The Heat is On

One of the most common issues with aging laptops is overheating, something many people aren’t sure how to fix. We’ll help you figure out what’s causing the heat and how to keep your notebook functioning at a lower temperature.

Google+

Many of you may have heard of the new Google social media site, Google+, which launched a few weeks ago. If you have a lot of time and information invested in Facebook, it’s not easy moving to a new social network. Here are a few tips on moving your information from your Facebook account to your shiny new Google+ account.

Webbed Feet

Web apps—apps from the cloud—is not just a viable option, but for many, it's the norm. Why buy a big office suite or even download a free office suite to install, when you can run great productivity apps right in the browser? We're here to show you our picks for the 99 best Web apps that make surfing the same as working on your desktop.

Safe and Sound

Connecting to the internet from Wi-Fi hotspots, at work, or anywhere else away from home, exposes your data to unnecessary risks. You can easily configure your router to support a secure tunnel and shield your remote browser traffic—read on to see how.

Movin' and Groovin'

When you buy a new computer, you start with a clean slate, which is great, but you don't have any of your documents or settings from your old computer. Luckily, it's very easy to transfer all your files and settings from your old computer to the new one—whether you're on Windows or a Mac.

Slow Fade

So, your laptop battery doesn't last very long anymore? How can you tell what's going on or wrong with it and if it needs replacing? Read about it here.

Changing Places

Many of you may have heard over the past few days that Google Places is changing how they interact with reviews. There has been concern that it would adversely affect companies like Demandforce, which post reviews directly into Google. Well, according to their blog, their users have nothing to worry about.

Schooling the Competition

Curve Dental’s Free, Web-based Patient Education Software a Part of the Midwestern University’s Dental School Experience

OREM, UT— Curve Dental, developers of Web-based dental software, announced that Midwestern University’s College of Dental Medicine would use the company’s free, Web-based patient education software, CurveEd, in the school’s dental clinic. The software will be used by the school’s dental students to educate their patients on how to achieve better oral health.

“We’re delighted that Midwestern University has chosen to use CurveEd to help their students learn to interact and educate patients,” said Jim Pack, CEO of Curve Dental. “CurveEd is a Web-based solution that removes the hassles and worries associated with traditional client-server software; there’s no installation, upgrade, or backup worries and because the software is so easy to use there’s no need for expensive training or support. Providing the service at no charge makes it even easier for the doctor, hygienist or dental assistant—or the dental student—to put it to use to the benefit of the patient and the practice.”

CurveEd provides more than 60 different dental patient education videos in 3D in 11 different categories. Each video is professionally narrated, covering a wide range of topics from restorative procedures to cosmetic procedures to endodontics. Created by a team of dentists, every video is accurate with regard to anatomy and procedure, but is tempered with a light narrative and artistic style. Patient education helps the dental professional build trust by providing their patients with an understanding of their current oral health condition and proposed treatment and outcomes.

CurveEd allows the dental team to show patient education videos within the practice or send a Web link to their patient via e-mail. When a video link is sent by e-mail, CurveEd tracks what video link was sent to which patient and whether or not the patient opened the e-mail and clicked on the link to the video. Detailed tracking can help the practice build a comprehensive patient history and show proper jurisprudence.

As a Web-based application, CurveEd can be used on a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone and other similar mobile devices. To access the software, navigate to www.curveed.com and create a free account. Once you have created an account, you access the patient education library from any computer with Internet access and a browser. Registration requires little more than a name and e-mail address. Initial registration provides the practice with access to about one third of the library. By simply referring CurveEd to two colleagues the doctor or team member will have instant access to the entire library while giving other dental professionals the opportunity to utilize the free service in their practices.

“I’ve been asked many times if the software really is free,” said Mr. Pack. “It really is free, which is remarkable given the value it can provide to any practice. A better educated patient base increases treatment plan acceptance ratios, which increases a practice’s productivity. CurveEd’s mission is twofold: First to provide a valuable tool that can advance proper oral care and treatment and second, to give more doctors and staff a personal experience with Web-based dental software.”

