This post from Lifehacker is a must-click. Virtually every bit of freeware you really need to concern yourself with is here. Free your desktop!
Once again, J Chambley and I have collaborated on another project: we contributed to decade, a "digital quilt" writing project by Simon Mills and Sue Thomas and done under the aegis of trAce, the UK-based online writing center (or "centre" if you prefer). We chose to submit a triptych based on how collaboration changes in the past, present, and future of digital communication (each panel is subtitled "manner," "matter," and "manipulation," respectively). Freaky! You can check out our contribution starting here.
I've been sitting on this post for a while, so the news is either stale or well seasoned--I'll leave it to my gentle readers to judge. The Bible of old-school compositionists everywhere, Elements of Style, has undergone some rather unorthodox remediations of late. This NPR story spells it out: not only is there a new illustrated edition of the style manual available for aspiring writers, but also a S&W-inspired song cycle...and there's a full-on opera in the works. I'm sure there's a composition course to be designed around these curiosities.
