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Popular Science Frees Its 137-Year Archives

Posted by kdawson on from the whole-lotta-rocket-ships dept.

DesScorp writes "Popular Science magazine has scanned every issue they've ever produced, and posted the archives at their website, at no charge. 'We've partnered with Google to offer our entire 137-year archive for free browsing. Each issue appears just as it did at its original time of publication, complete with period advertisements. It's an amazing resource that beautifully encapsulates our ongoing fascination with the future, and science and technology's incredible potential to improve our lives. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.'" First search: the history of the flying car.

135 comments

  1. Kudos to them by mangu · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This makes me seriously consider getting a subscription to their dead tree version again.

    1. Re:Kudos to them by delirium+of+disorder · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If we had sane copyright laws, most of the issues would already be in the public domain. However, I still see this is a major gesture of support for free culture.

      I only buy books and music from authors who publish for free online.

      Maybe I should extend the same policy towards zines?

      --
      ------ Take away the right to say fuck and you take away the right to say fuck the government.
    2. Re:Kudos to them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If we had sane copyright laws, most of the issues would already be in the public domain.

      Even if they were, that doesn't necessarily mean they'd be easily available. It's not much use being legally allowed to do whatever you like with the material if you can't get hold of it in the first place.

    3. Re:Kudos to them by JustOK · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I only buy books and music from authors who publish for free online.

      Maybe I should extend the same policy towards zines?

      How much do you pay for that free stuff?

      --
      rewriting history since 2109
    4. Re:Kudos to them by ppc_digger · · Score: 1

      If it were in the public domain, someone would have collected it and put it online. Google Books comes to mind.

      --
      Of all major operating systems, UNIX is the only one originally meant for gaming.
    5. Re:Kudos to them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Consider getting a subscription?

      This is the reason I just did get a subscription.

      I'm honestly impressed with their company right now, and will support them with my measly $14 a year for this move.

    6. Re:Kudos to them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative

      You probably won't though, will you?

    7. Re:Kudos to them by MartinSchou · · Score: 1

      They are a company. That limits their copyrights not to 'lifetime' but to 50 years.

    8. Re:Kudos to them by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      They are a company. That limits their copyrights not to 'lifetime' but to 50 years.

      Ninety-five years in the USA.

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    9. Re:Kudos to them by mysidia · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Huh? Copyright is what prevents you from making it available or getting ahold of it in the first place.

      Copyright enforcers find unauthorized or unapproved sources and shut them down, so you can't get the material

      If it became public domain, there's little doubt someone would have an archive and be able to make that available, esp. if someone, some time would be willing to pay.

    10. Re:Kudos to them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes! Just yesterday spent ages looking for articles that should be in the public domain, but are impossible to find unless u feel like paying 40U$D + shipping...and this is for someone with access to University archives and libraries.....WTF? If we cant get the info, who the heck can?

      Good job, Popular Science! May other mags follow...

    11. Re:Kudos to them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd only buy it If they used hemp. I'd buy two if it was marijuana.

    12. Re:Kudos to them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I only buy books and music from authors who publish for free online.

      SUCKA! DUMBASS! SHIT-FOR-BRAINS! Hell, there's not enough ways to say how truly stupid you are.

    13. Re:Kudos to them by sophoclesdrf · · Score: 1

      It's easy to blame teachers since they're the ones who arrive to work everyday with the intent of educating children. How many of you have been confronted by the daily "train wreck" that our teachers face everyday? Government Standardized testing has placed so much emphasis on passing them that a narrow set of questions now drive curriculum itself. Students in most failing schools generally come from economically challenged areas and single parent homes where there is little support for learning. Teachers are confronted by many of them everyday doing their best to disrupt and derail a class. These same students also prevent serious students from learning, because after all if takes 20 minutes or more of class time to keep order then how much time does that leave for learning? Many of students simply don't posses the gray matter to learn the required language and math skills set by state standards. and yet all of them are placed on a college track. To place them in an algebra class would be akin to given them manuals written in Chinese just prior to testing them. You can't make a racing horse out of a donkey and sometimes we need to put aside algebra and give some students a hammer and nails. Does this mean that there are no bad teachers? Of course not because there are, but there are far more good ones who receive the same blame. Depending on the school and neighborhood many teachers are brought in under an agreement to earn and are teaching out of field simply because the demand for teachers exceeds the number of people seeking degrees in education. After all who would want an underpaid degree watching the asylums we now call classrooms only to be blamed for the failures of society?

    14. Re:Kudos to them by Skater · · Score: 1

      I'm glad they're doing this. I've been a subscriber for a long time and had quite a few back issues. Recently I decided that it wasn't worth keeping them (along with a couple other magazines) and have been slowly recycling them. It's freeing up a lot of space for books and just reducing general clutter.

  2. Sudden outbreak of common sense by Darkness404 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This should be tagged as sudden outbreak of common sense. The entire point of organized science is to let anyone read, comment and improve upon various theories and publications in science.

    --
    Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
    1. Re:Sudden outbreak of common sense by maxume · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It is popular media, not organized science.