Talk is Cheap

You may type blindingly fast, but Google wants to make it even easier for your to search using other means—including your voice and images. Search by voice and images may sound like unnecessary features, but once you give them a try, you may be surprised at how well they work. Here's how to enable and start using Google's keyboard-free search features.

Dossier

DES MOINES, IA: July 22, 2011— eDossea, a company that provides online tools for handling patient data within HIPAA guidelines, has introduced its file sharing and storage portal, eDossea™ Version 1.0. The web-based platform allows doctors to transfer patient records safely and securely online (while maintaining x-ray image quality), and does not conflict with patient management software programs.

eDossea 1.0 gives dental professionals an easy way to securely store patient files, share them between offices, and provide them to dental labs or specialists (the recipients do not have to be eDossea clients). When an office refers patients to a specialist—such as an oral surgeon or an endodontist—or sends cases to a dental lab, there is a need to transfer x-rays and other patient information. This is often done in ways that are unsecure or costly, such as mailing printed records, emailing files, using unprotected online file-sharing programs, or exporting files from patient management software. In addition to the costs of staff time, printing, and possible data loss, these methods can expose the practice to HIPAA violations, fines, and potentially large lawsuits. eDossea 1.0 provides a secure system that facilitates easy sharing of the records within HIPAA guidelines, giving the specialist’s office or dental lab easy access to files while preserving image quality and data integrity.

eDossea 1.0 requires little or no training for staff, does not require special software or downloading, and is available for a reasonable monthly fee. Clinicians can try the service free for 30 days by clicking “Free Demo” at www.eDossea.com.

FreeBird

Does it pay to be Internet savvy? Yes. In more ways than many people imagine. Sure, the Internet is a great way to research just about anything you could ever want to know about; and it’s an outstanding communication, marketing, and entertainment tool. But the Internet can also save you a boatload of money. And we’re not just talking 10 cents off here and there. We’re talking free (and nearly free) stuff.

Want proof? Here are a few of the sites where a host of free goods are lurking, ripe for the taking.

Survey Says...

I've been saying for years that attendance at our dental trade shows is down. here's a survey done in Canada that proves that. Canada would mimic the US in most cases:

Toronto – June 15, 2011 – “Time” has become a major consideration for Canadian dentists in deciding whether or not to attend the Exhibit Floor at conventions, according to results from the DIAC (Dental Industry Association of Canada) Fifteenth Annual Future of Dentistry Survey.

Overall, almost three-quarters (71.4%) of respondents spent 3 hours or less on the exhibit floor itself during their attendance at a typical Convention with almost one-half (43.8%) spending two hours or less. On the other side of the ledger, almost 30% (28.6%) stated they were visiting the Exhibit Floor for 4 hours or more. Regionally, Maritime respondents spent less time visiting the Exhibits on
average (2.3 hours) while Ontario dentists spent the most at 3.3 hours on average.
This preference for an Exhibit Floor with Ontario dentists was reinforced by the finding that only 49.5% of Ontario respondents would definitely still attend a Convention if it did not have an Exhibit Floor. This response varied noticeably from that of respondents in other Regions with 60-70% of dentists still willing to attend in the West, Quebec and the Maritimes.

In terms of the main reasons why dentists were not attending the Exhibit Floor per routine, “no time” was the primary answer given by 41% of respondents. Time pressures may also be indicated by other responses such as wanting to “attend lectures/courses” instead (18%), wishing to “talk to peers” (5%), “closes too early” (5%) and “too far away” from the lecture areas (3%).

With regard to what is currently influencing respondents on whether to visit the Exhibit Floor, Product Samples were judged the most influential aspect, followed closely by New Technologies, Hands-on Demonstrations and Discount/Specials. Those aspects with the least influence included Contests, On-Floor Events (e.g., Wine & Cheese, etc) and Advance Direct Mail Announcements.

Over 1000 practicing Canadian dentists responded to this year’s survey (similar to the response achieved over each of the previous fourteen years) with a good proportional distribution across all regions of the country. Based on this response rate, overall 2011 survey results have an accuracy of +/- 3.08% 19 times out of 20.

