UK: Gowers report on Intellectual Property out now

The Gowers Review of Intellectual Property report (700KB PDF) was released today. I’ll comment on this when I’ve given it a read through; at 150 pages it might take me a while. It’s also worth emphasising that the report provides “recommendations” that carry no legal weight or binding, at least as far as I’m aware. As such, the British government is free to — and probably will — ignore most or all of it. Feel free to call me cynical!

Veer: The Skinny: My little (headless) pony?

My little (headless) pony?. Hasbro’s FurReal Friends Butterscotch Pony “…comes unassembled in box with head detached. You may wish to not open the box around your children if they may be frightened by a box with a decapitated horse inside.”

howies® partners with Timberland

howies® partners with Timberland. My favourite Welsh clothing company announced today that they’re partnering with Timberland. They seem pretty happy with the deal so Timberland must be a decent, ethical company. Here’s hoping it’ll be long and fruitful union.

Proof Copy Errors Before They Catch You

The Art of Business: Catch Those Errors Before They Catch You. As someone who’s worked in the print industry, I think this article on proofreading gives some excellent tips. Like it or not, if there are errors in the copy text the client will blame you, regardless of whose fault it actually is.

OpenDocument Now Published ISO Standard

OpenDocument Now Published ISO Standard. This is the word processing document format used by OpenOffice which aims to break the format lock-in of the mighty Microsoft Office. By achieving ISO certification it can now be implemented into any software product without royalties. It’s a small step, but hopefully it’ll help wider adoption and convince organisations and governments that they should store their documents in this format, rather than Microsoft’s proprietary document.

Are green magazine covers cursed?

Are green magazine covers cursed? Interesting article on the superstition that a green-coloured magazine cover will kill your sales.

OS X disk image vulnerability debunked

OS X disk image vulnerability debunked. Alastair J. Houghton shows exactly how security research should be done by providing a thorough analysis of the recently highlighted Apple OS X disk image (DMG) vulnerability. He proves that it doesn’t overwrite any memory and therefore can’t result in kernel-mode arbitrary code execution by unprivileged users. Exceptional (heh) work!

Granularity for students – lifehack.org

Granularity for students – lifehack.org: (via BoingBoing)

Granularity is a tremendously useful strategy for students. The typical spiral-bound student-planner doesn’t seem to encourage it; that tool is often little more than a place to store due dates: “research paper due.” But no one can just write a research paper. That paper can only be the result of numerous small-scale tasks. It’s not surprising that students who think of “write research paper” as one monolithic task are likely to put it off far longer than they ought to.