A then-and-now look at the technologies in our lives
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A then-and-now look at the technologies in our lives
| 1999 | 2009 |
| AOL | |
| You’ve Got Mail | Already got it on my BlackBerry |
| 1-GB inboxes | 1-GB attachments |
| 1999 | 2009 |
| Mix CDs | Playlists |
| Walkman | iPod |
| Napster | iTunes |
| Radio | Pandora |
| 1999 | 2009 |
| Long-distance charges | Cell phone minutes |
| Swiss army knives | iPhones |
| Awkward silence | “Sorry, one sec, I have a message” |
| 1999 | 2009 |
| Postcards | |
| Instant messaging | Video Gchatting |
| Classifieds | Craigslist |
| A politician’s paper trail | A golf star’s text-message inbox |
| 1999 | 2009 |
| VCR timers | TiVo |
| Reruns | Hulu |
| Other people’s boring baby videos | YouTube |
| Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? | Jon Gosselin, Balloon dad, and everybody else |
| 1999 | 2009 |
| Karaoke | Rock Band |
| Myst | World of Warcraft |
| Super Mario Bros | Super Mario Bros Wii |
| 1999 | 2009 |
| Magazine subscriptions | RSS subscriptions |
| Bookshelf | Kindle |
| Calling an expert | Going to Wikipedia |
| Going to the library for research | Going to Wikipedia |
| Buying an Encyclopedia for your kids | Telling them to go to Wikipedia |
| 1999 | 2009 |
| Stopping for directions | GPS recalculating route |
| FM radio | Satellite radio |
| Toyota Camrys and Ford Trucks | Toyota hybrids and ... Ford trucks |
| 1999 | 2009 |
| Travel agents | Travelocity |
| Remembering airline tickets | Printing boarding passes |
| Meeting at the gate | Removing shoes at security |
| 1999 | 2009 |
| First impressions | Facebook profiles |
| Photo albums | Facebook photos |
| High school reunions every decade | Facebook updates every 10 seconds |
| The silent treatment | Unfriending |
| 1999 | 2009 |
| General Electric | General Electric |
| Microsoft Office | Microsoft Office |
| Y2K | Never mind |
Doin' It in the Park: No Gatorade (Excerpt)
The Visual Clichés of Instagram
Synthetic Biology
David H. Freedman on smartphone apps and the perfected self, Mark Bowden on being in the dumb kids' class, James Parker on Glenn Beck, Isaac Chotiner on P. G. Wodehouse, and more
Browse back issues of The Atlantic that have appeared on the Web. From September 1995 to the present, the archive is essentially complete, with the exception of a few articles, the online rights to which are held exclusively by the authors.
See All Back Issues: September 1995
Marvin Kalb Proud to Defend Arnaud De Borchgrave
What the Web Knows About the Canadian Foot-Mailing Suspect
The 11 Days Zuckerberg Spent as One of the 40 Richest Humans
What Critics Get Wrong About Creative Cities
Great Moments in the History of Boondoggles
The Pseudo-Suburbanist's Dilemma
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