A Stitch in Time

There are a number of applications that will make sure you're on time for your appointments and never forget your best friend's birthday, but they're not all created equal. Here's a look at five of the most popular desktop calendaring applications.

Gone Baby Gone

While we think of our computers as great time savers and tools, the fact is that there are many things that are no longer relevant thanks to the PC. Here are 15 Standards and Technologies killed off by the PC.

Five Fingered Discount

Firefox 5 is one of the best browsers on the internet right now. Despite of Google Chrome’s success, many people still prefer to use Mozilla Firefox as their default browser. The latest update of Firefox 5 was released few days back with many new features and improvements. There are number of addons available for Mozilla Firefox which can improve the performance, privacy and productivity of users. For that purpose, we have gathered a list of some useful Firefox addons.

Clean Up in Aisle Four

Many of you are q little lost when it comes to Windows maintenance. Should you be defragging, cleaning your registry, and running programs like CCleaner? What do you actually need to do to maintain your Windows PC?

Long Life

For all of their power and versatility, smartphones--even the best of them--are cursed with abysmal battery life. Unless you use your phone very sparingly (and who does that?), you're lucky to make it home at the end of the day with enough juice left in the battery for one more call. But with the right apps and a little insight, you can double your smartphone's battery life--and work (and play) longer than ever before.

Best if the Rest?

Many of you are putting flat screen TVs into your dental offices. There are three main options: LCD, LED, and plasma. Which is right for you? Read on!

Slow Motion

A new survey of 107 IT administrators, managers and C-level executives from organizations of various sizes conducted by GlobalSign, a provider of SSL certificates, finds that while there seems to be more focus on compliance and security issues than ever in the health care industry, progress to date has been somewhat limited.

While there appears to be a lot of manual effort devoted to these tasks, health care organizations are having a tough time identifying technology products that will help manage the process. The end result seems to be a growing acceptance that fines associated with compliance and privacy may soon be just another cost of doing business in the health care industry versus something that needs to be addressed by putting in better IT systems to manage the process.

My company has been offering a very reasonable self-assessment package for dentists for quite some time. Feel free to contact me for more info.

Friendly Fire

Facebook is great for connecting with others, but you probably don't want to share all your news, photos, and other profile information with everyone you're connected to on the social networking site. Here's a primer for Facebook beginners on organizing friends into lists that give you more control over what you share and with whom.

Forward Thinking

We cover a lot of articles that feature accessing files and features from inside and outside of your network. This usually entails forwarding ports, something thathttp://beta.blogger.com/img/blank.gif may seem daunting for beginners, but it’s actually pretty simple to do.

There are plenty of projects we’ve covered that use your computer as a server for other devices. When you’re inside of your network, things are great and they work. When you’re trying to access things from outside of your network, things get significantly hairier, so let’s take a look at why that is.

Hide and Seek

If you're tired of a taskbar cluttered with applications that you need to have open but can't be properly hidden or minimized, HideIt allows you to minimize any application to your Windows system tray by right-clicking its minimize button. Very cool!

Oh, I Wish I Were An Oscar Meyer....

Congressman's Anthony Weiner's very public downfall had all the earmarks of a memorable and salacious scandal. Weiner made a host of mistakes, but was mostly http://beta.blogger.com/img/blank.giffelled by astoundingly bad misjudgment about social interaction on the Web. What happened to former Congressman Weiner is, without a doubt, a cautionary tale, but it should also serve as a lesson in for everyone about social media. Here are 10 tips to help you avoid your own personal Weinergate.

Lockdown

Apple started selling unlocked iPhones a few weeks ago, but they're really expensive. Is there any real benefit to buying an unlocked iPhone or are you better off getting one on a contract? What about unlocked phones in general?

Fanning the Flames

If you work on a laptop, then you know how annoying the fans can sometimes be. There are a number of reasons your computer's fan could be noisy, but most of them boil down to "it's just too hot in there". Here are a few things you can try to get it running a bit cooler and quieter.

