Yes, digital is getting better (and less expensive) all the time. And certainly many pros use digital, some exclusively. But let me share this with you. During the launch of the shuttle Discovery, NASA (which has a pretty big budget) had an unprecedented number of cameras trained on the launch vehicle. Some were on the ground, some in chase planes, and some on the shuttle (and external fuel tank) itself. All this to watch for possibly dangerous debris that might strike the shuttle and/or other anomalies. Do you remember what NASA said when the digital images, which they could review at once, revealed that some foam on the external tank may have come off? (I'm paraphrasing here): "We'll have to wait for the film images to get a really detailed look at it." Take a cue from NASA--when really detailed images matter, think film.

According to a recent survey by America Online and salary.com, the biggest time waster at work is (drum roll) surfing the Internet for personal use. Survey respondents (people actually answered these questions? Oh, I know--they answered them while at work!) reported that of their wasted time (which did not include lunch), over 44% was for surfing the Internet. The next closest time-waster? Socializing with co-workers, which was only about 23%. So, computer use for personal reasons (via the Internet, which would include e-mail, instant messaging, and text messaging to cell phones) would seem to have replaced office water cooler gossip by a significant margin.

You're worried about having cookies on your computer (the electronic kind). You go out and buy anti-spyware software (or maybe download the free Beta version of Microsoft AntiSpyware product) and install it on your computer to protect you against "bad" cookies. (I may as well state here that not all cookies are bad. Some keep track of your website logon info, such as for banking sites, and others keep track of your preferences for customizable websites, such as home portals). You're feeling pretty good that you're protected against cookies. Well, Flash, here's some news. United Virtualities, a company behind many of those ads that dance across web pages, has found a way to use a feature of Macromedia's Flash program (which you have likely installed, as it's required by many websites to display their fancy graphics) that allows for persistent data. What happens is this. Websites that use cookies check to see if their cookie is installed. If it's not, then they can use information previously stored in the Persistent Identification Element of Flash to simply restore the cookie. Information thus stored in Flash is not usually noticed by anti-spyware programs. Fortunately, Macromedia has responded and has posted a way to turn off the feature being misused by cookie monsters. Here's the link: http://www.macromedia.com/go/52697ee8.

Bill Hopkins is the Webmaster of PhotoSourceFolio* (www.photosourcefolio.com) and a regular contributor to PhotoStockNotes. Send comments via e-mail to wh@photosourcefolio.com. Fax: 1 818 831-0916. For on-line questions, contact Bill on the Kracker Barrel at www.photosource.com/board.

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