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So what exactly is the "open source" brand?

What does "open source" mean to you?

Luxury beer

Champagne is not the "be all and end all" of luxury drinks. Those of you with a yearning for a special occasion tipple can also add beer to your list of beverages. The top two beers cost about 78 euros and 67 euros per pint respectively. Phew, it makes Jimmy'z look cheap.

Would you like Krug or Dom Perignon?

That's the question you'll be asked if you book a first class ticket with Singapore Airlines, ranked 2nd in the list of World's Best First Class airline experiences. Top of the list is Qatar Airways. Despite the luxury price tags attached to first class air travel, one expert states that "it's not a major source of revenue", more of a marketing tool.

Action librarian

I had a hearty laugh at this action figure I found while browsing the Internet the other day. The "shushing librarian" is available in a basic or superior model, and it's based on a real life person. Contrary to the popular stereotype, there are many librarians who allow you to chat in your library, as long as you don't disturb other users.

Beware what you share

A recent news item reports that a company has had to pay a $300,000 fine because it distributed copyrighted press clippings internally. The company "disseminated copies of relevant magazine and newspaper articles in the good faith belief that it was lawful to do so", but unfortunately, ignorance of the law did not protect them.

The end for 'fair use'?

Copyright laws were first introduced with provision for fair use - a limited ability to copy for education, art and critique. The United States and Korea have released the draft text of their free trade agreement and it completely eliminates these fair use provisions. Erosion of copyright law in this way is a worrying trend that threatens educational resources.

First, open book exams. Now this...

BBC's technology correspondent Bill Thompson shares some personal thoughts about how student assessment is changing. Are we really assessing a student's ability when we isolate them from everyday resources like the Internet? From the article:

"the way we currently do things has more to do with satisfying the needs of university admission officers and the administrators of the Victorian civil service than helping people show their talents and abilities to the best."

Controversial words indeed...

Will Turnitin need to turn it in?

Scourge of students everywhere, the Californian company Turnitin has been accused of breaking copyright law by two Arizona high school kids. The anti-plagiarism service is used by 6,000 institutions in 90 countries and stores each student work submitted in its database. The pair claim that it violates their right to control their own copyrighted work.

The father of one of the plaintiffs thinks schools should teach students that cheating is wrong. "You can't take a person's work and run it through a computer and make an honest person out of them" he said.

Quite.

NGEF Monaco, day 2

I've just returned from the morning session of the Next Generation Entrepreneur Forum in Monaco and it was great. We heard from 3 speakers who all had something thought provoking and useful to say to entrepreneurs. Here are the highlights from my notes.

Heidi Roizen, Mobius Venture Capital

The title of Heidi's talk was "10 things I've learned as a venture capitalist that I wish I'd known as an entrepreneur". And here are the 10 things, as noted down by me:

Next Generation Entrepreneur Forum, Monaco

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