Top 10 Gadgets

Being a big lover of gadgets myself, I was pleased to see that Wired Magazine has posted their top 10 gadgets for 2005. How many do you have? (I have four with one on the way).

I Spy

As I've been saying for many years, I think that spyware is currently more of a threat than viruses and worms. While almost everyone has antivirus software, a much smaller percentage use and maintain antispyware software. ZDNet has posted the Top 10 Tips to keep a computer (especially a new one) free of spyware. Definitely worth a read.

Free Training

I was cruising HP's website and came across free online courses. Very cool. They cover some pretty good stuff, such as wireless security, MS Word, Excel, etc. Definitely worth a look.

Google Rules the World?

In case you haven't been watching, Google has made some pretty advanced strides the past year; they aren't just for search anymore. Here's a site that has the highlights and some Google features you probably didn't know about.

Check it Out

Many of the offices we install are new offices, and in most cases, they are hiring new staff. One thing I highly recommend for any dentist is to do a background check on any new potential employees (we do). Here's a site that gives you the basics on how to do it without spending a fortune.

Linksys Fun

Have you ever wondered if there were any way to improve the functions of your router? Well, there are, and all you need is a firmware from a third-party. The most common router we use for offices is the Linksys WRT54G. However, there have always been limitations. For example, you can only open 10 ports for online remote access, and the router could not assign static IP addresses. Well, enter DD-WRT, a third-party firmware upgrade. It can handle up to 30 port forwards, assign static IP's, and about two dozen other features. One major note: flashing your firmware is a one-time process. Meaning, if you mess it up or the power goes out, you'll now be the proud owner of a $75 blue plastic paperweight. Follow the instructions closely!

New Treo

The new Treo 700W should be released on January 5th, 2006. You can read the details here. The big news, of course, is that this Treo is running Windows Mobile 5.0. Besides being significant that it's one of the first Mobile 5.0 devices out there, it's not running the Palm OS. So, those of you who were planning to upgrade from the Treo 650 or use it to sync with your PMS program that requires Palm, you're out of luck.

Photos for Free

Many offices we work with are looking for good photos to use for their websites, patient newsletters, etc. While there are plenty of good sites that charge a pretty penny for photos, if you know me by now, you know I'm always looking for a good deal. Here are a few sites that offer high-quality, royalty-free photos:

1. Stock.Xchng. Great sites with plenty of photos.

2. PD Photo. Another nice site with thousands of photos.

3. Open Photo.

Say Cheese

I love to travel with a small digital camera since I'm constantly taking photos of clients' offices. While the dental cameras on the market are great for personal use, nobody would ever accuse them of being small!

Here's a great site with reviews of about five really nice compact cameras. You can check it out here.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

Since we're on the end-of-year theme, I thought I would put together a list of my favorite products and companies in the dental realm. In no particular order:

1. Favorite Small Company Practice Management Software: The Complete Exam. This product continues to impress. Excellent charting module, tight integration with QuickBooks, good technical support, competitive price. Runner-Up: Open Dental.

2. Favorite Large Company Practice Management Software: Dentrix. A solid product that is the most popular program out there. There were some very welcome changes to Image 4.1 (goodbye dongles and ViperNet!), and the screenshots I saw for version 12 just blew me away. Runner-Up: Eaglesoft.

3. Favorite Image Management Software: Tie between XDR and Apteryx. Both programs are excellent in their own right. XDR sports an incredibly easy interface, low cost, and a growing list of features. Apteryx is the "Swiss Army knife" of image software; it does it all. Runner-Up: Tigerview.

4. Favorite Server: The Dell 830. We love Dells for their great tech support and low cost. Get the RAID 1 with 250 GB drives and you'll be set for a long time. Runner-Up: None. We use Dells exclusively.

5. Favorite Workstation: Dell Optiplex 620. Dell took a big hit in the press this year due to their faulty GX 270/280 models with bad motherboards. A lot of our clients were affected. So far, the 620 has been flawless. Get the Small Form Factor. Runner-Up: Shuttle. If space is a consideration, these tiny systems can be customized for any dental situation.

