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A L S O__T O D A Y Trashing the flamers By Mike Godwin An online civil libertarian discovers the proper uses of "censorware" software filters - - - - - - - - - - T A B L E__T A L K Netscape vs. Internet Explorer: The battle of the browsers continues in the Digital Culture area of Table Talk - - - - - - - - - - R E C E N T L Y Let's Get This Straight By Scott Rosenberg Hacker heaven, editors' hell: The New Republic's bogus article reveals a chasm of cluelessness (05/14/98) Post no shills By Scott Rosenberg With its new Web cartoon, "Super Postal Workers," has the USPS lost its mind? (05/14/98) The dumbing-down of programming By Ellen Ullman Part Two: Returning to the source. Once knowledge disappears into code, how do we retrieve it? (05/13/98) When you just can't stop clicking By Lori Leibovich "Caught in the Net" offers melodramatic tales from "Internet addicts" (05/13/98) The dumbing-down of programming By Ellen Ullman Part one: Rebelling against Microsoft and its wizards, an engineer rediscovers the joys of difficult computing (05/12/98) - - - - - - - - - - BROWSE THE 21ST CHALLENGE ARCHIVES - - - - - - - - - - _______

BY CHARLIE VARON AND JIM ROSENAU | Responding to criticism that computer programs lack soul, the Software Publishers Association today announced that beginning in 1999, all software titles will devote 1 percent of their disk space to art. We invite you to submit your ideas for art (visual or otherwise -- music, poetry, you name it) that should be included. Tell us what program each piece would accompany. Up to two submissions per entrant, each 100 words or less. - - - - - - - - - - - - E X A M P L E S Software Program: Turbo Tax Medium: Photography/Animation Description: After Turbo Tax has finished printing your federal tax return, a fine-art photo appears of your Form 1040 immersed in a glass of what may or may not be urine. The program zooms in on your return to display your total tax liability, as an accompanying caption reads: "Did you get soaked?" Software Program: Microsoft Internet Explorer Medium: Visual art Description: In between Web page downloads, IE will present a rotating slide show of Great Masters paintings and historical photographs, the rights to which belong to Bill Gates' Corbis Corporation. After viewing each work on display, users are asked whether they wish to purchase a reproduction for home use. - - - - - - - - - - - - R U L E S Send your submissions via e-mail only to salon21st@salonmagazine.com.Please include your full name and an accurate e-mail address so we can contact you if you're a winner. By submitting your entry you give Salon permission to publish it. Deadline for entries is May 22, 1998. The winning response this round will receive a copy of Ellen Ullman's book, "Close to the Machine," winner of a Salon Book Award for 1997. In two weeks we'll publish a winner and some selected entries -- then start over a couple weeks after that with a whole new challenge. SALON | May 15, 1998 Charlie Varon is a humorist and playwright. His works include "Ralph Nader Is Missing" and "Rush Limbaugh in Night School." Jim Rosenau is a writer, editor and software designer in Berkeley, Calif. Jim and Charlie are also co-founders of the citizen group Californians for Earthquake Prevention and partners in Mockingbird Productions, which offers a full line of comic services.