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
    2. Re:Sudden outbreak of common sense by delirium+of+disorder · · Score: 3, Informative

      "The entire point of organized science is to let anyone read"

      Ya, but Popular Science, is about the popularization of existing research, not the nitty gritty of the research itself. Real science--peer review journals--are even more closed off than commercial magazines. Given science's reputation for free inquiry and openness, it's ironic that scientific publications are the last vestige of closed media in an increasingly open society.

      --
      ------ Take away the right to say fuck and you take away the right to say fuck the government.
    3. Re:Sudden outbreak of common sense by lucian1900 · · Score: 1

      There's a reason for that, keeping the uninitiated and/or stupid out of the debate. Spam filtering. While I don't entirely agree with that, it's a fair point to make.

    4. Re:Sudden outbreak of common sense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

      This should be tagged as sudden outbreak of common sense. The entire point of organized science is to let anyone read, comment and improve upon various theories and publications in science.

      Unless of course you have an alternative scientific theory. Then it won't matter that it's based on evidence, that it doesn't need to postulate exotic new forms of matter that have never been directly observed or studied in a laboratory, or that it makes successful predictions months/years in advance where mainstream theorists scratch their heads. Those scientific merits won't matter because you'll be denied funding, denied access to shared resources like large and/or space-based telescopes, and you'll experience scientific censorship in the form of the refusal to publish your papers. Y'know, because the mainstream theorists have no faith in their own ability to point out any errors/flaws in alternative scientific theories or their methodology.

      See: electric universe. As in, try actually studying it and coming to your own conclusions rather than be impressed with the personalities who scoff at it. It's a bit hard to argue with predictions that were made well in advance and later came true.

    5. Re:Sudden outbreak of common sense by Darkness404 · · Score: 1

      Yes, but as history tells us, many important inventions and many important scientists didn't have a formal education with science journals and the like, but rather with the "popular" side of scientists. Look at the aristocrat scientists who simply purchased the "new thing" at the time, and used it to find important discoveries.

      --
      Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
    6. Re:Sudden outbreak of common sense by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 4, Funny

      It should be labeled "Sudden outbreak of common scans"...

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    7. Re:Sudden outbreak of common sense by mhelander · · Score: 1

      Same reason, in other words, that the bible used to be read in Latin to the uneducated spammers...

    8. Re:Sudden outbreak of common sense by CharlyFoxtrot · · Score: 1

      If people keep this up we might have to start referring to the internet as the Information Superhighway again.

      --
      If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
    9. Re:Sudden outbreak of common sense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This should be tagged as sudden outbreak of common sense.

      Gotta love that late 19th century English and the poignant observations on sociological fallacies of the time. I can almost feel the structures of my brain altering and the flow of blood increasing as the language is sinking in through my eyes deprived of stimulating reading for such a long time (no offence, /.). I'd bet just reading the articles increases the readers intelligence.

    10. Re:Sudden outbreak of common sense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Setting up a torrent would have been a sudden outbreak of common sense.

    11. Re:Sudden outbreak of common sense by MaskedSlacker · · Score: 1

      No, no its not. That's the reason for peer review, not the reason for restricting readership. Restricting readership is about money.

    12. Re:Sudden outbreak of common sense by TheTurtlesMoves · · Score: 1

      So why are the open access journals so popular. Why do even the big journals offer open access "page charges" option?

      --
      The Grey Goo disaster happened 3 billion years ago. This rock is covered in self replicating machines!
  3. Desire by OrwellianLurker · · Score: 1

    I now have a desire to subscribe to Popular Science. I may do so in the coming months.

    --
    'Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.' - Mao Tse-tung
    1. Re:Desire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Yeah, but you won't. I can guarantee it. People are much more apt to bitch and moan, and less apt to actually act.

    2. Re:Desire by OrwellianLurker · · Score: 1

      Seeing as how I already have subscriptions to several other magazines, I likely will. I didn't know we were acquainted, Mr. AC. How can you make guarantees without even knowing me?

      --
      'Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.' - Mao Tse-tung
    3. Re:Desire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Pics or it didn't happen.

    4. Re:Desire by jonnat · · Score: 1

      I now have a desire to subscribe to Popular Science. I may do so in the coming months.

      That's right, wait a few months. No one should make the life-changing decision of spending $12 for the one-year subscription in the heat of the moment.

    5. Re:Desire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because you already got the benefit by announcing your intention to do good, and there is no external reward for actually go ahead and *doing* the good deed which would require outlay of non-virtual $$.

      Of course it makes zero difference whether you actually subscribe or not, but it was worth pointing out (by a different AC) because these intentions get announced all the fucking time in the context of stories about artists and publishers making songs and movies available for free download. And often, their posts get modded up. "I have half a mind to buy this artist's albums." Sure you do. It's nauseating.

    6. Re:Desire by Adult+film+producer · · Score: 1

      Your guarantee has just been nullfied as of 8 minutes ago when I ordered two subscribtions to myself and my brother.

      Yes. We will and your cynicism has just be broken.

    7. Re:Desire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because you already got the benefit by announcing your intention to do good, and there is no external reward for actually go ahead and *doing* the good deed which would require outlay of non-virtual $$.