6. Favorite Backup System: Permastor. A true set-t-and-forget-it solution that has ease of use, redundancy, and security. Runner-Up: Maxtor External Hard Drives.

7. Favorite Monitor Mounts: TLC (Chair Potato). Probably the biggest "wow" factor for any office, these systems continue to evolve. Runner-Up: Anything from ICW.

8. Favorite Patient Education: Orasphere. Great little program. Version 3, which will be out in a few weeks, allows you to string multiple presentations together and burn to a CD. Runner-Up: Caesy.

9. Favorite Scanner: Epson 1680 Professional. The industry standard still shines. Runner-Up: Microtek i800. A nice scanner at 1/3 the price of the Epson.

10. Favorite Intraoral Camera: Claris i310. I just love this camera. Great image quality, small docking station with every option imaginable, lightweight handpiece with capture. Runner-Up: RF Einstein.

11. Favorite Sensors: e2v. The best combination of image, cost, comfort, warranty, and company. Runner-Up: Suni.

12. Favorite Digital Camera: Photomed Canon G6. More than enough for 95% of dentists out there. Runner-Up: Photomed Canon Rebel XT.

13. Favorite Printers: HP 2420 and Canon iP6000D. A workhorse LaserJet and really nice inkjet that won't break the bank. Runner-Up; Dell Color Laser 3100.

14. Favorite Online Forum for Dentists: DentalTown. Close to 60,000 members and growing. Close Runner-Up: Internet Dental Forum. The original and still great.

Playing to Good Reviews

Not much to do with dentistry or technology, but...

One of my favorite things about December is the multitude of "Year in Review" TV shows on CNN and ESPN and other networks. Well, no need to wait for that: MSNBC has a 2005 Year in Pictures that plays as a multimedia slide show with audio. Lots of great photos and a nice recap to the main news events of 2005.

Power Play

One of the toughest challenges for my techs and I is dealing with wireless networks. While in theory they sound great, we've had our fair share of problems in offices where the our tests showed that the signal strength is good. For those reasons, and in situations where standard cabling isn't an option, the new Powerline networking looks very promising. As the name suggests, signals travel over the power line and with a simple adapter, they can share Internet and connections just like a regular network connection. There was a news article yesterday that announced that some companies in Texas were planning to roll out a similar service in 2006. Speeds will be closer to the older 802.11b speed (around 11-12 MB/s), but the adapters are under $100 are worth a shot if you want wireless but can't get it to work reliably.

Double Duty

Here's a great new idea. As many of you know, I love dual displays, not just for operatories but in any situation. The problem is, what if you have a laptop? Well, here's Matrox to the rescue with DualHead2Go. It's an external box that more or less splits the signal from your laptop's external video port and allows you to stretch the image over two monitors, so you can really have 3 screens if you use the laptop screen. Very nifty and at $150 or so, inexpensive.

Laptop LoJack

According to may surveys I've seen, over 500,000 laptops are stolen in this country each year. Here's a nifty little service that helps: LoJack for Laptops. Basically, it installs invisible software on your laptop and when the thief goes online, it reports its location to the company who then notify the police. A 3-year subscription is under $100.

Searching for Answers

While most people are very familiar with the major search engines like Google and Yahoo, there are literally hundreds of others out there, some very cool and specialized. You can see a list of a few of these right here. Some of my favorites are:

1. Ditto, an image search database.

2. Healthline, a medical search directory.

3. Foodieview, which searches recipes.

Cover it Up

KC International is now offering sheaths for sensors in a very convenient pop-top box design. These are universal sheaths for both #1 and #2 sensors, and they also have a sheath that fits over the RINN kit if you prefer that.

New Flaws

Microsoft recently announced that they have discovered a new security flaw in Windows that could allow hackers to take over your system. You can read about it at the CNN Money site. I've said it before but I'll say it again: set all your computers to download and update security patches automatically. You can find this setting by right-clicking My Computer, then left click Properties, then Automatic Updates, then choose the top button and set a time like 3 AM.

