2002 – 2006retired
EMac
“Built for classrooms, shaped like a friendly toaster, gone but never graded down”
“Sorted by hand, ranked by love, promoted to Zealot in all our hearts.”
Zeal was a volunteer-built web directory launched in 1999 by Brian Goler and Kevin Berk, then acquired by LookSmart in October 2000 for $20 million. It paired paid editors working on commercial sites with volunteers who profiled websites and arranged them into hierarchies of subcategories. Those categories and profiles fed search companies like MSN, Lycos, and Altavista for use in their own systems.
Volunteers climbed a ladder of exams and responsibilities — from Community Member to Zealot to Expert Zealot — earning tools and oversight as they went, even adopting and creating categories of special interest. On March 28, 2006, the doors closed. What it left behind was proof that an internet of passionate amateurs, working under shared Guidelines, could organize the web better than an algorithm alone.
Spotted something wrong? Every fact on this page traces to a dated source. Fixes make the graveyard better for everyone.
“Built for classrooms, shaped like a friendly toaster, gone but never graded down”
“The colorful laptop with a handle, gone but still opening like a lunchbox in our hearts”
“White plastic, big heart: the people's Mac went home smiling.”