      There's no external reward that you personally are aware of, and even that doesn't imply that he's not going to do it.

      Of course it makes zero difference whether you actually subscribe or not

      It does matter, because the first AC specifically claimed that he wouldn't, and could "guarantee" it as if he knew the guy and wasn't just talking out of his ass. If he subscribes, that proves beyond all possible doubt (whether he comes here with proof of his subscription or not) that the other AC's assumptions were 100% unwarranted. You know this, of course. You're simply uncomfortably aware that while you cannot possibly be proven right in this matter, there is a significant chance that you will be proven utterly wrong, and you're trying to create an escape hatch by downplaying that possibility.

      but it was worth pointing out (by a different AC) because these intentions get announced all the fucking time in the context of stories about artists and publishers making songs and movies available for free download. And often, their posts get modded up. "I have half a mind to buy this artist's albums." Sure you do. It's nauseating.

      In every single one of those posts that you have seen, your inference that the poster is somehow being disingenuous is based entirely on "facts" that are assumed by you, but not actually in evidence.

  4. Download version? by iampiti · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I've taken a look and while it's very nice they put the issues online It'd be nice if you could download them. I haven't found an obvious way to do it. I guess that's the way the google displayed books work

    1. Re:Download version? by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 2, Interesting

      First, click the link to go to the books.google.com view of the article. Then click the "full screen" button. Then use a utility like ScrapBook Plus (for Firefox... there are others around for other browsers) to save the whole thing.

    2. Re:Download version? by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1

      Oops! No, that didn't work after all. I will try a few other things.

    3. Re:Download version? by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1

      Yes, I did find a way but I don't want to advertise it here. If you are a bit clever you can find the images the browser is showing.

    4. Re:Download version? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      jDownloader does what you want to do: http://jdownloader.org/ - just copy the link to Google Books to clipboard and it will automatically scan that URL for images, hitting play than automatically downloads all of them. The program also makes downloads from Rapidshare much less of a hassle and it works on Linux, Mac OS and Windows.

  5. Foresight by TheMeuge · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This shows good sense on the part of the publications' editors and executives. There isn't much market for 130 past years of Popular Science. Bandwidth is cheap. Certainly making this move will get them brownie points. Brownie points mean good press. Brownie points mean more hits on their site... as does the actual archive. More hits on their website + good public image = guaranteed increase in subscriptions. Everyone wins.

    1. Re:Foresight by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Not much market? Hell, if you want to see what popular culture is like in certain times, magazines like this one is a treasure! Check out the magazines of the 30s (depression era), 40s (war era), 50s (cold war introduction)... you just have to read between the lines and you see a wealth of information. The ads alone are a rich source of the mindset of the time.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:Foresight by AuMatar · · Score: 1

      Market != value. Not much market means very few people would want to buy one (and most of those who do want one that's 50 years old, not a modern reprint). That doesn't mean there's no value to it, as you point out there's high value to historians and sociologists.

      --
      I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
    3. Re:Foresight by icebraining · · Score: 3, Informative

      Bandwidth is cheap.

      Especially if Google provides it, as in this case.

      --
      Dilbert RSS feed
    4. Re:Foresight by IdleTime · · Score: 1

      But the solution is ridiculous.

      I did some searches and found it returned hits which when clicked showed the front page of the issue the search word was found in and then you have to wade through to the correct page and use a crappy magnifying glass to read with. What a waste of time and energy gone into this nonsense.

      I can truly say I will never use this feature.

      --
      If you mod me down, I *will* introduce you to my sister!
    5. Re:Foresight by Jeremy+Erwin · · Score: 1

      I first discovered this archive a few days ago when I was reading about prohibition. A bit dry for my taste.

    6. Re:Foresight by Zerth · · Score: 1

      One of my grandparents got me a set of Weekly Readers from the years covering WWII. It was fascinating reading the kind of stuff they gave kids back then. The ads were hilarious, both for pricing and their writing compared to modern ads, and the articles ranged from funny to scary in their datedness and propaganda.

    7. Re:Foresight by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ctrl-Mouse Scroll Up...?

  6. Im trying to find a make your own submarine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    article that was on the cover of one of my father's Pop Sci's from the 60s - can't find it.

    It sucks! I need those plans for my do-it-yourself-on-a-budget-evil-genius-lair-secret-submarines type of stuff. Pop Sci had GREAT articles on James Bond gadgets and things! BUT nothing on hiring henchmen and getting really hot chicks who are willing to walk around half naked and sleep with you until the English secret agent sweeps them off their feet - which isn't a problem because it saves me the time of dumping them and having to creatively kill them when I'm bored with them.

    1. Re:Im trying to find a make your own submarine by Tablizer · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Maybe it was Popular Mechanics in which you remember the roll-your-own sub. I've mixed up memories that I thought were ironclad from several decades ago.

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
    2. Re:Im trying to find a make your own submarine by KuNgFo0 · · Score: 1
      Could this be it?