On a side note, make sure your antivirus is up to date. There have been plenty of news stories about a major Sober worm outbreak that is due to happen January 6, 2006.

Pushing the Edge

USB Thumbdrives keep getting larger and larger. Edge Tech Corp just announced an 8 GB model (8 GB!). At $620, it won't win any price wars, but this is a huge amount of storage for a flash drive.

Dell DataSafe

As I was configuring a Dell Dimension for a client this week, I noticed that Dell now has a new automatic backup called DataSafe. What is it? Basically, it's an automatic backup system that combines Norton Ghost and a RAID 1 drive array (two mirrored drives). If it works, it will be a great benefit to users as it truly automates the backup process. So far, though, it only appears to be available on the Dimension line...which we hardly ever recommend due to all the crap they load on these systems.

Slim Jim

Here's a great idea that I wish I had thought of. I'm a huge fan of the USB thumb drives that everyone has...it easily allows me to carry my most important data and files when I travel. But, with my keys constantly banging on it (it's on my keychain), I've gone through three of these the past two years. Enter Wallet Flash. It's a 128 MB drive that looks and is the same size as a credit card. It easily fits into a wallet. At $29 plus shipping, a real bargain.

Lost and Found

Here's a very exciting idea that may end up putting the entire search world on its ear. Most search engines work by waiting for you to type in a terms, and then they find it for you. However, what if your computer was smart enough to know what you were working on and it went out on its own to bring up items that you were likely to search for? That's the entire concept behind Watson by Intellext. There's a free version that is definitely worth a download, and it can read everything from Internet Explorer to Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Check it out.

Dell Deals

Dell is offering $300 off many of their popular Plasma and LCD TV's. If you're looking for a nice gift (well, not for me, unless you wanted to be really generous!), Dell has been getting solid reviews. Check out the specials here.

Thrashing Around

You're at your PC, reading a web page, and for some reason your hard drive light suddenly starts flashing like crazy. Or perhaps you aren't using your computer at all - but yet you still hear the click-click-click of the hard disk doing something. What is it causing it? Is it a virus? 99% of the time, so called "disk thrashing" is perfectly harmless.

Likely causes of disk thrashing

The most likely culprits are anti-virus software, anti-spyware software, instant messenger programs (IM), and Microsoft's own indexing service.

Some IM software, such as Trillian or AOL Instant Messenger, may write system events to a cache file. A system event may be that someone on your buddy list is logging on or logging off. Your IM program takes note of this, and may write that to a file, or even play a sound.

If you have anti-virus or anti-spyware software installed, they are probably set to auto-protect (and they should be set that way). That means that they are constantly monitoring your system to make sure that there is no virus or spyware activity. Especially if another program is making a small change (like if the IM program is writing to the cache file), the anti-virus and anti-spyware programs will suddenly "wake-up" to check to make sure that the disk activity isn't the result of a virus.

Other programs that monitor your disk for changes are indexing utilities, like "Google Desktop" and Windows XP's indexing service. Whenever something is written to your hard drive, these programs also make note of the change so that your searches (whether through Google Desktop or through the Search function in Windows) are always up to date.

So, in essence, a small event (like someone on your buddy list logging off) may cause 4 or 5 other programs to also access the hard disk!

One easy fix is to disable the Windows XP indexing service. Your searches (when you click on Start, then Search) make take longer as a result.
To turn it off, click the Start button and choose Run...
In the pop-up box, type in services.msc
In the Services window, find the Indexing Service and double-click on it to see its Properties.
Change the Startup type to Manual. Click the Stop button to stop the service from currently running, then hit OK and close the Services window.

Find out what is accessing your hard disk

If you want to find out specifically which programs are accessing your drive, SysInternals makes a great free utility called Filemon - download it here.

There's no need to install Filemon - just unzip the files and double-click the filemon.exe program to run it.