Webinar on Cloud Computing

Have you been hearing about cloud computing but not sure what that means? Wonder how this affects dental software? I'll be presenting a free webinar at 5 PM PDT tomorrow on this, you can register by clicking here.

Head in the Clouds

Looks like Caesy has jumped on the cloud bandwagon as well. Pricing starts at $59/month.


ST. PAUL, Minn. – (July 5, 2011) – Patterson Dental Supply, Inc. introduces CAESY Cloud, an online portal giving instant access to CAESY DVD’s multimedia presentations via the Cloud, compatible with PC and Mac desktop computers, Smartphones, and the iPad, iPhone and iPod. With CAESY Cloud, dental professionals will have access to valuable patient education resources from multiple locations at the same time. While this is a new format of the CAESY Patient Education System, CAESY Cloud offers the same cutting edge technology, with more presentations than any other patient education software on the market. With content accessible through the Cloud, subscribers have instant access to the latest videos and updates.

CAESY Cloud requires no installation; dental professionals can simply sign up for the service by visiting www.CAESYCloud.com to gain access to the presentations for immediate chairside use. A low monthly subscription fee makes CAESY Cloud available to dental practices with little initial investment. All that is needed to access CAESY Cloud is an Internet connection. Network connections between participating computers is not required. After subscribing, users simply visit the website to access the full library of CAESY’s robust patient education presentations.

With the addition of CAESY Cloud, dental professionals now have more tools and more options than ever before, with three delivery formats to choose from — CAESY Cloud, CAESY DVD or CAESY Enterprise. Countless dental professionals have seen how CAESY optimizes staff time, eliminates the fatigue of repeating explanations, and increases case acceptance. With full-motion video, full-color graphics and dynamic 3D animation, CAESY makes it simple for patients to see and understand the message.

CAESY Education Systems has been dentistry’s premier developer of leading-edge patient education technology and content since 1993. Patterson Dental Supply, Inc. acquired CAESY in May 2004. The award-winning multimedia information on preventive, restorative and esthetic treatment options helps dental practices worldwide educate their patients and grow their practices. The CAESY content is distributed via video and computer networks or DVD players, and now CAESY Cloud throughout the clinical and reception areas of the dental practice. The family of products includes CAESY Cloud, CAESY DVD, Smile Channel DVD, and CAESY Enterprise, which includes CAESY, Smile Channel and ShowCase. For more information, visit www.caesy.com or call 1-800-294-8504; to gain instant access to CAESY presentations in your practice, visit www.caesycloud.com.

Hack Atack

Your friends are reporting spam and pleas for money originating from your email account and some of your logins aren’t working; you’ve been compromised. Read on to see what to do right now and how to protect yourself in the future.

Office Alternatives

Many of you have used Office alternatives like OpenOffice and LibreOffice and been happy with them. Do you wonder if you're missing anything by not using Office? Here's food for thought.

Taking Out the Trash

Dragging stuff to the Recycle Bin can be annoying if it's hidden amongst the clutter on your desktop, behind all your windows. MiniBin puts it in your system tray, making deleting files and emptying the bin super easy.

It may seem like a small tweak, but MiniBin really does make dealing with deleted files easy. Not only can you open up the recycle bin just by right clicking on it, but you can even empty on it just by double-clicking—no showing the desktop necessary. You can also turn on and off sounds, the progress bar, and the confirmation dialog when you empty it by opening up its preferences. It also lets you tweak its CPU usage for older machines, and customize the icon that shows up in your system tray. It's a simple app, but saves you the annoyance of showing your desktop every time you want to deal with the Recycle Bin.

MiniBin is a free download for Windows only.

Three Amigos

Corrupt system files, account lockouts, and accidentally deleted data are three scary computer problems that often send people running for their backup drives. While restoring a backup may technically fix things, a full system backup is usually a very time-consuming overkill in these cases, and nobody likes the time-warp effect of restoring one (e.g., if your last full backup ran a week ago). When these problems occur, fixing them can be far simpler than you might think.