      By the way, looks like all of the Popular Mechanics issues are on Google Books, too. I had no idea, looks like I'll be killing a few weekends digging through all this great stuff :)

    3. Re:Im trying to find a make your own submarine by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      That poor dude looks cramped as shit. "Build your own sardine can and lock yourself in".

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
    4. Re:Im trying to find a make your own submarine by t_ban · · Score: 1

      My toilet baroque; it's all Bach'd up despite jiggling the Handel.

      are you trying to parody horridly unfunny sigs or something?

      --
      First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win. -Gandhi
    5. Re:Im trying to find a make your own submarine by Isaac-Lew · · Score: 1

      The irony is that they put that hideous piece of crap on the cover instead of the SR-71 Blackbird (on page 59, sorry but I can't figure out how to link it).

      Quote from article: "What's the SR-71 really doing? Again, only God and the Pentagon know, with the usual results".

      Nice.

  7. LIFE Magazine Also? by hduff · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I remember reading through all the bound volumes of Life Magazine in-between classes as an undergrad. That gave me a better sense of 20th century American history than anything I ever read in grade school. It would be wonderful for Time-Life to do the same as Popular Science.

    --
    "I believe in Karma. That means I can do bad things to people all day long and I assume they deserve it." : Dogbert
    1. Re:LIFE Magazine Also? by allan_q · · Score: 1

      It would be wonderful for Time-Life to do the same as Popular Science.

      LIFE did it through Google Books also. They have it from 1936 to 1972. Check out the one they did on Apollo 11.

    2. Re:LIFE Magazine Also? by spydabyte · · Score: 3, Insightful

      LIFE already did: http://books.google.com/books/serial/7FQEAAAAMBAJ?rview=1

      Oh and here's the best view for all the Popular Science "Books": http://books.google.com/books/serial/CzwEAAAAMBAJ?rview=1

    3. Re:LIFE Magazine Also? by voodoowizard · · Score: 1

      Thank you very much!! I was wondering how to search em out that way. Just never spent the time to figure it out.

    4. Re:LIFE Magazine Also? by Reziac · · Score: 1

      Coolness, thanks... now how do I get it to display from oldest to newest??

      --
      ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
  8. Flying cars are coming soon! by madirad · · Score: 1

    The 1933 article on flying cars is wonderful. The article describes the general plan for a flying car infrastructure - using a lot of rubber - for flying cars - which use steam power. I would love to know what ever happened to these plans because it sounds like a sure thing from the tone of the article.

    1. Re:Flying cars are coming soon! by Tablizer · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The articles tend to hype stuff and leave out or fail to check for a lot of impracticalities. Few would buy the mag if they were quick to dent dreams. Current IT magazines do the same, and PHB's believe it and force their staff to adopt Agile Goat-Assisted Blindfolded Underwater Programming, etc. After 137 years, nothing's changed.

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
    2. Re:Flying cars are coming soon! by AuMatar · · Score: 3, Funny

      NOOOOOOOO!! My manager walked by when I was reading your comment. He's putting in a request for a dozen goats as we speak.

      --
      I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
    3. Re:Flying cars are coming soon! by red456 · · Score: 1

      i searched for 'atom' and the first article was from the early 50s envisaging the first atomic planes (which will be ready by 1960 - and atomic jets by 1980). they'll transmit power by pumping liquid metal to the propellors - and thus will have to be drained at the end of flight. flying wings as well. simply incredible

    4. Re:Flying cars are coming soon! by JustOK · · Score: 2, Funny

      Have him contact my company. We don't sell goats, but we do sell scapes, a very important accessory for the rising manager.

      --
      rewriting history since 2109
    5. Re:Flying cars are coming soon! by Hurricane78 · · Score: 1

      See it like this: At least you will have milk when the world comes to an end. ;)

      --
      Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
    6. Re:Flying cars are coming soon! by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      uh, they're male goats

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
    7. Re:Flying cars are coming soon! by MaskedSlacker · · Score: 1

      Then you'll have something else instead.

    8. Re:Flying cars are coming soon! by u38cg · · Score: 1

      Huh. That's nothing, we got a visit from the company nurse after the boss misheard that we needed some eunuchs programmers.

      --
      [FUCK BETA]
  9. The pirate bay had already freed it by syousef · · Score: 0

    ....at least for more recent issues, and in a less clunky downloadable form. Of course there is that small issue of legality but when are people going to learn that horrible searchable online interfaces really don't give you any advantage (EXCEPT the ability to pull access).

    Sorry but I'm just not so easily impressed.

    --
    These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
  10. Allergic to EM by SolidAltar · · Score: 1

    I lost absolutely any remaining respect for Pop Sci when they posted "The Man Who Was Allergic to Radio Waves" on their front page.
    Absolutely no testing, research, or proof about this man's fantastic story wasn't just all in his head (which it is).

    Shame on you Pop Sci. I used to subscribe to this crap.

    1. Re:Allergic to EM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's why it's called "Popular Science" and not just "Science"

      It's the Britney Spears to Science's Mozart. They may be out to titillate and make a buck, but they're still talking about science. My take on that article (I am a scientist) is that they're exploring this aspect of popular culture and point out specific (real) research areas that are being worked on. They don't quote scientists out of context, they don't demonize scientists, they're not skeptical of the "true intentions" of scientists. I would much rather have a magazine like that looking at popular science.

