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Entries from December 2006

Find the missing Window

December 28th, 2006 · No Comments

When  a window strays outside the visible desktop area, you can haul it back using your keyboard. Alt-Spacebar invokes the window’s System menu, which typically appears as close as possible to the off-screen window. Press M for Move and use the Arrow keys to bring the errant window back into view.

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Tags: Just for Fun

Online Financing

December 28th, 2006 · No Comments

In the bad old days, last century, there was no real patient financing option. If a patient needed dental work they either paid for it from savings or the dentist would carry the balance. Since dentists aren’t bankers the result was lots of bad debts, very slow payments, high receivables and high billing costs. Or worse yet patients couldn’t afford care and either put it off allowing things to get worse or opted for cheap alternatives like extractions over root canals. In these bad old days the patient suffered with inferior care and the dentist suffered financially.
Early financing options were a lot better than nothing but still had problems. These options were often set up outside the office, required filling out pages of forms and took days for approval. As a result most patients didn’t bother. Finally companies like Care Credit moved in with flexible financing options and fast no hassle applications. Now the Internet has made it even better.
The office staff or the patient can apply for financing online from either the Care Credit site [1] or linked from your dental practice web site. The online application requires only a few short fields of patient information and new Internet technology provides credit decisions within seconds. It is quite literally doing business at the speed of thought.

[1] http://www.carecredit.com/

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Tags: Administrative · Just for Fun · Websites & Internet

A good midlevel desktop for under $800

December 28th, 2006 · No Comments

Lenovo ThinkCentre A60 -e [1]

Of all the high- and low-end business systems out there, Lenovo’s [2]ThinkCentre A60 falls somewhere in between, with useful built-in utilities, a chassis made for upgrades, and a corporate pedigree that piques the interest of demanding small-business users.
Type: Business Processor Family: AMD Athlon 64 X2 RAM: 1024 MB Storage Capacity: 160 GB RAID: No Graphics Card: nVidia GeForce 6100 Primary Optical Drive: Dual-Layer DVD+/-RW Monitor Type: LCD Screen Size: 19 inches Notes: $799 direct, $1,148 with 19-inch LCD monitor

[1] http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2069944,00.asp
[2] http://lenovo.com/

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Tags: Hardware

Ultimate Mouse Smack-Down

December 28th, 2006 · No Comments

Look here: ExtremeTech’s Ultimate Mouse Smack-Down [1]
What do you call more than one mouse? Is it mice (it is for animals) or is it mouses if you are referring to the HI type of mouse (By the way HI is cool geek slang for Human Interface). If you have more than two is it a pack, or a herd or just a bunch? Whatever Extreme Tech has a very cool article about some of the best and worse mice of 2006. And don’t miss the Fanatec Heäd$h0t “The most over featured mouse ever”.

In this journal of reflection, we muster up the outstanding mice we’ve encountered this year, even some from yesteryear, to recommend the best rodent-like input devices in several categories—gaming, general computing, ergonomics, and about a dozen more.

[1] http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2076486,00.asp

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Tags: Hardware

Turn it Off…Turn it all Off

December 27th, 2006 · No Comments

From Lorne Lavine The Digital Dentist Blog – Dental Technology Consultants [1]

Many of you may know that in Windows, there are many programs running in the background that start automatically when you reboot. These are called Services. What you may not know is that a large number of these are totally unnecessary for most users. Not only do these services slow down your system, they can be targeted by exploits that attack your system.
Here’s a great site [2] that not only walks you through how to find these Services, but has a review of every one and a recommendation on whether you should disable it or not.

[1] http://thedigitaldentist.blogspot.com/2006/12/turn-it-off.html
[2] http://www.jasonn.com/turning_off_unnecessary_services_on_windows_xp/

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Tags: Just for Fun · Security · Websites & Internet

PC Magazine Praises Vista

December 27th, 2006 · No Comments

23rd Annual Technical Excellence Awards from PC Magazine: Breakthroughs!: Operating System [1]

Released to manufacturers in November, Microsoft’s new operating system has miles of code and some very cool tech—as it should, considering the years of development that have gone into it. Microsoft has rewritten the entire kernel to make it more secure and stable, and the company has fixed problems such as heap fragmentation. New features include 64-bit support, a better sleep mode, and a SuperFetch system that should load applications faster and take advantage of USB flash memory drives. Then there’s Aero, the new graphics engine that renders the desktop in 3D space. The built-in compositing engine will finally allow documents to look the same across different displays, with typefaces rendering to the same size whatever the monitor’s native resolution. And don’t forget Microsoft Vista’s neat “flip 3D” view, the subject of oohs and ahhs for at least a year now.

[1] http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2064706,00.asp

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Tags: Just for Fun

Introducing the i-Can ????

December 21st, 2006 · No Comments

Look here for all ten Wacky gifts :10 Wackiest Gifts Under $200 – Atech iCarta [1]
The bathroom isn’t just for taking baths, brushing your teeth, and tinkering anymore. Oh no. Accompany your time on the can with music from your iPod. The Atech iCarta is an iPod dock with a built-in toilet paper holder. It features four moisture-free speakers, measures 8.25 by 3.68 by 7.12 inches, and is powered by an AC adapter. Take it home for $99.99 at BestBuy.com.

[1] http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow_viewer/0,1205,l=195395&s=27523&a=195389&po=6,00.asp?p=y

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Tags: Just for Fun

Recycling E-Waste – Expert Help by PC Magazine

December 21st, 2006 · No Comments

 Read the whole article here: Recycling E-Waste – Expert Help by PC Magazine [1]

By Matthew D. Sarrel These days, responsible computing means more than not spreading viruses and not hacking into someone else’s system. The waste that results from disposing of electronics such as computers and mobile phones, called e-waste, can be highly toxic. The United Nations Environmental Program estimates that, each year, 20 million to 50 million tons of e-waste is dumped into landfills around the world. That works out to about 4,000 tons per hour.

[1] http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2066017,00.asp

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Tags: Just for Fun

10 Tech Concepts You Need to Know for 2007

December 16th, 2006 · No Comments

10 Tech Concepts You Need to Know for 2007 – Popular Mechanics [1]From concrete that can flex to sensors that you swallow, here are the technologies you’ll be talking about.

[1] http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4205068.html

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Tags: Just for Fun

Is Wi-Fi Dead?

December 16th, 2006 · No Comments

Read the whole article from PC Magazine here:Is Wi-Fi Headed to an Early Grave? – News and Analysis by PC Magazine [1]

By Mark Hachman Is Wi-Fi dead as a standalone technology? According to Airgo chief executive Greg Raleigh, it is. Airgo, which agreed to be acquired Monday by Qualcomm, helped pioneer the latest generation of Wi-Fi technology, called 802.11n. Although the technology is currently mired in a series of draft standards, analysts expect 802.11n to be completed next year.
For years, however, Wi-Fi has been what some call a “heart” technology, serving as the fundamental technology around which a product, such as a router or PC Card, has been designed. Market research firm In-Stat said Monday that sales of Wi-Fi chipsets are on track to exceed 200 million units in 2006, according to statistics compiled by the Wi-Fi Alliance and In-Stat. That’s a 25-percent boost since last year. With the approval of 802.11n, however, Raleigh sees Wi-Fi losing its significance, and co-existing with WWAN technologies like the 3G EDGE telecom/data standard in routers and cards.

[1] http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2070360,00.asp

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Tags: Hardware · Just for Fun