From the Editor
Editorial Bits

by Patrick Libert

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Social Networking! That relatively new phrase now permeates our daily conversations and actions. The press sometimes depicts this new web-based activity as a waste of time, a fad which will eventually disappear. On the contrary, this is a technological evolution which can help everyone.

Whoa! Hold on for a minute. Let’s not just think of this as an online dating service, or an activity reserved for teens. On the contrary, social networking is a remarkable way to communicate with existing and long-lost friends and family with little delay.

In my case, having several siblings and friends in Europe, we are now able to rapidly exchange comments, photo albums and various files thanks to social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. I would even include Skype as a form of social network because we can speak to and see each other and bring our family communications to a degree never before possible without crossing the Atlantic.

Were I not retired, I surely would be actively participating on LinkedIn to broaden my professional knowledge and network.

Before you make any final judgements on “Social Networking,” you must attend the DACS General Meeting at Danbury Hospital on February 2 and hear Dan O’Connor’s excellent presentation. You will embrace this new tool after you hear what he has to say.

New and Notable
Lala
After reading last month that Apple had bought lala, I joined their site and began to delve into their music library. According to some, Apple’s motivation for this investment was to have the capability of having members not only download their mp3 music but to have the option of assembling a music collection “in the cloud.” Great idea!

Lala has an extensive music library which one can download to one’s computer or, at a much lower cost, buy and add to one’s lala “cloud” collection. I used the free 30 song credits offered for joining to save many different songs in my new account. I can sign on to my account on the lala.com site, access my “collection” and play it through my computer. If networked to my home audio system, I can listen to this music in different rooms.

The cost? The price to download a song varies from $0.79 to $1.29. However, adding a song to the cloud collection: TEN CENTS! In my opinion, that makes it a very attractive way to compile a substantial collection of one’s favorite music.

DacsGear!
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