    2. Re:Allergic to EM by Aldenissin · · Score: 1

      I agree they had a crappy editor so I did not renew last year. However, how do YOU know it is all in his head? Are you saying there is no way on earth that it could be based on something real? Science is not perfect, the whole world has believed things that eventually science was able to prove earlier science wrong.

      --
      Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.
  11. Free by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    BSD

  12. The period ads by istartedi · · Score: 4, Informative

    I bet the period advertisements alone will be priceless.

    As much as we hate advertising on the web, there is definitely something to be said for ads as a window into history.

    With so much content being dynamicly generated, we won't have period ads like we did with print.

    Embedded advertising could solve this, and it wouldn't be a problem if it were done as still images and text analagous to a printed ad. Of course, online advertisers seem to have a habit of shooting themselves in the foot in this regard--the temptation to introduce obtrusive ads just ups the ante in the arms race.

    Reading ads from pop sci might tell you that Ford has been in business for over 100 years. Reading web pages archived from today will tell you nothing of the sort. The ad will either be fetched and dynamicly generated (and thus be non-period) or it will be edited out by the archiver.

    --
    For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
    1. Re:The period ads by allan_q · · Score: 1

      As much as we hate advertising on the web, there is definitely something to be said for ads as a window into history.

      It's definitely a window into history. 10 years ago you could use ordinary batteries in your cell phones. You don't see these ads anymore.

    2. Re:The period ads by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      As much as we hate advertising on the web, there is definitely something to be said for ads as a window into history.

      It's definitely a window into history. 10 years ago you could use ordinary batteries in your cell phones. You don't see these ads anymore.

      Hell, I saw those things 15+ years ago. While not exactly a cellphone powered by ordinary batteries, it was a battery case that held ordinary batteries you could use instead of your recharable battery. Meant for emergency use, and back in the days of AMPS where standby time was 2 or 3 days on a fresh battery and you had a 2 hour tops talk time. Of course the battery holders lasted longer (AA's have a huge capacity), but then again, the batteries were bigger. You wouldn't want to use it for regular usage, as a set of 6 AA's that maybe lasted up to a week would get expensive quick.

  13. The article you were looking for... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    was a 1974 cover of... Popular *Mechanics*, with an illustration of a Moller M400 taking off from someone's driveway.

  14. A nice start by houghi · · Score: 2, Informative

    But all you can do now is do a search. Only then you can select something you found and browse the magazine. It would be nice to be able to go to a certain issue and start browsing.
    And all they need to do is index the IDs.

    --
    Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    1. Re:A nice start by houghi · · Score: 4, Informative

      Seems there is a way and much better interface to use http://books.google.com/books?id=qR8DAAAAMBAJ which will point to the first issue. Great using the full-screen ability of your browser and see two pages next to each other.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
  15. Format? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So, is it a collection of JPEGs? Single PDF document for each issue? What format is it!?

    (No I didn't RTFA - this is Slashdot)

    1. Re:Format? by icebraining · · Score: 2, Informative

      Google Books. No download link at sight.

      --
      Dilbert RSS feed
    2. Re:Format? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As png. Check your browser's cache. In fedora + firefox it's on ~/.mozilla/firefox/cache

      got the info from a google search

  16. July 1873 ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... contains a wonderful description of nebulae, including some fantastic drawings of "spiral nebulae." Pre-Hubble astronomy for the win!

  17. 137 by physburn · · Score: 0

    A good ammount for scientists to celebrate, its the inverse of the fine structure constant, the strength of the electromagnetism. History of Science Feed @ Feed Distiller

  18. Breakthroughs by MartinSchou · · Score: 5, Informative

    Relativity: June, 1914, page 434
    Quantum mechanics: February 1927, page 22
    Atomic bomb: October 1945, page 80
    Integrated circuits: September 1966, page 96

    1. Re:Breakthroughs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Atomic bomb: October 1945, page 80

      "On August 5th 1945, an atomic explosion occurred within an annihilation bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Popular Science Monthly has looked forward to such a scientific triumph for many years..."

      Anyone else appalled by the lack of humanity in this article?

    2. Re:Breakthroughs by Zonnald · · Score: 1

      Dare I... Climate Change: http://www.popsci.com.au/archive-viewer?id=BSQDAAAAMBAJ&pg=242&query=climate

    3. Re:Breakthroughs by Threni · · Score: 2, Insightful

      A breakthrough would be the ability to download the whole thing and flick through them at my leisure, rather than this bizarre `search for a keyword` nonsense.

    4. Re:Breakthroughs by slashqwerty · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Atomic bomb: October 1945, page 80

      "On August 5th 1945, an atomic explosion occurred within an annihilation bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Popular Science Monthly has looked forward to such a scientific triumph for many years..."

      Anyone else appalled by the lack of humanity in this article?

