i've got a lennox desktop, and i'm playing with the ipad although now that i've got the phone, the ipad doesn't fill in enough of a gap. i like it, but i'm not transformed by it in part because so much of what i do with these devices is to write, not just to read. and the little laptop is better for writing than the little ipad. >> host: author, professor and technology thinker clay shirky has been our get on "the communicators." shirky.com is his web site. >> guest: great. thank you so much. >> ahead on c-span2, leaders in the independent movement discuss their influence in the american political system. in about an hour, live coverage of a hearing on the commission of wartime contract anything iraq and afghanistan as members hear from representatives of the military and federal agencies on how u.s. tax dollars are being spent toward reconstruction efforts. and later at 2 eastern, the senate reconvenes with a reading of george washington's farewell address in observance of his birthday followed by a period of general speeches. at 3:30, members consider a bill that would change the nati