary161/14/2003 9:27:29 PM631781584490000000falsetruetruetruetruetruetrue20011018111443PMThursdayOctOctober2310/19/2001 3:14:43 AM631390436830000000200181561653PMWednesdayAugAugust188/15/2001 10:16:53 PM631334962130000000