This program makes it very easy to see what processes are accessing your hard drive, and what folders the processes are looking at. If you don't know what a particular process is, the quickest way to find out is simply to enter the process name in Google. For instance, if I Google "rtvscan.exe", it will show me loads of web pages about Symantec's Norton Anti-Virus.

The Cure for What Ails You

If you're like me, you are constantly dealing with error messages and problems with your computer systems. I was searching online today and came across a great site that summarizes all the major problems and how to deal with them. The site is called Diagnose XP. It breaks down the problems into categories like antivirus, spyware, hard drives, drivers, system errors, etc. They will also offer a number of free or low cost solutions for each category. Nice compilation of useful information.

File it Under...

Here's a great site that lists all the major online sites for free file hosting. It will tell you the maximum file size, the amount of storage available, if any restrictions exist on the file types, bandwidth limits, and when the files are deleted. Great resource if you're planning to backup or keep files online.

The Times, They Are A Changin'

Dental Products Report recently released a comparison of technology trends in the dental office and compared that to the same survey that made in 2002. Here are the interesting differences that I noticed:

1. The percentage of offices using digital cameras shot up from 38% to 63%, while intraoral camera use went from 61% to 58%. I attribute this to some offices finding their intraoral cameras breaking down after years of use and the dentists choosing to either not replace them or to replace them with a digital camera.

2. Digital x-ray systems showed a similar growth pattern. Intraoral systems rose from 12% to 28% and digital pans from 4% to 13%. The growth wasn't unexpected although I question the 28% market penetration, as our experiences would put that number closer to 10-15%. Perhaps the average reader of DPR is more technologically savvy.

3. Computer use in the office has also risen. Computers in the office jumped from 78% to 90%, flat screen monitor use rose significantly from 33% to 71%, and intraoffice communication systems went from 30% to 47%. The most surprising numbers to me, though, were the fact that only 44% of offices use computer software in the ops (that's not enough!), and most surprisingly, a full 24% say they are using Tablet PC's. We've worked with close to 400 offices, and I've seen about 2-3 Tablets total.

You can see the full results of the survey here.

Newsletters

If you are considering an electronic newsletter for your patients (and if you're not, you should), here's a short little primer on how to best create and manage your lists. You can see the details here.

Ask Away

Here's a potentially really cool site: Yahoo Answers. The name pretty much says it all...you ask questions and people give answers. It seems to be in the vein of the original Ask Jeeves but looks to be more user friendly. Check it out.

Choosing an Intraoral Camera

While digital radiography is currently the "hot" new technology, intraoral cameras are still, in my opinion, a very important part of the digital dental office. They are not experiencing the rapid growth of digital x-rays, but most studies show market penetration of around 50%, so there are still plenty of offices who are looking at these systems. Here are a few of my overall impressions when choosing cameras, in no particular order:

1. Unlike many other systems in dentistry, with intraoral cameras, you tend to get what you pay for. Do you have a limited budget and want the $129 Miharu camera? Well, what you'll get is a $129 image. It may be fine for patient use or light hygiene use; this would not be the camera you use for finding fractures.

2. There are basically two type of intraoral cameras: fiber optic, and LED. The fiber optic cameras are the ones have been around for a long time: AcuCam, DigiDoc, and others. The LED cameras are the newer systems and would include the Claris, the Schick, and the Einstein.

3. The Einstein is the only major brand that offers a wireless handpiece. Image quality is so-so, and interference can be an issue. But most people who have it find the image to be acceptable.

4. One of the main considerations that you have to think about is the interface. The older and many newer cameras use an analog connection (S-Video or RCA), so you'll need a capture card like the Hauppauge WinTV. Make sure your software is compatible with this card. Dentrix, for example, only works with their own Viper PCI card. Many newer cameras use a USB interface, so you'll definitely need to check with the image software provider to ensure they work together.

