From the Editor
Editorial Bits

by Patrick Libert

Program Review
Tweaking one’s system and processor to obtain optimal performance. That was October’s very interesting presentation.

There are some who say that it was too technical and not geared to their daily use of their PC and/or Mac. I beg to differ. If we limit ourselves to being exposed only to things with which we are familiar, we are putting on intellectual “blinders” and admitting that we are not open to learning anything new and different. Emphasis on the word “different.” The mind is always open to learning until its last dying pulsation. If DACS can contribute, so much the better for all of us.  

New and Notable
Another Google tool (Oh, no! Not another one!) that I have been using occasionally, is Google Translate (translate.google.com). I am bilingual in French and often read an article on a French website which I would like to forward to family and friends in the U.S.
Using Google Translate from French to English yields a fairly accurate rendition of the original article; it’s not perfect but more time saving for me than if I have to literally translate it. In reverse, from English to French, it’s a little less exact probably due to the fact that it does not have all the latest colloquial expressions in its databank. At the present time, this application can handle fifty-one languages.

Even though I am a Mac user, I am always concerned about security. I just read about a very worthwhile extension for Firefox called NoScript (http://noscript.net/). This extension disables Java, Flash, and other dynamic content often used in attacks. It is extremely effective and, being open source, it is free.

This column would not be complete without an honorable mention for the new releases of various Apple hardware announced on Tuesday, October 20. Given that my five year old iMac G5 has been showing daily signs of early retirement envy, I have been offering daily gifts to the Gods to keep it operating until the new stuff was announced. My prayers were answered and all you loyal readers can now feel confident that this titillating column will continue to be published. A replacement iMac is foreseen in the coming days.

Compared to my current iMac G5, these new models are smoking. For the 21.5” model (another 1.5” increase), standard configuration goes from a 1.8GHz PowerPC chip to a 3.06GHz Intel Core Duo, from a 180GB HD to a 500GB HD, from 500MB memory to 4GB memory and many other improvements. All this for $1,199 which is $700 less than I paid in 2004! Besides the technical improvements, it comes fully loaded with Apple’s iLife ’09, a suite of applications which would cost many bucks when added to a PC.

November Program Preview
Daily, we hear, read and sleep the healthcare debate. Much of the current cost problems are due to an outdated system for gathering, compiling and storing the medical data which surrounds our lives. If we can convert this salad into an orderly and efficient digital information system, we will be safer and the costs will decrease dramatically.
That is why you should attend our November General Meeting and listen to an expert on this subject. The more you know and understand about what can be done, the more you can influence your lawmaker to vote for the right package.
Monday, November 2 at the Danbury Hospital Auditorium at 7 p.m. Mark your calendars and attend!   

DACS.doc
You didn’t think that this column would omit another recruitment message, did you? I love parties and if we can get together to put each issue to bed and have fun at the same time, let’s do it. But, a party needs partygoers.

Some of us have been doing this for a long time and we need your help. The more the merrier and we’ll make this a monthly prepress party. All you have to do is contact me when you see me at the general meetings or send me an email at dacseditor@dacs.org.  You too can be a contributor and/or an editor!



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