Sounding more like a scene from Terry Gilliam's movie, the British government is running a commercial on one of England's most popular radio stations which encourages Londoners to report their neighbours as terrorists if they use cash, enjoy their privacy, or even close their curtains. Just be sure to fill out a 27b/6.

With this gallery, Wired.com brings to attention the Game Over 3 Exhibition, featuring artworks inspired by classic videogames like Street Fighter and Ms. Pac-Man from dozens of illustrators, painters, cartoonists, artists and game designers.

David Cole of Georgetown Law was among the first professors in the Washington region to ban laptops for most of his students, compelling them to take notes the way their parents did: on paper. A few are selected to use them to take notes, which others may then borrow.

Cracked.com asks: are some games intentionally designed to keep you compulsively playing, even when you're not enjoying it? Oh, hell yes, it answers, and their methods are downright creepy. (via gamejester)

A quarter century ago, Windows wasn't everywhere. In fact, some were doubtful it would ever ship at all. And Tandy Trower was there. In this article, Trower recounts the inside story of his experience in transforming Windows from vapour-ware into a product that has left an unmistakable imprint on the world, 25 years after it was first released.

If music executives sold bottled water, they'd be calling for a ban on tapwater downloads at home as unfair competition. Yet the bottled water industry should have been their model. It got away with charging us lots of money for a product that was no better than free tapwater through clever marketing.

There are some books that will bore you to tears. Books that are a waste of time just sitting there on the shelf. But you have to read them, because they are relevant, or because they help you understand things, or because just because. This series of articles looks at some of these books. This instalment: Silmarillion

Cheap computers, readily available broadband and increasingly easier to use interfaces also means the experience has become more and more instant. There is no learning curve, no sense of being 'new' and the humility that brings. Frankly, without wanting to sound hateful, it also means the bar has been lowered beyond a point where people we wouldn't invite to a party can now join in without restriction or buffer to help them, or force them, to spend time to adapt to their new surroundings.

There are some books that will bore you to tears. Books that are a waste of time just sitting there on the shelf. But you have to read them, because they are relevant, or because they help you understand things, or because just because. This series of articles looks at some of these books. This instalment: Anne Frank's diary.

I began to complain lately that I hadn't done any writing. It's true, I haven't. But the problem was not just a matter of having writer's block or that I couldn't figure what to write. After a long day, sitting in front of a computer and trying to write something was the last thing on my mind. And so no writing got done because it was far easier to just complain about it. It's kind of like complaining that you never win the lottery when you never actually go out and buy a ticket. Here's what I'm doing about it to change that.

I play Dungeons & Dragons. I admit it. I love it. Besides; it was my love of games and my interaction with the game's inventor (Gary Gygax, RIP old bear), whom I was proud to call a friend for a while, that made me go into multi-media. This week (and the week before, and the week before...) my group couldn't get together. So, instead I played with Photoshop. The result is rather D&D-ish... but I like it.

First and foremost, Basil Baxter (who Loves You) wishes to address some personal grievances. Basil Baxter (who Loves You) has noted with mounting displeasure that, despite claims to the contrary by your extensive PR department, you apparently do not, in fact, read all letters sent to you.

Despite the title of this piece and its resemblance to what I hear is an intriguing movie about a child prodigy, this is not about chess. This is about a quest to meet an aging glam rocker.