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Currently on the Dell site the server below is listed at less than $1500. As configured it is ideal for a typical dental office with RAID 1 dual 160GB SATA hard drives 1GB RAM and the newest dual core processors. The price also includes Microsoft small business server software.
I have seen many hardware proposals for dental offices with servers specked at $7,000 or more. You don’t need that. This $1500 server will run most dental offices very well.

PowerEdgeTM 840Ideal for: Businesses with up to 25 employees seeking an affordable all-purpose server with excellent performance and expandability to accommodate future growth.
PowerEdge™ Starter Network Solutions [1].

[1] http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/rec_server_networksol?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd

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Most high quality hardware is extremely reliable and will give years of service. When a computer or a computer component stops working the first things to check are low tech. Check to see that the connections are secure. Is the mouse plugged in? Is the power cord tight? Is it plugged into the wall? Is the power Strip or UPS turned on? Is the network connection tight? Is the network switch plugged in and working? And most commonly are the batteries good?
If all the basic low tech items check out next try and replace the non working component to see if that’s the problem. Try another mouse, change the keyboard or replace the monitor.
At this point it is time to call the technician. If a mission critical piece of dental equipment fails, such as your compressor or central vac most dentists have a local repair technician they can rely on to get them back in business very quickly with a repair or loaner equipment. You need to develop the same type of relationship with a local computer technician. If a mission critical computer component fails your local computer tech should have you up and running the same day. If the vendor doesn’t provide this kind of service and reliability, fire them.

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Wow, 8GB. The future is truly amazing.

Sandisk Unveils 8GB1 MicroSDHC and M2 Flash Memory Cards
Two new flavors of SanDisk Flash memory cards are making their debuts on store shelves today. The 8GB micoSDHC and M2 cards are designed with the with the growing multimedia use of mobile users in mind.SanDisk is getting the word out on the new cards using the unfortunately named “Slot Education” campaign, which is “aimed at raising awareness both of the presence of a card slot in the majority of today’s new mobile handsets and of the benefits available to those who use it.”
Sandisk Unveils 8GB1 MicroSDHC and M2 Flash Memory Cards – Gearlog [1].

[1] http://www.gearlog.com/2007/10/sandisk_unveils_8gb1_microsdhc.php

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Find Dorks Easily with the Wi-Fi Detector Shirt 
There’s nothing worse than struggling to find a Wi-Fi hotspot. But thanks to the intelligent minds over at ThinkGeek.com, it’s easier than ever. The Wi-Fi Detector Shirt features glowing bars on the front of the shirt that change according to Wi-Fi signal strengths for both 802.11b and 802.11g connections.The shirt is made of 100-percent cotton and operates via three AAA batteries, a pack which is sewn inside the shirt. The animated decal is removable so that you can wash it.
Gearlog: Wearable Tech [1].

[1] http://www.gearlog.com/wearable_tech/

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It’s getting hot in here. From the Voodoo’s seductive chassis to the iPhone’s slammin’ touch screen, these products have just the right amount of geek sex appeal.
– The 20 Sexiest Tech Products – Reviews by PC Magazine [1].

[1] http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2201945,00.asp

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This innovative keyboard is a giant step forward in the elimination of bacterial contamination in your operatory. The surface is a completely smooth piece of tempered glass. The keys are printed on the underside of the glass where specialized touch-capactive circuitry detects the slightest touch of a human finger – even when you are wearing surgical gloves!
To clean, simply and quickly wipe the keyboard with your choice of disinfectant. With no nooks or crannies to harbor dirt and infection, the Glass Keyboard is a must in your operatory.
Glass Keyboard [1].

[1] http://www.touchfreecomputing.com/Site/Glass%20Keyboard.html

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The future vision for the dental office will be computers assigned not to rooms but to people. Each team member and the dentist will be able to roam freely about the office with a portable computer that is always connected wirelessly to the office network and beyond to the Internet.
The tablet PC drives this transformation. There are two basic tablet styles, slates and convertibles. The convertible has a keyboard the slate does not. Convertibles seem to be more useful while maintaining the extreme portability of the tablet design.
A key feature to tablets is the use of touch screens and inking. That means a user can easily enter information by tapping on the screen with one hand while holding the tablet in another. Ink allows users to write or draw on the screen just as if it was a piece of paper.
Check out the HP tx 1000Z [1]shown here.
 
Concerns:
Battery life: Will need recharging several times during the day.Wireless network: wireless rocks, however it is still unreliable, slow compared to wired Cat5 Ethernet and subject to security problems.Image capture: It may not be possible to use some digital capture devices.Safety: In a busy office dropping or “losing” the tablet could become a problem.Limited Experience: This seems like a great idea but it hasn’t been done yet that I know of. If you want to show the patient their smile do you give it to them?

[1] http://www.shopping.hp.com/series/category/notebooks/tx1000z_series/3/computer_store

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PC Magazine recommends the Dell530 Insprion for small business or home use. It is priced at less than $1,000 with a 20” monitor 2 GB of RAM. The basic package comes with Vista Home for the dental office this needs to be upgraded to XP Pro.
Inspiron Advanced Desktops [1].

[1] http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/inspndt_performance?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

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Computers in the treatment rooms are not just simple data input and retrieval devices. They are also communication, diagnosis, education and entertainment centers. They are used by the dentist, the dental assistant and the even the dental patient. Accommodating all these uses and users means that the computer components need to flexible and movable.
Multiple monitors use a function of Windows which allows two or more monitors to run off of one computer. Dual monitors aren’t really new; I have been using them and telling other dentists about the concept since1998. What is new is that program designers are building in dual monitor functionality and hardware vendors, such as Dell are offering multiple monitors as a common upgrade.
Dual monitors provide a great solution to what can be a problem when computers are used in the treatment rooms. That is the “public – private” issue. Some things seen on the computer monitor are public. Those are things we want the patient to see, their own chart, x-rays, photos or patient education. Other information should not be seen. That would include another patient’s chart or the daily schedule; that is private.
Dual monitors allow the user to have two monitors showing completely different things. This is done by extending the desktop. That means you can view different windows, like a chart in behind the patient on the private monitor and patient education in front on the public monitor. However you can not input data simultaneously in both monitors, there is still only one active window even though there are two monitors.

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Many dentists are so afraid of a possible computer failure that they refuse to use it, just in case. That is silly. Ask yourself, what if my car breaks down on the way to the office? What if the power goes out? What if the air compressor dies? The fact is that we rely on all kinds of systems that possibly could fail. A mission critical system failure, like a power outage or a compressor breakdown could put you out of business for a short time. A computer failure is the same. However the best way to protect yourself from a computer failure is to use redundant data storage systems, make daily off site back ups and most importantly have a local computer technician who you can rely on to be there that day, to get the office back to work.

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