the tweney review

Excuse me, but isn’t our whole country supposed to be a free speech zone??

Law student Thad Anderson has collected a bunch of government documents and made them available via P2P networks such as KaZaA and SoulSeek, through his Download for Democracy project. These documents are publicly available elsewhere, but they’re not always so easy to find.

As Kim Zetter’s Wired News story says, “his use of the networks to deliver the data counters the usual government and entertainment industry arguments that P2P networks have no value, apart from stealing copyright works.” Bingo. In fact, this is a powerful journalistic tool–especially in a time when mainstream journalists are so tame.

For everyone but a few die-hard photography buffs, digital cameras are the way to go. A digital camera actually makes you a better photographer, because of the instant feedback it provides via the LCD–and because you get much more practice taking digital shots, which are free, than you do with a film camera, where you know you’re paying twenty cents a picture for developing.

But once you’ve been bitten by the photography bug, you’ll realize that there’s a gap in the digital camera market. There are a lot of relatively inexpensive point-and-shoot cameras, and some of these even give you a fair amount of manual control over camera settings like aperture, exposure time, and so forth. The problem is that the lenses on these cameras are fairly limited—they’re small, slow (f2.8 is often the largest aperture you get—compared with f1.4 on a decent 35mm lens), and you can’t replace them if you want a wider angle, a more powerful telephoto, or a wider range of aperture settings.

When you’re ready to graduate to a camera with full manual control and replaceable lenses, though, you’ll find that you’ve got to spend $1,000 or more just to get started. What’s more, these cameras are large and bulky.

What’s missing here is a small, fairly portable rangefinder-style digital camera that doesn’t cost a fortune, offers fully manual control, and has an interchangable lens mount system.

Because digital camera use CCDs (image sensors) that are smaller than 35mm film, you could make a system like this using much smaller lenses than those used for 35mm SLRs. That small size would mean greater portability—and probably less expense, too.

What’s more, camera manufacturers’ dedication to SLR construction for high-end cameras is misguided. In film cameras, single-lens reflex technology is the only way you have of seeing exactly what your picture is going to look like. But with digital cameras, this complicated mirror-and-prism system is completely redundant, since you can use the LCD on the back to show exactly what is landing on the image sensor. Why add the bulk and the expense of an SLR system when it’s not needed? I’d much rather have a high-quality rangefinder-style camera with good, replaceable optics and a nice, large LCD on the back.

Why doesn’t this camera exist? Or if it does, tell me where to find it!

A bunch of U.S. soldiers have been posting photos of their experiences in Iraq. This stuff is far more vivid than anything you’ll see on the news. If you want to know what war looks like, these moblogs are the place to look. It’s far more raw, immediate, and real than anything I’ve seen in the mainstream media — including stuff from “embedded” reporters.

Here’s a good list of mobloggers on the front lines. One of the moblogs mentioned there, Tiredandirtysoldier, is especially good.

CAUTION: These sites often publish extremely graphic photos. Don’t go there if you are squeamish.

There’s been a bit of news about the recent NEA study, “Reading At Risk,” which found that only about half of Americans read books.

Compare that to this interesting First Monday piece about the shift from print culture to Internet culture: The mentality Of Homo interneticus: Some Ongian postulates by Michael H. Goldhaber

Conclusion: People are starting to think–and exist–in new ways. The new culture emphasizes novelty, originality and brevity of presentation, and the formation of communities of like-minded individuals. In-depth analysis, careful thought, and reflection all get short shrift.

Null keeps linking to these personality tests, and fool that I am, I keep taking them.

Wackiness: 40/100
Rationality: 46/100
Constructiveness: 82/100
Leadership: 72/100

You are an SECL–Sober Emotional Constructive Leader. This makes you a politician. You cut deals, you change minds, you make things happen. You would prefer to be liked than respected, but generally people react to you with both. You are very sensitive to criticism, since your entire business is making people happy.

At times your commitment to the happiness of other people can cut into the happiness of you and your loved ones. This is very demanding on those close to you, who may feel neglected. Slowly, you will learn to set your own agenda–including time to yourself.

You are gregarious, friendly, charming and charismatic. You like animals, sports, and beautiful cars. You wear understated gold jewelry and have secret bad habits, like chewing your fingers and fidgeting.

You are very difficult to dislike.

Jenny Turpish Slapped Me - Personality Quiz