It seems that my concern over last month’s slicked-up cover of Wired was premature. I just got the January 2005 issue in the mail, and the cover paper stock is back to the matted texture that I like so much. I hope it’s here to stay.

Could the switch of coverboys, from James Cameron last month to Richard Branson this month, have accounted for the changeback? Is billionaire Branson less slick than Hollywood Cameron? Maybe if they give Branson an editorial stint, we’ll see some distinctive cover stock — lucite, perhaps.