Monday, January 26, 2004		Newsscape

WW II images on WWW

More than five million detailed aerial photographs from World War II go onto the Internet, giving the public their first views of some of the most dramatic and grisly moments of the conflict. From the smoke billowing from the incinerator of the Auschwitz concentration camp in which millions of Jews were murdered by the Nazis, to the US landings on Omaha beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944, the pictures tell dramatic stories. Apart from these gripping images — some of more than 40 million taken over the years and lodged in the National Archives — there are also pictures of the German battleship Bismarck hiding in a Norwegian fjord. The images are available at www.evidenceincamera.co.uk.

Say cheese, get caught

Two Chinese thieves captured more than they had bargained for when they took pictures of each other with stolen digital cameras, the China Daily newspaper said. They were both arrested when trying to sell the cameras to passers by in eastern Changzhou city, arousing suspicions of the police. Having stolen some cash and three digital cameras, they were so excited that they took photos of each other. Neither of them knew how to delete the stored pictures.

Britain under watch

Big Brother is a reality in Britain — over four million cameras watch each and every move of residents, making it the most watched nation in the world. Research has revealed that the number of closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras has quadrupled in the past three years, and there is now one for every 14 people in Britain. Estimates suggest that residents of a city such as London can each expect to be captured on CCTV cameras up to 300 times a day, and much of the filming breaches existing data guidelines. Civil liberties groups complain that the rules governing the use of the cameras in Britain are the most lax in the world. They also argue that there is little evidence to support the contention that CCTV cameras lead to a reduction in crime rates.

The social geek

The typical Internet user — far from being a geek — shuns television and actively socialises with friends, a study on surfing habits said. The findings of the first World Internet Project report presents an image of the average Netizen that contrasts with the stereotype of the loner "geek" who spends hours of his free time on the Internet and rarely engages with the real world. A typical Internet user is an avid reader of books and spends more time engaged in social activities than the non-user, it says. And, television viewing is down among some Internet users by as much as five hours per week compared with Net abstainers, the study added. The study was conducted by UCLA Center for Communication Policy, California University.