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Extreme Tech reviews six 22” LCD monitors; the Samsung 225BW gets the highest rating. Follow the link below for the whole article.

Samsung SyncMaster 225BW By John R. Delaney Rate it Yourself
Some people want monitors that offer the highest resolution and come with all sorts of bells and whistles. For others, a monitor that does the job is more than enough. The Samsung SyncMaster 225BW ($399.99 list) is geared toward business users, but its fast motion performance, image quality, and support for HDCP video make it good choice for home users as well.
22-inch LCD Monitors to Take Home – Samsung SyncMaster 225BW 22-inch LCD Monitor Review [1].

[1] http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2190968,00.asp

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If you collect business cards, you’ll want a way to organize their information—and typing it into a database by hand doesn’t cut it anymore.
By M. David Stone No matter what you do for a living, odds are that if you meet with clients or prospective customers, you exchange business cards and slowly (or not so slowly) build a list of contacts. You may even have a stack of cards sitting on your desk right now, waiting for you to type the names, addresses, and phone numbers into your contact database. Or maybe you don’t let them accumulate—probably because you’ve already discovered the joys of having a business card scanner.Business card scanners, and the software that comes with them, aren’t perfect, but they speed up the job of converting business cards into searchable contact information. Some of the more expensive models, notably the CardScan Executive, come with software that does an excellent job of recognizing text and parsing the information into the right fields in your database. But even the less accurate—and less expensive—packages are good enough to make the process of scanning plus correcting errors faster than typing. They’re also a big improvement over using a flatbed scanner, which can confuse the software if two cards are touching, and is a pain to use.
Biz-Card Scanning to Go – Biz-Card Scanning to Go – Review by PC Magazine [1].

[1] http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2176491,00.asp

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From PC Magazine. Follow the link for the full story and compare the numbers.

When you’re buying a new printer, there are two things to consider: the printer’s price and the cost of operation. Will you save more in the long run with a cheap printer and expensive ink, or vice versa? It gets quite confusing. To help you out we’ve put together a handy guide that lays out everything you need to know about printer ink, from which company’s is best to how much a particular printer will cost you per page printed
Full Article [1]
Following is a condensed version of the findings. There are many variables and to get the complete picture read the full article using the link above and see the complete chart.

[1] http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2183959,00.asp

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One of the amazing new products I had a chance to preview at the ADA was a new digital impression device from Brontes. The system is now being developed by 3M which purchased Brontes earlier this year. The actual digital impression device is in clinical beta testing and not yet available but is expected to be on the market soon.
This will compete with the CaDent product which I recently mentioned. The Brontes has a different system to capture the digital impression and can take a full arch. This is one of the most exciting developments since digital x-ray and will in my mind have an even greater impact on the profession.
Stay tuned. 

Over 50 million dental impressions are performed in the U.S. each year for the production of almost all dental prosthetics and appliances, including crowns, bridges, implants, braces, aligners and retainers. The average dentist takes several impressions each day in spite of the costly, time consuming, inconsistent, and unpleasant process.
Digital tools for production have been available to the dental industry for many years, but all of these tools start with the same problematic physical input – the dental impression. Brontes will enable a long overdue digital revolution by taking 3D digital data directly from the patient’s mouth and removing the barriers to digital production.
BRONTES TECHNOLOGIES [1].

[1] http://www.brontes3d.com/product.html

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I do not think I’ll ever viewA tree as lovely as a CPU.
Rocks and birds and sky are swell,But can’t compute like my Dell.
What’s as lovely as a tree?A computer is; for geeks like me.

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Somewhere between a PDA and a laptop are some new mobile devices; they’re not as big as laptops but still not as small as a smartphone or PDA. They’ve been called sub-laptops or mega-PDAs; they’re the “middle things.” These devices are smaller, sleeker, and may be capable of doing some of the things you need it to do in a dental office.
A good example of a “middle thing” is the OQO Model 02. (www.oqo.com [1]) It is tiny (5.6″x 3.3″ x 1.0″) easily fits in your hand yet it is a powerful fully functioning computer. It runs Windows XP Pro. has a 1.6 GHz processor and a GB of memory. It is also pricey at $1800.
The future use of the Model 02 would be for the dentist to carry it with him/her anywhere in the office or beyond. The dentist could look up records record notes check x-rays write prescriptions and all the rest. On the other hand such a tiny device would not be appropriate for image capture, patient education or case presentation.

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

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Detects up to 3 times more calculus The DetecTar™ mini is the only electronic dental diagnostic aid available today that can assist clinicians in accurately detecting calculus in a minimally invasive and pain-free manner. This easy to use, cordless device detects up to 3 times more calculus than traditional methods. By quickly and accurately detecting sub-gingival calculus, it helps clinicians reduce the possibility of over-scaling, thereby decreasing root sensitivity and helping ensure proper reattachment of gingival tissue.
Periodontal treatment for gum disease gingivitis, dental calculus and caries search with periodontal probe Detectar [1].

[1] http://www.neks.ca/mini_detectar_en.htm

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Microsoft Vista and Kodak ProductsAs many of you may know Windows Vista was released this year. Windows Vista is a significant upgrade from Windows XP with many changes that impact our products. We are in the process of enabling our products to run under Vista and we are taking the necessary steps to ensure we thoroughly test our products before we can recommend upgrading to Windows Vista.However, at this time our current releases are not compatible with Windows Vista and should not be installed or run under the Vista operating system.Until our products are enabled and tested under Vista, do not upgrade to Windows Vista, or purchase new equipment with Windows Vista until our products are ready. Note that our products are fully compatible with Windows XP and Windows XP is available as option with most equipment vendors.
Important Notice Regarding Microsoft Windows Vista [1].

[1] http://www.kodakdental.com/vista.asp

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The new Dental Rat is now available online click the link below. The new version comes in a wireless option and looks much sleeker than the original.

The Dental R.A.T. is a premium periodontal charting input device; it works with your current dental software. The simple foot-operated mouse enables the most effective, consistent hands-free periodontal charting solution available.
Dental R.A.T. [1].

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

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