      That is a sign of the times. We had just ended the war with Germany and Italy. The atomic bombings were meant to end the war with Japan--the nation that launched the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and brought the United States into the war. An estimated 60 million people died because of World War II. Two-thirds of those 60 million were civilians. Japan was responsible for the Nanking Massacre which did not endear them any sympathy.

      Entire cities were firebombed during the war. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs were less destructive than many firebombings that had occurred in the preceding years. The effects of radiation were not yet well-known to the general public. More powerful nuclear weapons had not yet been developed and the ramifications of nuclear war had not yet set in.

      I also doubt it was the weapon they looked forward to, so much as the ability to use nuclear energy.

    5. Re:Breakthroughs by lawpoop · · Score: 1

      The article on Relativity describes the ether as an 'imaginary medium' on page 2. I didn't know that the reality of ether was suspect at the time. My education in the history of science up until this point was misleading :)

      --
      Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
      -- Pablo Picasso
    6. Re:Breakthroughs by elistan · · Score: 1

      This link from Google won't allow you to download the entire thing, but it'll allow you to browse through individual issues.

      http://books.google.com/books?id=qR8DAAAAMBAJ

    7. Re:Breakthroughs by Jeremy+Erwin · · Score: 1

      The author attacks Einstein for

      abandon[ing] the hypothesis of an ether without furnishing a satisfactory substitute for this hypothesis. As has been previously stated, the very experiment which the relativity theory seeks to explain depends on interference phenomena which are only satisfactorily accounted for on the the hypothesis of an ether

      source

      For a different perspective, try Ether and the Theory of Relativity

    8. Re:Breakthroughs by noidentity · · Score: 1

      Maybe it's just my browser, but I tried a few of those links and they don't go to articles about what is mentioned. One was about preventing your car from rusting, and another about cars too. Oh well.

    9. Re:Breakthroughs by Joey+Vegetables · · Score: 1

      Pearl Harbor was a "surprise" only to those unaware that the U.S. Navy was already engaged in blocking access to oil and other supplies from southeast Asia. There is no excusing Japanese behavior during the war (particularly toward China), but, nonetheless, Pearl Harbor was neither a surprise attack, nor unprovoked. Well before it occurred, events had been set into motion that made war inevitable. The poor state of readiness at Pearl was well-documented and inexcusable, and greatly contributed to loss of life there. The ignorance, arrogance, callousness, and hatefulness of ALL sides in the resulting conflict, and the bogus "justifications" given for the above by all sides, are a sad testament to the fact that the greatest threat that humanity has ever faced, far greater than any natural disaster or famine or earthquake or hurricane or even all of them combined, is humanity itself. Unless human nature changes, or we learn to control it, mass murders masquerading as "wars" will continue and will become increasingly destructive and horrific.

      --

      Nonaggression works!
  19. National Geographic by future+assassin · · Score: 1

    5 years ago I scored 100's of NG magazine from CL for free dating back to the 60's. I love going through them (still am) and finding out about electronics/cars I never knew existed.

    --
    by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
    1. Re:National Geographic by fm6 · · Score: 1

      You can get every single issue on DVD for about $80. If I'd had that set when I was a kid...

      As for the Popular Science archive: the mind simply boggles. Geek heaven!

    2. Re:National Geographic by Reziac · · Score: 1

      Interesting... did you buy it? Am wondering about the format used, if it's searchable or indexed by issue/year, and whether it insists on installing DRM or some such nonsense. Doesn't seem like a bad deal otherwise, and certainly more space-effective than all that paper... tho not as handy for portable reading, obviously.

      --
      ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
    3. Re:National Geographic by fm6 · · Score: 1

      Naw, I'm not into that thing anymore. I doubt that it's searchable beyond article titles (if that). Digitizing that much text would be way too expensive. Only Google, which can use its huge ad revenues to subsidize all kind of unprofitable project, can afford to do things like that.

    4. Re:National Geographic by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      Interesting... did you buy it? Am wondering about the format used, if it's searchable or indexed by issue/year, and whether it insists on installing DRM or some such nonsense. Doesn't seem like a bad deal otherwise, and certainly more space-effective than all that paper... tho not as handy for portable reading, obviously.

      Well, the DRM is that it's only readable by the Adobe Air application it's written in, but there is functionality to copy the DVD to a hard disk so you can read it without swapping DVDs.

      It's supposed to be searchable, but it's also browsable as-is by year/issue.

      Just FYI - you might want to search your local retail store for it - it can be cheaper there. It's everywhere and everyone selling software practically carries it. I overpaid when I bought it though Amazon and it was cheaper at my local Best Buy.

    5. Re:National Geographic by dissy · · Score: 1

      Only Google, which can use its huge ad revenues to subsidize all kind of unprofitable project, can afford to do things like that.

      I don't think it is limited to just Google who can afford such things. I think it is more the Google mindset that opened the door for this to happen.

      I mean, Microsoft can more than afford to do it, and they are even known for using their income from profitable areas (Windows, Office) to pay for unprofitable ones (Xbox, Zune)
      I just can't see Microsoft not doing something just for brownie points. Thou they have seemingly been slowly changing.

