Digital cameras and technology

I've spent the better part of the evening looking for the company that gives the best prices on a Nikon D200. I've enlisted the help of complete strangers in their reviews on these companies and I've entered a cohort of fellow photographers, specifically Nikon lovers (there does seem to be a divide between Nikon and Canon users that is irreconcilable). Though I do not know these people, I have more in common with them than I do my physical neighbors up and down this street I chose to live on. Once I receive this camera, it will allow me to create historical montages in a faster and more efficient way than I have been able to with film cameras. As I downloaded the many links required for the first two weeks in this course, I am struck with how much all of this technology is about building new communities. I liked the many comments on discussion board about how some libraries may exist or do exist only in cyberspace. The virtual librarian is here. And the tension I feel within myself about moving to a digital camera is similar to that I experience with each new technological acquisition. I love being able to access Russian archives from here. Compared to getting funding, flying, visa woes.... it is great! But, there is nothing so educational as sitting in those archives for months, being cold, hungry and watching the politics of the day unfold. I was in Russia in August of 1991 and I cannot ever replace the reality of that experience and its importance in my political cognizance. Well, I'm repeating myself at this point. So I'll sign off.