5. In most cases, the fiber optic cameras have better image quality than the LED cameras. I think the Claris is on par with the fiber optics, but that's just a personal opinion, and I've never really liked the halo effect (that black circle around the image) that you get with some fiber optic systems.

There's no perfect system out there. Consider your budget and image quality needs when choosing a system.

Color My World

Found this really cool software online called Recolored. Basically, the name says it all. You can take black and white images and colorize them...Ted Turner would love this! This site shows you some examples and has a link to download the program. Check it out.

Logo-licious

Here's a really cool idea. You know how many offices will put their logos on promotional items, like pens and calendars? Wouldn't it be nice to see what the products look like before you order them? Then click on over to OC Print House. You can upload your logo and then see how it will look on hundreds of items. The website also allows you to change the size of the logo on the fly. Very cool and useful.

The Ultimate Tweaking Guide to Windows XP

Found this guide online, and I have to say, it's the most comprehensive guide I've ever seen to manual tweaking and programs that allow you to get the most out of Windows. Here's the writeup:

The TweakGuides Tweaking Companion is the complete system optimization guide for Windows XP users. No longer do you have to put up with so-called "Windows XP Guides" which have a handful of Registry tweaks and some vague optimization advice - the TweakGuides Tweaking Companion brings an enormous range of detailed descriptions and resources together in one free 170 page downloadable PDF file. Everything from the correct installation of Windows and critical software and drivers, through to recommendations for every significant setting in XP, all the major performance, visual and convenience tweaks, and descriptions of XP's functionality. The guide includes comprehensive chapters on overclocking, benchmarking and stress testing, troubleshooting and regular maintenance procedures. Basically the TweakGuides Tweaking Companion is the mother of all Windows XP tweak guides and system optimization guides.

Email Etiquette

As someone who gets about 75-100 legitimate emails/day (and close to 200/day spam emails), I know how nice it is to communicate with people who follow basic etiquette. I found a great site that has the top 25 tips for proper email etiquette, and while I know that this is second nature for most of you, a few tips never hurt. You can check it out here.

Free is Good

The website Freeware Guide has listed their top 10 free programs. A few that I think are great include:

1. JAlbum. This software takes your digital images and makes them into web-based photo albums.

2. Unlocker. A very useful tool to unlock those pesky "locked" files.

3. Winpatrol. A nice anti-malware program suite.

4. XP SysPad. A utility that gives you control over your Windows system and many others features.

And, they are all free.

Build it and They Will Come

There's no better way in the world to really understand computers than to build your own. I used to build all my own systems for myself and clients. With over 80% of our clients being outside California, it made more sense for us to use Dell since they can offer local support. But I'm still a huge fan of building a system.

If you want to learn how to do it on your own, this site has a great walkthrough with tons of pictures. Leave yourself a good day to build from scratch if it's your first time, but have a good time doing it as it really can be fun and informative.

Fight On!

Even those this is a dental technology blog, I can't let the weekend pass without a big congrats to my beloved USC Trojan football team. Another perfect season, another BCS championship game. This means a lot to an 'SC grad ('80-'84) who suffered through 4 years without a trip to the Rose Bowl. On a side note, if you have tickets (except on the Texas side), please let me know...any reasonable request will be considered!

ipod Love

Are you (like me) a fan of the ipod and iTunes? Do you ever feel that it would be nice to have a single site where you can learn the basics of how to use or get more out of your ipod? Apple has come to rescue with a site devoted just to this purpose. You can get the details here.

AOL Security Suite

I know a lot of you are AOL users, so this should be of interest to you:

In an effort to better protect its members from the ever-increasing tide of worms, viruses, spyware and other security risks, AOL on Friday rolled out a standalone application called Safety and Security Center. The tool fills the gaps in Windows with antivirus, anti-spyware, and firewall protection.

AOL has tapped McAfee to provide the virus scanning engine and firewall, which is designed to protect both dial-up and broadband Internet users. AOL Spyware Protection 2.0, meanwhile, utilizes Computer Associate's PestPatrol technology to remove over 28,000 different spyware and malware programs.

