There once was a time when tech magazines were free. All you had to do was work at a company, sign your name on a form on the Web, and the magazine would be yours. (I’m exaggerating only slightly.) Only a few trade mags, like InformationWeek still offer this service. Others, like Wired, have dramatically reduced their subscription rates ($10.00), while most others have gone bye the bye.
I’m old enough in tech years to remember Mondo 2000 which came out almost at the same time as Wired in 1993. While Wired focused on the technology and politics of the coming “revolution,” Mondo was a kind of screwy, culturally-California look at the oddballs of computing. It seemed to reference punk and complexity while Wired was, well, more relevant to the Alleys sprouting on both coasts. Interestingly, I’m amazed at what turns up on a Google search for “Mondo 2000” — because the magazine never went “wired” (or online), it pretty much doesn’t exist on the Net, save for a few oddball diarists. Alas, I’d much rather be getting M2 than IW, which pretty clearly states the kind of world we’re in today.