Gary’s CV
I’ve been working as a freelance journalist covering business, technology, the Internet and popular culture for nearly ten years. You name it, I do it: features, news stories, columns, profiles, tutorials, reviews, website copy, brochures, radio scripts, blogs and books.
I’ve written for all kinds of publications: consumer magazines and newspapers, corporate publications and brochures, websites and weblogs, and even the odd fanzine. I also pop up on radio shows, talking about anything from coffee to co-habiting.
Why do I get hired? I think it’s partly because of my cherubic little face, partly because I’m cheap, but largely because I’m happy doing everything from serious reporting to taking the mickey. Whether I’m writing about censorship, explaining the ins and outs of key business issues or slagging off Razorlight, what you get is clear, concise, accessible and - if it’s appropriate for the subject matter - funny.
I don’t make promises I can’t keep, so if you commission me to write something then you can be sure that it will be in on time. You can also be confident that when the subs are finished with their blue pencils, my copy won’t look as if someone’s just performed open heart surgery on a Smurf.
If you’d like to get hold of me, the best thing to do is drop me an email. I’m online every day during normal working hours, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
In Print
My first published article appeared in .net magazine in 1998, and I’ve worked for .net ever since. At the time of writing I’m a columnist, feature writer and news writer for the magazine, and for most of the last decade I was also .net’s software editor and reviewer. I currently write news and features for PC Plus and MacFormat, features, tutorials and gee-whiz predictive pieces for Official Windows Vista Magazine, and various bits and bobs for other excellent titles including Digital Home, Official Windows XP Magazine and PC Answers.
I’ve written about books for Ink Magazine, Metallica hoaxes for The Guardian, business technology for The Herald, mobile phones for The Telegraph, websites for The Sunday Mail, movies for Blockbuster’s in-house magazine, computer games for an industry publication, intellectual property for a huge legal firm, personal finance for a free consumer title and technology for a student magazine.
I do books, too. I’ve written The Laptop Manual and the Working From Home Manual for Haynes Publishing as well as co-writing the 3rd edition of Build Your Own Computer and the second edition of the Computer Troubleshooting manual. More titles are in the pipeline. I’ve ghostwritten a bunch of how-to books, written five books about music and co-written a book of rock and pop trivia, contributed to books about digital music, co-written a guide to Windows Vista and copy edited a guide to music’s role in child development.
In 2008, I was shortlisted for the Information Security Journalism Awards, which was nice. The winners will be announced in June.
Online
A lot of my articles are already on the Internet - in particular .net’s Web site (www.netmag.co.uk) has a huge features archive and also uploads many of my software reviews - and I’m a regular contributor to Tech.co.uk. I’ve written for various other online publications: I contributed thousands of words to the online portal Vizzavi.co.uk, took the mickey out of unfortunate Net users for satirical newsletter The Friday Thing, reviewed shops for 2020shops.com and put together stacks of articles about personal finance for a financial portal.
On Air
I’ve been a talking head on various radio stations for years, and in 2007 I started writing for radio as well as appearing on it. Paul Douglas and I wrote the original scripts for Radio 2’s I Wish I’d Thought Of That (broadcast October/November 2007), a six-part documentary series covering online innovations from the World Wide Web to Google, iTunes and MySpace. The scripts were then adapted by presenter Kate Thornton, and the series was pick of the day in pretty much every newspaper you care to mention - although thanks to the birth of my daughter and some rather frazzled sleepless nights, I still haven’t heard the end result so I don’t know what changes (if any) Kate made. I do know it was a hoot to do, though, and I’m keen to do more.
I’ve been on loads of radio programmes, starting with a ridiculously early morning Radio 5 Live appearance a few years back and leading up to my current weekly appearance on BBC Radio Scotland’s MacAulay & Co, where I do the weekly “every day’s a schoolday” guide to technology. I’ve also appeared on various BBC regional programmes, the BBC Asian Network, Radio Scotland’s Book Cafe, British Armed Forces Radio and RNIB-supported station VIP On Air.
You’ll also find me on the odd podcast, including the .net and MacFormat podcasts and the Boagworld web design podcast.
Although live TV scares the hell out of me, I’ve managed to hide my nerves during appearances on BBC News 24, BBC1’s breakfast news, BBC Reporting Scotland and Scottish Television.
Other things
Like every other journalist on the face of the Earth, I’m working on a novel; if my current progress is any indication, it might just be finished by the time I’m 170.
Until a few years ago I sang and played guitar in a band called Kasino with whom I played gigs ranging from Glasgow Barrowlands and T in The Park to five-year-olds’ birthday parties, teenage beauty competitions and gangster’s private functions. I’ve been heckled, bottled, threatened with knives, harassed by the police, molested, mocked in national newspapers, electrocuted, ripped off, chased by hormone-crazed girls and even set on fire. Boy, that was some night.
Kasino were one of the first unsigned bands in Scotland to muck about with free MP3 downloads and online ordering.
