From the category archives:

Hardware

Dental Rat & DPR

September 23, 2011

My write up on the Dental Rat for DPR can be found here.
Dental Rat was chosen by the Pride Institute and an expert panel as one of the “Best of Class” technologies. Look for the Pride display at the ADA Meeting. I will be presenting two sessions on emerging technologies.

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8 Star Trek Gadgets That Are No Longer Fiction

September 10, 2011

Not really dental just fun.
a handful of other Trekkies helped us point out these eight Star Trek technologies that have shifted from future fantasy to present reality.
My favorite is the iPad used by Captain Picard.
via 8 Star Trek Gadgets That Are No Longer Fiction.

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Acteon Goes Apple

September 9, 2011

Acteon North America has released an Apple (OSx) version of their acquisition and viewing software for use with the Sopro brand cameras. That means you can use a Sopro camera (including the amazing SoproLIFE that uses light fluorescence to detect caries) or even a digital radiography sensor and capture and view the image directly on an Apple computer such [...]

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The 12 Coolest Gadgets

September 7, 2011

None of these “cool gadgets” has an obvious dental use. On the other hand..they are cool.
How do you define cool? It’s not easy. After all, just like beauty, cool is in the eye of the beholder. Even so, here are a dozen products we’ve tested recently that just have that indescribable thing that we think [...]

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Guide to “Computers in the Back”

September 1, 2011

As a dental practice consultant, I’ve observed one of the fastest growing trends in dentistry is putting computers in the treatment rooms. The question then arises…OK now that I have all these computers, where the heck do I put this stuff? Many dentists either just assume there is no room for a computer or they stuff [...]

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The 12 Biggest PC Duds Ever

August 24, 2011

In the 30 years since the IBM PC was introduced there have been dozens, if not hundreds, of models that arrived with great fanfare only to tank at the marketplace. These are the redundant, the shameful, the stupid. These are the duds.
via The 12 Biggest PC Duds Ever – Slideshow from PCMag.com.

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30 Years of the PC

August 19, 2011

The PC didn’t magically appear in its current wide-screen, multi-core, HD/3D viewing form overnight. It took many years (30, to be exact) to evolve from the venerable IBM PC of 1981 to the high-powered tech gadgets of today.
Follow the link to a fun look at PC development over the last thirty years. I graduated dental [...]

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How to Buy a Laptop

August 18, 2011

I am not a fan of laptops in the dental office. However if you want one to take on trips, or to give to a departing college student then you should get the right model at the right price. The guide below should help…good luck.
This buying guide will point you in the right direction, whether [...]

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Epson Perfection V700 Good Choice for X-Ray Scanner

August 17, 2011

The best way to digitize film radiographs is to scan them with a flatbed desktop scanner. The scanner needs to have a “Transparency Adapter”. This is a device which allows users to shine a light through a transparent object in order to scan it. Transparency adapters were devised primarily for scanning 35 mm slides but work just [...]

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Then and Now

August 16, 2011

What a difference three decades makes. The first IBM PC was a revolutionary system in its time, but looks, well, archaic, next to the newest Lenovo desktop.

via The PC: Then and Now | PCMag.com.

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Desktop Computer Replacemet

August 15, 2011

It is a cost of doing business in the 21st Century. Computers should be replaced every three to four years. Most dental office will set up a system where 1/3 to 1/4 forth of the computers are replaced each year. That means you will most likely replace two or three computers before the end of [...]

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Top 5 Business Uses For The iPad

August 10, 2011

I am a big fan of tablet computers … in theory. The idea and concept seems great and the millions of iPad users certainly validate the form. Yet I am still looking for a great “killer” app for tablets in the dental office. The attached article outlines five uses. Some of which, filling out forms [...]

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Mouse Doubles as a Precise Scale for All Your Weighing Needs

August 7, 2011

This just warms the cockles of my geeky heart. What a cheerfully eccentric device. I wish it was available back in the old days when we used to use gold and weighed it out carefully. Now I am unaware of anything in the dental office we need to weigh on a regular basis.

The mouse functions [...]

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MythBusters Episode 135: Hidden Nasties

August 2, 2011

According to the semi scientific results from the TV show Mythbusters computer keyboards have more “nasty” germs than a toilet seat.
Finally, Adam and Jamie decided they needed a larger sample size to provide better results. They enlisted a group of biology students at UC Berkeley to collect more samples from the top five dirtiest surfaces. [...]

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First Real iPad Challenger?

July 27, 2011

Another one?
Amazon is planning, sources say, a contract-free, Cloud Drive enabled iPad killer with its unannounced Android-based tablet.
via Amazon’s New Tablet: First Real iPad Challenger?.

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The Best Android Tablets

July 21, 2011

It is hard to beat the iPad, but I am still looking. As much as I admire the design and engineering behind the iPad I’d still like to see a windows (or at least a Google) centric tablet for use in dentistry.
…we’ve finally seen a steady flow of high-quality Android tablets…This is a good thing, [...]

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Dual-Screen Laptop

July 20, 2011

Be still my geeky heart.

…along comes this GScreen SpaceBook with two 17.3-inch displays.
via GScreen SpaceBook Dual-Screen Laptop Up for Pre-Order.

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Microsoft Pushes for Demise of XP

July 13, 2011

According to the linked article Microsoft has announced that users have 1000 days until the company stops supporting XP. I know many dentists still using XP, in large part because “Vista” the OS between XP and 7 had a less than stellar reputation. Never fear, 1000 days is close to three years and you should replace [...]

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HP TouchPad Wi-Fi

July 1, 2011

I am wanting to be convinced that tablets will have some way cool function in a dental office. Of course the iPad dominates the tablet field here is another option from HP. So far the only consistent dental uses I have found for tablets are as an intake device to fill out forms and as [...]

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Dental Computer Types

June 29, 2011

Most dental offices will need three different types of computers: a server, business workstations and clinical workstations. Each computer type will have different specifications depending on the job it must do. Specs and available options change so quickly it is more useful to present a price range for each type than component specifications.
Server: This is [...]

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