Rent v innovation pt 2

Having complained about software companies' arbitrary and self-serving redefinition of what it is to buy a product, I wanted to reflect on the alternatives. I work from home as a freelance writer, so I have more choice about the software I use than the average corporate bod. I also have to pay for it for...

Why work for nothing (2)?

In the second part of this series I'll be looking at how the internet has put a new pressure on ideas of ownership and value. The internet has a fundamental affinity with the idea of "free". It was not created for profit, but by the US military and the academic world to enable collaboration, and...

The best writing tools

This blog is mostly about pretty high minded things, but it can’t hurt occasionally to deviate into the practical. I make my living as a commercial writer. I’m old enough to remember typewriters, and though I had one at college I hated using it. Correcting mistakes (and I made a lot of mistakes) was just...