      IBM could also no doubt afford to do it. These days they have a much more open mindset than Microsoft, and even the past IBM. I could almost see IBM doing this too. Or at least lets say I would not be at all surprised if IBM did, but not that I would expect them to.

      No money isn't the main issue. Some things take a company like Google and their vision for our future.

      I wish more people could see that and would give them props where they are due.

      Of course even more so than Google are props to Popular Science for sharing that vision and making the first moves for this to happen.

    6. Re:National Geographic by Reziac · · Score: 1

      Thanks for the info. Yeah, I'd be price-shopping if I decide to buy it... once in a while this sort of thing comes into Sam's Club or Costco too, at about half retail. I'll keep an eye out. :)

      --
      ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
    7. Re:National Geographic by fm6 · · Score: 1

      It isn't simply a matter of having the cash lying around. As you point out, Microsoft and a lot of other companies have the cash, but as publicly-held companies, they don't have the freedom to spend it any way they want. It doesn't matter how profitable you are, if Wall Street becomes convinced that you're "under-performing", some hedge fund will buy up your shares and force a change in management. Or worse: it's not uncommon to see companies dissolved and their businesses sold off because of some theoretical improvement in profit margins.

      The two guys who founded Google, Page and Brin, were intensely aware of this phenomenon, and determined to prevent it. That's why Google put off having an IPO until long after they became Wall Street's darling. When they finally did start selling shares to the public, the offering was structured so that holders of Class A could outvote holders of all the other shares. And guess who owns most of the Class A share? Brin, Page, and their CEO, Schmidt.

      You might see that in terms of a "vision of the future". I see it as a way of running the company so that they can work on technology they think is kewl without worrying about whether any given project will ever turn a profit. And yeah, it does produce a lot of technological innovation. But it also means that Google is run without a lot of discipline or responsibility. The result is a lot of poorly designed, poorly documented products that never really leave beta mode.

  20. 137 years, and now... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... 137 i7 B€ r33 !

  21. Are they including the naked girl in the sauna? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's the issue I remember most.

    1. Re:Are they including the naked girl in the sauna? by Jeremy+Erwin · · Score: 1

      seems tasteful enough Perhaps the archive was retouched.

    2. Re:Are they including the naked girl in the sauna? by MaskedSlacker · · Score: 1

      Nah, you've just been spoiled by an internet full of porn.

  22. Excellent service! by froogger · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I particularly like that they hyperlinked the split articles for ease of reading. Remember when magazines used to have a "(Continued on page 80)" at the end? Well, they've thought of that, and kudos for the extra effort!

  23. yeah, cause there is nothing like 137yo science of by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    hammering

  24. Popular Electronics? by butlerm · · Score: 1

    As nice as this is, I would be so much more excited if the owners of rights to Popular Electronics did this.

    1. Re:Popular Electronics? by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      I'll second your wish for Popular Electronics, although I think that Radio-Electronics was a better magazine.

      --
      Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
  25. Well, there goes that collection. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I have every issue since 1971, in boxes.

    Was thinking of selling it, since it's taking up a lot of space... but now, I guess, whatever value it might have had, just went out the window.

    *shrug*

    Recycle time.

  26. "Can We Harness Nuclear Fusion in the '70s?" by ewg · · Score: 1

    Forget flying cars, where's my fusion reactor?: Can We Harness Nuclear Fusion in the '70s?

    --
    org.slashdot.post.SignatureNotFoundException: ewg
  27. Bring on National Geographic! by WinstonWolfIT · · Score: 0

    Ah but to see those topless primitives again...

  28. Great Move! by nurb432 · · Score: 1

    Lets hope other magazines follow suit with their 'archives'. Now i can finally get rid of my 10 boxes of old PS paper copies.

    --
    ---- Booth was a patriot ----
  29. How about the 10s? by Yergle143 · · Score: 1

    That ad for a pair of super advanced Gremlins intermingled with Teller's bold prediction kind of says it all.

  30. You already have downloaded them. by John+Hasler · · Score: 3, Insightful

    > It'd be nice if you could download them.

    If you are viewing them you already have downloaded them: they're right there on your computer. You just haven't figured out how to save them to disk.

    --
    Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
    1. Re:You already have downloaded them. by HiVizDiver · · Score: 1

      > It'd be nice if you could download them.

      If you are viewing them you already have downloaded them: they're right there on your computer. You just haven't figured out how to save them to disk.

      Actually, you have figured out how to save them to disk; you just may not know where they are. ;-)

    2. Re:You already have downloaded them. by iampiti · · Score: 1

      Well, I already knew that. The pages might be downloaded as image files on the browser's cache or they might be only on its memory or whatever...but what I meant is that they don't seem to provide an easy and/or obvious way to get the content downloaded to a file on your pc. I just wanted a "Download this issue" button.

    3. Re:You already have downloaded them. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Chances are they've also probably been saved to disk in the browser's cache.

  31. DVD version. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is a nice move from a former subscriber. I'd like them to do what National Geographic did with theirs and put it on DVD.