Examples
Cracking the code [PC Plus]
When was the last time you read about a technology that would change the world? If you’re a keen reader of IT news sites, the answer is probably “this morning”. Pundits have whipped themselves into a frenzy of excitement over everything from weblogs to Wi-Fi, and relatively minor developments are hyped out of all proportion. However, one area of technology really could change the world, and that technology is bioinformatics.
Bioinformatics is what happens when bytes and biology get together, and it has the potential to transform our lives. It’s helping scientists develop cures for the world’s most devastating diseases, explore the differences between individuals and species, and uncover the genetic codes that make us who we are.
Review: Speed 2 [What DVD?]
In an ideal world, this disc’s special features would include a lengthy documentary showing everyone responsible for this film being tortured.
Big Brother is Back [.net]
Remember the “snooper’s charter”, the government’s attempt to let all kinds of bureaucrats spy on UK citizens? If you thought the widespread public outcry meant that the plans were buried forever, you’re in for a shock. The charter is back, and the government is determined to make it stick. Hooray for democracy!
Spy Tech [PC Plus]
Surveillance technology is all around us, or so we’re told. Thousands of CCTV cameras monitor the UK’s population, while a top-secret spy system watches the world. Yet children still go missing, terrorists blow up buildings and all kinds of crimes occur each and every day.
After September 11th, cynics suggested that “big brother is watching you” claims were nonsense. After all, if these surveillance technologies are as powerful as the pundits claim, the attacks on the World Trade Centre would never have taken place. Perhaps the people who talk about Orwellian technology are as demented as those who claim the CIA is using giant space lasers to mess up our minds.
The truth is that giant surveillance networks do exist, and all kinds of technologies can be used to scan CCTV footage or intercept communications. However, some of these systems are far from perfect; others can be bypassed with something as simple as a pay-as-you-go mobile phone.
You’ve got to have faith [What DVD?]
The DVD release of Titanic provides a great opportunity to appreciate the stunning camerawork and special effects that made James Cameron’s epic the biggest-grossing movie of all time. However, the film’s success was far from guaranteed: before its release, many pundits were predicting that the film would be an even bigger flop than Kevin Costner’s “Waterworld”.
In the months leading up to the film’s release, it seemed as if the cynics were right. A seemingly endless stream of bad news emanated from the set, with rumours that stars Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio had nearly drowned as a result of Cameron’s obsessive desire for the perfect shot. A prankster spiked the on-set food with PCP and hospitalised many of the cast and, worst of all, the film’s budget grew to a massive 200 million dollars. As Cameron tried to mollify the studios by forfeiting his $8 million salary and giving away his share of any movie profits, pundits scoffed that it would have been cheaper to raise the real Titanic than make a film about it.
Hold the front page [Internet Works]
If a high street shop made you endure a corporate presentation before letting you in, demanded detailed information about you and then threw you onto the street because you were wearing the wrong shoes, you’d be horrified - and the shop would probably go out of business. Yet something similar happens on the Web every day. Otherwise excellent Web sites make visitors endure pointless animations that take forever to download, or demand detailed personal information before letting customers see their product range. Other sites make it impossible to find anything, or decide that because a user doesn’t have the right browser, they shouldn’t be allowed to use the site at all.
Come all ye faithful [.net magazine]
Adult webmasters know how to generate traffic - but do the tricks of their trade transfer to less explicit enterprises?
Even the most innocent Net user has stumbled across adult content, either in the form of junk email or by mistyping the URL of a reputable site. And while these distractions may be unpleasant or downright offensive, they’re also very successful: research firm Datamonitor estimates that adult sites account for the majority of online spending and will rake in more than $2 billion next year.
To lure legions of lust-crazed porn purchasers, adult Webmasters are using ever more elaborate tricks and techniques. Spam emails are getting more sophisticated, while everything from technological tomfoolery to bare-faced lies are thrown into the mucky marketing mix - and some of the tactics may well work for your site, too.
You don’t need to be a porn peddler to take advantage of some of the adult industry’s tactics; many of their tricks apply just as well to home pages as they do to hardcore pornography. However, while many of the tricks are perfectly legal, they may be against your ISP’s terms and conditions - or they may harm, rather than help, your site. Over the next few pages we discover what works, what doesn’t, and what could land you in prison.
Infowar [.net magazine]
We’re living in a connected world, and our lives are increasingly dependent on computer systems. Rather than free us from surveillance, technology means that someone, somewhere, is watching every single thing we do and say. Our money is vulnerable, not to bank robbers, but to laptop-wielding boffins; the most sensitive information about companies and individuals is less private than we’ve been led to believe.
As we celebrate the arrival of all kinds of digital delights, Infowar is the ghost at the banquet. It interrupts the party to remind us that while technology can be a powerful force for good, it can also be a powerful force for evil. It’s a warning we ignore at our peril.
Digital Underground [.net magazine]
Forget about safety pins, Sex Pistols and spitting: the only thing cyberpunk has in common with punk rock is its anarchic attitude. Cyberpunks are hackers and crackers, goths and geeks, cryptography experts and people who stick big chunks of metal under their skin. Technology fans one and all, many cyberpunks believe that in the future we’ll look at the world through cybernetic eyes, plug the Internet directly into our brains, and have sex with toasters. Well, perhaps not the toaster bit.