Computer for Ophthalmology Residency

[Hollenhorst]

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I know this is a pretty ridiculous thread, but (!) now that the match is over, and I'm happy, have free time and extra cash saved over from roughing it during the interview process, I'd like to buy myself something pretty--a new computer! Now, the questions:
--With regards to ophthalmology, do you EVER need to bring a notebook to clinic? I have never seen any of the residents/faculty do that. But maybe I'm not around the super-efficient types who bring their notebooks everywhere. Or should I get a desktop?
--Again in terms of ophthalmology-related software (if there is such a thing!), is one platform better than the other? (this is a bit of a moot point since Macs can run XP now)
--What are you guys happy with? I'm leaning toward a macbook--first foray into that the mac lifestyle.

Thanks!

 

[mashnuts]

Not sure if it'll run all the necessary programs for a resident, not sure it even has legs as a viable computer system considering it lacks an optical drive

But you'll certainly have the best-looking notebook in clinic with a MacBook Air. And it'll probably be missing in 15 minutes 😛

 

[Wolverine98]

First I'll say that, as a resident, I don't think it's crucial by any stretch of the imagination. Now onto me in particular:

I have a Macbook, and I pretty much take it everywhere with me. There were two main reasons I got it. One was the overall stability of the software, because I'm sick of Windows, and I'm not into programming enough to deal with Linux or one of those. The other was iMovie. Go to academy or any of the other meetings, and watch the people who have the best videos. Almost all of them are on Macs now. The editting software is just so easy to use. Granted, for the same price, you can get all that stuff for a PC, but, IME, the Mac programs are much more straightforward and quicker. Depending on the format, often a PC can't play a video from a Mac. This is an issue if you want to get a copy of one of those videos you saw at a conference.

In surgery I can hook my computer directly to the video system and record it in real time, or I can record on a tape or on DV and then transfer it later.

I was also able to save Grand Rounds (for both internal and external speakers) a few times when the PC systems crashed or couldn't play what the speakers had brought with them.

Dave

PS I'm talking about anterior segment videos here. I have no idea about what the retina folks are doing.

 

[Wolverine98]

But you'll certainly have the best-looking notebook in clinic with a MacBook Air. And it'll probably be missing in 15 minutes 😛

There would be two other big concerns for me with the MB Air. One is the size of the hard drive. If you get a lot of videos and presentations, it won't take long to run out of space. The other issue is the DVD. The full MacBook has a DVD burner.

Dave

 

[ryandote]

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[Andrew_Doan]

You should consider a computer with multimedia capabilities. PCs can do a good job, but Macs do an outstanding job with working with video. You can tape your surgeries and prepare them to be shared during rounds or even on the web, www.eyerounds.org or www.eyepodvideo.org.

Personally, I used a Dell 600M throughout residency and fellowship for everything I need to do.

 

[PDT4CNV]

I have a dell laptop running vista. Use adobe premier elements to edit surgical videos. Works pretty well, although to load large files sometimes takes a while.

Have used imovie on macs and it seems to work quite well also and is very popular...but I am a pc person so I stuck with pc.

Few pointers, to edit video without waiting forever, get the maximum amount of RAM and best video-card possible. Processor speed is less important (the difference b/t 2.2 ghz and 2.4 is not as noticeable for video editing).

Dell laptops currently max out at 4gb of RAM which I recommend. If you plan to store those big video files, large HD is needed also.

Mine is an inspiron series, but their xps laptops supposedly offer more speed/power for graphic intensive tasks.

 

[MossPoh]

There would be two other big concerns for me with the MB Air. One is the size of the hard drive. If you get a lot of videos and presentations, it won't take long to run out of space. The other issue is the DVD. The full MacBook has a DVD burner.

Dave

You can have a dvd burner that attaches to the MB air. It isn't ideal, but I doubt many people are physically walking with their laptop while burning a dvd. Also, the HD isn't as much as a concern as it seems. If you work with A LOT of video then a laptop is less than ideal to begin with, but if it is only light to moderate you can get a cheap external harddrive that has plenty of room. Also, the macbook air is designed to bank on wireless capabilities. Supposedly, you can even watch a dvd or install programs by inserting the disc in your other computer and just streaming over the wireless. Now, how well that works..>I have no clue. I know someone that was working on the prototypes and they were pretty happy with it though.

 

[Wolverine98]

You can have a dvd burner that attaches to the MB air. It isn't ideal, but I doubt many people are physically walking with their laptop while burning a dvd. Also, the HD isn't as much as a concern as it seems. If you work with A LOT of video then a laptop is less than ideal to begin with, but if it is only light to moderate you can get a cheap external harddrive that has plenty of room.

If you have a good camera and HD video capabilities, it's pretty easy to fill up a harddrive (internal or external) during a full day of surgery, especially with residents operating. I record all of my cases, and then I take them home and edit them when and where it's convenient.
I do often burn DVDs while I'm on the road. If I'm sitting in a hotel waiting to go to dinner, or sitting in an airport waiting to board, I can get some of this stuff done. I know several others who do the same thing.

Also, the macbook air is designed to bank on wireless capabilities. Supposedly, you can even watch a dvd or install programs by inserting the disc in your other computer and just streaming over the wireless.

Sooooo, I can get a computer that is already several hundred more expensive than the one I have, then spend another couple hundred on top of that to get to the same capabilities I already have, but with more parts, which, weight wise, will get your pretty close to where I am already, but with more potential for loss/theft/breakage.

Another problem is the wireless issue. There are definitely fewer hospitals now that have no wireless capability (still some, but fewer), but the problem is that many of them (almost every one that I've looked at), used Novell networks, which is incompatible with Tiger and Leopard, so you won't be able to log on to the wireless system anyway.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think the MacBook Air is a bad computer, it just wouldn't fit in well for what I need my computer to do.

Dave