The Times They Are, Uh, Changing

The New York Times last week removed the "paywall" which meant that articles appearing in their TimesSelect section were accessible only to paid subscribers. The decision to remove the financial imperative from the equation makes not only economic sense, but means free access to a wealth of information. From the first mention of the Internet in February 1993 — at which times it was described as being created "[to make] available physicists' research from many locations" — to the original article announcing the Lincoln assassination (pictured right), the freeing of NYT means that more people now have more access to more information than ever before. Also, now you don't have to pay to read Op-Ed pieces from Maureen Dowd. See also the Times' own article on the tearing down of the 'wall.