  32. Paul Moller - total crackpot by H0NGK0NGPH00EY · · Score: 1, Troll
    More specifically, search for Paul Moller.

    July 1967

    If you have the urge to make like a Martian, you may get your wish. This is the goal of Paul S. Moller, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, who wants to develop low-cost ($4,000 and up) flying saucers for personal transportation. After installing new engines in his first machine [PS, July '66], Moller recently made a series of successful test flights a few feet off the ground. With a second, eight-foot-diameter, single-engine craft, demonstrated a few weeks ago, he hopes to acheive real flying-saucer altitudes.

    March 1987 (advertisement)

    For the past three decades, Moller International has been studying VTOL aircraft from every angle, in an effort to engineer the first VTOL aircraft that is safe to operate, inexpensive to manufacture, and economical to maintain. This advanced technology has finally been developed and will soon be available, in the form of the two-passenger Merlin 200.

    January 2005

    Last August one of the longest-anticipated feats of flight since the moon landing took place in a grassy field in Davis, California. As a small crowd looked on, a red Batmobile-like vehicle shuddered, lurched, and rose a few feet into the air, its eight 50hp rotary engines screaming like hornets. After a few minutes, the craft settled into the ground.

    The event might not have seemed like much—it could hardly even be called a flight—but it represented a milestone that inventor Paul Moller, a 67-year-old Canadian, had been promising journalists and investors for more than a decade.

    Yeah, a little bit more than a decade, all right. What a crackpot.

    --
    Do not read this sig.
  33. Garbage! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I don't want to search, I want to download them all as PDFs, where is that option, nowhere?

    You need javascript and/or plugins enabled? GARBAGE! I want them in a format I can download and share, since they are free, right?

    Why do people insist upon over complicating every little thing! Just make them available for download and worry about searching through them later. Or is this about AD revenue?

    You will not suck my e-tits for revenue, forget you!

  34. Nuclear Powered Airplane by Nom+du+Keyboard · · Score: 1

    I've got to go back and hunt down the issue about the Russians having a Nuclear Powered Airplane, and that we were going to have our own in 18 months.

    --
    "It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
    1. Re:Nuclear Powered Airplane by the_other_chewey · · Score: 1

      I've got to go back and hunt down the issue about the Russians having a Nuclear Powered Airplane, and that we were going to have our own in 18 months.

      Well, the US military at least in fact had the technology: Project Pluto.
      They just never flew it, because it would have irradiated large amounts of land. A rare victory for common sense at the time.

  35. browsing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Too bad you can't actually BROWSE them...only search for keywords

  36. nothing short of awesome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Great magazine. As a faded mid-40 year-older they provided me with great stuff pre-computer and continue to be a great resource.

    I am so glad they are being cool about sharing their past for free. THANK YOU!

  37. Blimp Renaissances? by dorpus · · Score: 1

    How many issues of Popular Science predict that a renaissance in blimp transport will happen "soon"? Seriously, it seems like they have posted the same article every year for the past 70 years or so.

  38. 40 Years Ago... by rocketPack · · Score: 1

    40 years ago GM debuted a working plug-in hybrid... according to the magazine, the engineers were "not waiting for a breakthrough" and it "could be built today."
    WTF happened???
    http://www.popsci.com/archive-viewer?id=FyoDAAAAMBAJ&pg=86&query=hybrid

  39. 1872: 128 pages long, a handful of illustrations by marciot · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Oh how things have changed. The first issue from May 1872 has 128 pages of closely packed text and only a few scattered illustrations. I wonder if all magazines were like that in 1872 -- I get the impression that Playboy magazine wouldn't have been much fun back then.

  40. Sucks by kimvette · · Score: 1

    If you browse too many issues too quickly (I was using thumbnail view to quickly look for ads and articles I remember from reading my dad's subscription in the late 70s/early 80s) you'll encounter this:

    We're sorry... ... but your computer or network may be sending automated queries. To protect our users, we can't process your request right now.

    Why they (google) don't display a captcha when you get to that point is beyond me. It seems silly to make thousands of magazines available with thumbnail views of entire issues, then block a user after viewing about 10.

    Another thing:

    Remember the Synchronar/sunwatch ads? The hovercraft and hybrid car (run your car off four car batteries, a generator, and a lawnmower engine!) ads in the back? Remember the various DAK Industries ads (I STILL want the graphic equalizer they used to peddle)?

    --
    The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
  41. Discover Magazine by rwa2 · · Score: 1

    I've always enjoyed Discover Magazine more than PopSci or PopMech. While the latter have more fantastic and sensational pictures, I like the more detailed articles and writing style of Discover... I'd almost liken it to the difference between Time magazine vs. US News & World Report (OK, maybe not THAT bad, but it feels like that sometimes).

    http://discovermagazine.com/
    The archives only go back a few decades, so not as much historical interest as PopSci's archives. But my world view was probably more impacted.

  42. 137 by Keebler71 · · Score: 1

    I'm surprised that no one has pointed out that they did this on their 137th year.... 137 is among the most interesting numbers in physics...I'm surprised that no one has pointed this out yet... I seriously doubt it was a coincidence

    --
    "It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance." - Thomas Sowell