Last month we mentioned a site where you could get in-depth reviews and specs on the latest in digital photography (http://www.dpreview.com). Now we present a supermall of camera stores, of sorts. It’s run by C|net and has much more than cameras, but one of the nice features is that you can simultaneously check prices of the same camera at many different merchants. So if you're still looking for that digital camera, go to http://shopper.cnet.com and click on the Cameras hyperlink to begin your adventure. (Sure, there must be other similar sites for digital camera comparison shopping, so when you run across one, sent the URL to us and we'll list it in an upcoming column.)

That's what we always advise photographers thinking of entering their images in any kind of contest. That rule generally states that all submitted material becomes the property of the contest sponsor, to use whenever and however they desire, regardless of whether you receive any prize. Well, listen to this, boys and girls. Sony Pictures is releasing a new film this year based on the popular "Resident Evil" video game. Movie studios generally contract with design firms to come up with a poster advertising the movie. That poster is also adapted for billboard, bus stops, print ads, subway stations, etc. It gets a lot of mileage, which is why such a poster costs between $50,000 and $200,000. But Sony's not going to pay anything like that. They've tapped the Internet community to design a poster, after posting 100 stills from the movie (and other required stuff) to use as source material. What does the winner win? A mere $2,500 and some passes to a private prerelease screening. (Contest ended 12/31/01). Who won the contest? The sponsor!

Computer software, that is. (Well, there're some other things, too, but we're limiting this discussion.) The Feds, after a 15-month investigation, seized software and computers from universities, businesses, and homes in 27 cities as part of its crackdown on pirated software distributed on the Internet. Agents of Australia, England, Finland and Norway were also cooperating in the raids, targeting the popular hacker network known as "warez." The universities and businesses in the US aren't suspects, and are said to be cooperating fully in the investigation. So far, suspected members range from university students to executives of major Internet Service Providers. Caveat Emptor!