Microblogging - twitter for politicians

This week's print edition of the Technology supplement is online too..

• Member of the Twittering classes
  MP Alan Johnson is using the microblogging tool in his campaign to be Labour deputy leader. But is it 'potentially the biggest waste of time in the world'? Linda Jones reports.
• Free Our Data: Free groundwater information dries up
  The Environment Agency's decision to charge businesses for information on groundwater threatens the safety of drinking water.
• Dismay at eBay's unsatisfactory response to 'bid shielding' offences
  Growth in high bids which vanish sparks concern among auction site users.
• Newly Asked Questions
  • When will we know whether Operation Ore was a success?
    According to Jim Gamble, former head of the National Crime Squad who oversaw the crackdown on suspected paedophiles, "very soon".
  • Why, and how, would you prove your ID on a forum?
    If you're Bruce Willis facing down doubters, the 'how' is Apple's iChat instant messaging program. Most people use nicknames on internet forums to keep their identity private. But Willis decided that wasn't enough on the Ain't It Cool News forum.
• Gadgets:
  • Motorola Q9h
    Motorola seems to have got the basics right: the 9h not only looks good and is very slim at 11.8mm, but is very simple to use, with an excellent full Qwerty keypad with very responsive buttons.
  • Hercules DJ Mobile MP3
    For party hosts who constantly change songs midway through, the Hercules DJ mobile MP3 will be a godsend.
  • BlackBerry Curve (8300)
    After reinventing the business BlackBerry with the 8800, RIM is now refreshing its consumer offering with the launch of the Curve.
• Bombarded by baddies, aliens - and adverts
  Keith Stuart: Last Saturday, the Guardian reported on Google's scary plans to psychologically profile online gamers and then hawk the information to advertisers.
• Yes, GPS will be great - once it works for us
  Victor Keegan: A few weeks ago a man turned up at my front door, having been guided there by a GPS satellite navigation system on his dashboard. He was a bit surprised when I told him that the place he was looking for was six miles away.
• The net is being carved up into information plantations
  Nicholas Carr: Search at Google.com on evolution or Iraq or Aids or Gordon Brown, and the same site will appear at the top of the list of results: Wikipedia. Alter your search into one for John Keats or Muhammad Ali or Christianity or platypus or loneliness, and the same thing will happen.
• Technobile
  Laura Marcus: I like getting my songs from legitimate sources. So why does it feel like something I should be ashamed of?
• Today Second Life, tomorrow the world
  Interview: Philip Rosedale, The founder of the virtual world Second Life, believes that his company, Linden Lab, is at the forefront of the internet's next big revolution - the 3D web.
• Kill ID cards before they kill your government, Mr Brown
  Charles Arthur: Precisely what will it take for the government to abandon its pursuit of ID cards? Last week the Home Office issued its latest estimate of the cost of implementing this vast IT boondoggle, which has risen 12% - another £640m - in the past six months.
• Holographics set to feed a market hungry for data backup
  It has taken 40 years, but our insatiable appetite for data has finally led to holograms for storage - if you've got the cash.
• Ask Jack
  Send your questions and comments to Jack.Schofield@theguardian.com. Published letters will be edited for brevity, but include full details with your query. Please visit our Ask Jack weblog for daily updates.
• Newsbytes
  Motorola smellphone | Top Blair clips | Really FASN8ing | UK welcomes hackers | BT's IP TV | Reading in bits | It's a snap | Use Mime
• Letters and blogs
  Send your letters, comments, questions and rants to tech@theguardian.com, and please include your address and post town.