August 3, 2007 - Citizen journalists cover bridge collapse. The Minnesotans who documented Wednesday's collapse of the I-35W bridge proved again, just as in the aftermath of the London underground bombing and other disasters, that journalism can be an activity as much as it is a profession.
June 5, 2006 - On this segment of Future Tense, MPR’s Jon Gordon interviews founder Tiffany Shlain about this year’s WEBBY Awards, including a lifetime Internet achievement award to Prince for his visionary use of the web as a music artist.
December 15, 2004 - Computers are cheaper than ever, but if you're looking at a new machine this holiday season, Dwight Silverman of the Houston Chronicle says beware of the low, low prices.
December 6, 2004 - A core group of several hundred volunteers from around the world have built one of the most popular Web sites -- an encyclopedia called Wikipedia that's written by its audience. It contains more than a million articles in 75 languages. Wikipedia uses wiki software, which allows users to collectively write and edit articles. Incorrect or biased information gets weeded out quickly. Unhappy with traditional journalism, the Wikipedia volunteers have started WikiNews. Anyone can edit and post corrections to entries, although Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales believes a smaller group will do most of the work
September 10, 2004 - A public television producer turns to eBay to raise money for his film ... This is Future Tense from American Public Media. I'm Jon Gordon. Unable to find corporate underwriters, Chuck Strinz says he went deeply in debt making his film "Back on the Mississippi." The film tells stories of people and places along the Mississippi River, from St. Paul to the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa, and will air later this year on several public television stations across the country. It's already been shown on stations in Minnesota and Iowa.
September 2, 2004 - Nearly half of Americans online use instant messaging on the internet, according to a new survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. That amounts to 53 million people. Twelve million Americans use IM more than e-mail. The survey finds that AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Instant Messenger and other similar software is especially popular among younger adults and the tech savvy. However, Pew researcher Amanda Lenhart says IM still has a ways to go in the workplace.
September 1, 2004 - In Paris yesterday, Apple Computer unveiled its new iMac desktop computer. Disk drives and processors are tucked into a flat display less than two inches thick. With the iMac G5, the monitor is the computer.
August 27, 2004 - It's called "Really Simple Syndication," or RSS for short. It's a method for reading web sites without actually visiting them, or having to subscribe to newsletters that deliver content through e-mail. You can subscribe to many major news sites with RSS, and most major blogs, too. You can even get some of your favorite comic strips.
August 25, 2004 - About two years ago, the recording industry and 43 states settled a lawsuit that accused record companies of inflating the cost of CDs by requiring retailers to sell them at or above a set price in order to qualify for advertising funding. As part of the the $144 million settlement, the companies agreed to provide more than $5 million worth of CDs to public libraries.
August 24, 2004 - People collect all sorts of things, but banner ads are extremely unusual. Tari Akpodiete has 17,000 of them saved to her computer. Website ads for movies, books, porngraphy sites, and lots more. She display them at BannerReport.com, a site that has become a resource for people who design ads, and a bit of an Internet museum. Seeing an ad that caught her fancy one day, Ackpodiete saved it to her hard drive. One thing led to another, and an obsession was born.