Employing the same feature found in AOL Explorer and Netscape, Safety and Security Center boasts phishing protection that blocks access to questionable Web sites. AOL works with a number of partners to keep an updated list of known phishing URLs and also collections reports of suspicious activity from users.

Parental controls are also included that allow parents to prohibit their children from accessing certain Web sites. Parents can set an online timer and track the Web usage of their kids using the AOL Guardian "report card."

Like Microsoft's own Security Center in Windows XP SP2, AOL Safety and Security Center features a unified console that displays information of the AOL software on their computer. Along with the aforementioned tools, the console highlights the status of spam protection and pop-up controls as well.

"A broadband connection is basically an open pipe to the Internet, which means that high speed users are particularly vulnerable to thousands of new viruses and spyware threats as they emerge," said Joe Redling, President of AOL's Access Business. "That's why it's so important for our members to have safeguards."

Although AOL Safety and Security Center is a standalone application, it is currently only available to paying AOL subscribers. However, with the company's recent push to embrace the open Web, it is possible the service could be extended to all Internet users in the near future.

AOL members running version 8.0 or higher can download the free software by visiting AOL Keyword: Safety or via www.aol.com/safety. Current parental controls and security settings will be imported from the AOL client into Safety and Security Center, the company says.

Deals Galore

I know a lot of people make their purchases towards the end of the year. Why not take advantage of any deals that are out there? One of my favorite sites for this is DealCatcher, which lets you know of any coupon codes and specials for some of your favorite stores. For example, on today's main page, they show Dell specials that include 20% of certain Dimension models, and our favorite inkjet, the Canon ip6000D, is on sale for $120 for today only. Come back often to this site as the specials are constantly being updated.

Keeping Score

An excellent site that I've been using to make my purchasing decisions is Viewscore. The basic premise of the site is to tabulate product rankings from other sites into one score that will rank products. It looks like it's all technology rated. For example, here's their recent ranking for digital cameras. Definitely worth a look if you are planning a purchase but don't want to waste hours online.

Do the Domain

Found this on Hostfinders. Basically, I recommend that every office not only have a website, but their own domain name as well. Here are the reasons to consider this:

1. It demonstrates permanency. Regardless of the nature of your business, having a site hosted by AngelFire or AOL or any of the free hosts makes web surfers cringe. If you're not willing to spring for the domain name, are you really going to be around that long?

It's the same thing as having a permanent office. Whether it's actually true or not, it causes people to attribute more permanency to your business.

2. It's affordable. Really affordable. If you bought a website address in the late 90's or so, you had to pay $75 or more per year for a domain. While this was still reasonable for many organizations, for smaller businesses, it simply wasn't worth the money.

Now, however, domains can be purchased for much less. As little as $7 a year, in fact. Some places charge a little bit more for the convenience of having your domain name and hosting with the same company, but it's still a fraction of what it used to be. (And I've found having the domain name and hosting with the same company is well worth the few extra dollars.)

3. You can use the domain for your email address. Let's face it, webdesigner165768 @ yahoo.com (not a real address) does not look nearly as professional as drlavine@thedigitaldentist.com. And while free web based email is certainly useful for many things, it should not be used for businesses. To a certain degree, this goes back to the issue of perceived permanency.

In fact, there is more permanency in that your email address will never have to change. Even if you switch hosts, your domain name stays the same.

4. It's easier to remember. www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/7116 is a lot harder to remember than something like www.google.com

5. It will rank a lot higher in search engines. A lot higher.

6. No one else can claim it. I've talked to a realtor who had this problem. Another realtor in her area actually had the same name as her, and purchased a domain with that name. The realtor I spoke with lost several clients who mistakenly went to the other realtor, then ended up just using her.

Even if you're not quite ready to get a website, you should go ahead and buy a domain for your business. It's really easy to do, and you can "park" your domain. This means a temporary page will be displayed that says something like "website coming soon." Then, at least no one else can stake their claim on it.