Hey,
The Panthers play the Seahawks today.  The long snapper for Carolina is my patient (Jason Kyle).  We ask him for three staight wins the last time he was in.  They have given us the fist two.  Today is the day for the third.  Then we will be Super Bowl bound.  Wish us luck.  I have [...]

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This just in from Lorne Lavine at: The Digital Dentist [1]

Two MAJOR Announcements from Air Techniques Although this has been in the rumor mill for a few months, both were confirmed to me this morning by the Product Manager for Air Techniques. Both of these new products are being officially released on February 1, 2006:
1. The Scan-X will now come with automatic plate erasing. They will call the new units with this In-Line Erase. You will have the option to turn it on or off, although why you would want to do this is anyone’s guess. Of course, with this new feature comes a price increase. The new basic package for the combo unit (intraoral, pans, cephs) will be $22,000, and the intraoral only will be $13,500.
2. Air Techniques will now offer their own digital imaging software called Visix. I haven’t seen any screenshots on the software so I can’t comment on it. I’ll assume that they will still allow third parties to continue to work with their systems (to not do so would be suicide in my opinion). The Visix will work with all of their products, including the Accent sensors. The software will be $1995 for 5 licenses, and $995 for each 5-pack of additional licenses, plus $995 for training. So, realistically, for the average office we work with, you’re looking at $4000 for the software package.
Overall, I’m very excited about these new products. I know a lot of offices purchased Scan-X systems before December 31st for tax purposes. If you haven’t taken delivery yet, I’d call your rep right away to see about upgrading to the In-Line Erase, as I think it beats their plate eraser any day. The automatic bagger is still a separate unit at $995, although don’t be surprised to see that eventually become part of the base unit as well (again, just rumors for now).

[1] http://thedigitaldentist.blogspot.com/

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Read the whole review from PC Magazine here: ABSmini Automatic Backup System 40GB review by PC Magazine [1]

Whether you’re part of a large office or a small business or are flying solo, the ABSmini ($259 direct) from CMS Products is just right for backing up your notebook or desktop. It’s the perfect compact hard drive for anyone who thinks that backing up his or her data is too inconvenient. (You know who you are.) The ABSmini is small—about the size of an iPod—and can fit comfortably in a shirt pocket, so you won’t even notice the extra weight in your laptop bag. It can be a lifesaver if you depend on your data.

[1] http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1911007,00.asp

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Ping Pong is the latest tech slang. It refers to the back and forth blame game that can happen between tech vendors. The hardware guy blames the software. The software folks blame the hardware and they all blame Microsoft (it probably is Microsoft).
As a dentist caught in the middle you are the ping pong ball! Back and forth waiting to get slammed.
There are two strategies to avoid ping ponging. First don’t buy random technology. Many times I visit offices where the hardware came from three different sources, it is running three different operating systems and hasn’t bee updated in years. The software is just as bad. A second tier management system with non dental photo management that is not part of the digital record. Then the doctor adds a stand alone radiology package.
In that kind of a system when something fails, and it will fail, it is very difficult to determine why and how to fix it.
The second strategy is to find a good local IT company with dental experience and let them handle everything. That includes setting up hardware, setting up the network, installing programs, trouble shooting conflicts and monthly maintenance.

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