Links for March 12th through March 17th

Sometime between March 12th and March 17th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

• Get Mac-Like Scrolling and Gestures on a Windows Laptop: "Once you've used the hand-helping, time-saving, two-finger scrolling and three-finger gestures on a MacBook, a standard Windows trackpad can feel kind of, well, dead. Here's how to get total finger control with a tiny app, or go further with a driver swap."
• It’s not a bargain if you don’t need it: "Let's just say there is one of these bundles — lets just call it MacTheft — and the price for eleven apps is $19.95. And, let's just say they promise to give $5.00 of your purchase to starving children in cataclysmicly devastated regions of the world. Therefore, the price of the software — all eleven apps — is theoretically $14.95. But, let's just say there is only two apps out of the eleven that you really think you need. Here is a crazy idea to try… Buy the apps outright, full-price, directly from the developer."
• Norrie First Registered Sexless Person: "THIS Mardi Gras, Norrie received a gift that no other androgynous person in NSW has had before. The night before the parade, the postman brought a certificate from the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages that contained neither the dreaded ''M'' nor its equally despised cousin, ''F''. Instead, it said ''sex not specified'', making the 48-year-old Sydneysider, who identifies as neuter and uses only a first name, the first in the state to be neither man nor woman in the eyes of the NSW government."
• Frommer’s Now F’Ing Both Freelancers and Photo Enthusiasts!: "I just heard from another colleague about a photo contest Frommer's is running….probably because of the problems they're running into screwing the photographers they signed to work with. You can win $5000 and get your photo on the cover of one of their guidebooks. Sounds like a cool contest, until you read the fine print: Participant retains ownership of the copyright in any submitted photographs. However, **by entering photograph(s) in this Contest, participant grants Sponsor the irrevocable, perpetual right to edit, adapt, use and publish in any media now known or hereafter discovered any or all of the photographs without compensation to the participant, his or her successors or assigns, or any other entity."
• WA Legislature Toughens Cell Phone Driving Law: "The Washington state Legislature has approved a measure that makes it easier for police to ticket people who are driving while either texting or talking on a cell phone without a headset. On a 60-37 vote Thursday, the House passed a bill that makes it a primary offense to be caught holding a cell phone to your ear while driving, or to be reading, writing or sending text messages. That strengthens the state's current secondary offense law for both, which only slaps drivers with an extra fine if they are pulled over for another infraction, such as speeding."