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laptops in dental school
Started by init4damoney
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I think this is why I hardly every post anything in the dental forum. You're lucky if someone responds, and it takes forever to get any type of helpful information. I posted the same thing in the predental forum and got five responses. PREDENTAL!! You would think that DENTAL students would have just a tad bit of more knowledge since they are in DENTAL school and are no longer PREDENTAL students. Thanks for the help guys.
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I didn't post here because the thread is already blowing up in the other forum.
First of all the post in the other forum is far from blowing up. The only bitch here is you dentaldream. And studying for finals??? PLEASE!!! If people find enough time to post a ton in other threads, I'm sure there's time to sit and think, "Hmmm...did my school make me get a certain laptop?" If you can't figure that out, how the hell did you get into dental school?
Let's make this thing simple. Gavin, you go to Arizona. Does Arizona require a specific type of laptop, or did you get to choose what you wanted? Same question for all who are in dental school.
Wait, was that an answer to my question? I wasn't sure because I didn't see anything about laptops.🙄
I actually posted a LONG rant in the other thread on this, but then SDN ate up my post (this was last evening). I didn't feel like I could recreate such a gem, so I've been putting it off, but here goes:
Arizona made us buy a piece of $hit DELL that sucks so bad words don't adequately describe it.
It's THICK and weighs at least 11 lbs. They had us all buy the same computer so they can give us a loaner (they have several in stock) if the original breaks and needs to be sent out.
Who would have known how funny it could possilbly be when the LOANER computer also breaks. Damn funny, if you ask me.
Arizona made us buy a piece of $hit DELL that sucks so bad words don't adequately describe it.
It's THICK and weighs at least 11 lbs. They had us all buy the same computer so they can give us a loaner (they have several in stock) if the original breaks and needs to be sent out.
Who would have known how funny it could possilbly be when the LOANER computer also breaks. Damn funny, if you ask me.
By the way, I think your thong is stuck in your external anal sphincter. 😀
You know, in my psych class they talked about how people who have a strong desire for something, but don't want to come out with it, usually try to make fun of others by using their own fantasies. I've come to the conclusion that Gavin wears thongs, kevinacko wears panties, and larryt and dentaldream are bang buddies.
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So to answer the last question, your making fun of Dentaldream ("If you can't figure that out, how the hell did you get into dental school?") must mean you didn't get in?
But seriously, I don't know why you were so testy about this subject. Why don't you just let us know the schools you got accepted to, and then students from those schools can respond. If they don't respond, you can call the schools directly.
I'm applying next year, this question was asked me by another friend who applied this year. I don't know which schools he's been accepted to, so I was just curious and hoping to get info for him and myself. It really is a simple thing. Since I always see people posting who attend different schools, I was hoping to hear from some of these people. So far Gavin is the only dental student to give some decent info. Everyone else is just wasting space in this thread. So to all those who gave some helping info (one post from Gavin), thanks.
UDM: All dental students (starting with my class) will be issued a Tablet PC. Brand: Electrovaya, Model: Scribbler SC 800
With your school, is the cost included in your tuition and fees, or is this seperate? Thanks for the info!
So NYU is not the only school feeling the pain of $hitty Dell's
Mine is thin around 5 pounds and is the biggest piece of $hit this world has to offer.
By the way its in the shop... again!!!
Mine is thin around 5 pounds and is the biggest piece of $hit this world has to offer.
By the way its in the shop... again!!!
I'm pretty sure it was a separate fee. I seem to remember some of my classmates complaining about that particular fee. I think we were charged $1000 twice. The actual price of the Tablets was $3000 so $1000 is coming out of tuition and we have to pay for the other $2000. The tablets are *not* optional, all students have to buy them. The reason I cannot remember the fees is because I have a military scholarship and the Army automatically pays all required fees (except ASDA membership). I end up not looking at or caring about the fees very much.
You can check the stats out of the model we are getting here . It does have a small screen (10.4") but you generally hold a tablet closer to you (clipboard style) so the smaller screen isn't very noticeable. The screen rotates so that you can hold it long dimension horizontal or vertical. When you're holding it vertical in your arm it seems like the perfect size. With the model we're getting the school has reported an 8 hour battery life when running full speed.
I'm glad someone appreciated the hard work of individuals contributing to this thread. 😀
A tablet? Tell me you aren't serious.
Wanna trade? I'll give you the four-year-old POS Apple Powerbook G3 which is standard issue at my school, and I'll take that ThinkPad off your hands.
Seriously, ANY laptop a school makes you buy will be outdated by the time you are a sophomore-- That's a given.
Well, I for one am glad I have a nice self-built desktop rig before I started dental school.
The nice thing about desktop rigs is that they don't become obsolescent quite as quickly as laptops, because you can plug in incremental upgrades.
Since I started dental school in 2000, I have upgraded on my desktop:
1. HD. From 20GB capacity all the way up to 160GB that i have now.
2. Vid card. From a TNT2-generation card to a GeForce Ti4200.
3. Monitor. From my trusty 17" that finally gave up the ghost to a Sony 21" Trinitron FD with BNC inputs.
4. RAM. From 256MB all the way up to 768MB.
This is spread out over the past 3.5 years, so on average I find myself spending about $250 a year to keep my desktop current through the incremental upgrades. Not too bad if I do say so myself.
That Vitalsource stuff runs a lot better on my desktop rig than on the laptop-- Queries come up a lot quicker because I got more RAM, faster DVD drive and faster CPU than the laptop, and I got a hell of a bigger screen to read that stuff off of.
And there ain't no game out there my desktop rig can't run decently. 😎
Not that I have much time to play games though..
My advice to pre-dental students: Best not rely on that laptop for EVERYTHING. Laptops work best when one uses it to complement a powerful desktop. It might be worthwhile to invest in a desktop before starting dental school (and they are cheap these days too-- $1000 will get you a VERY nice rig).
The nice thing about desktop rigs is that they don't become obsolescent quite as quickly as laptops, because you can plug in incremental upgrades.
Since I started dental school in 2000, I have upgraded on my desktop:
1. HD. From 20GB capacity all the way up to 160GB that i have now.
2. Vid card. From a TNT2-generation card to a GeForce Ti4200.
3. Monitor. From my trusty 17" that finally gave up the ghost to a Sony 21" Trinitron FD with BNC inputs.
4. RAM. From 256MB all the way up to 768MB.
This is spread out over the past 3.5 years, so on average I find myself spending about $250 a year to keep my desktop current through the incremental upgrades. Not too bad if I do say so myself.
That Vitalsource stuff runs a lot better on my desktop rig than on the laptop-- Queries come up a lot quicker because I got more RAM, faster DVD drive and faster CPU than the laptop, and I got a hell of a bigger screen to read that stuff off of.
And there ain't no game out there my desktop rig can't run decently. 😎
Not that I have much time to play games though..
My advice to pre-dental students: Best not rely on that laptop for EVERYTHING. Laptops work best when one uses it to complement a powerful desktop. It might be worthwhile to invest in a desktop before starting dental school (and they are cheap these days too-- $1000 will get you a VERY nice rig).
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Midoc,
Sorry, I realized that comment came off harsh, and that was NOT my intent.
I'm simply surpirsed to see that any school would recommend (or mandate) a Tablet PC. As of now there functionality and usefulness is certainly up for questioning.
In fact, I think many view them as a gimmick and merely a passing fad. This was the motivation behind my comment.
Sorry, I realized that comment came off harsh, and that was NOT my intent.
I'm simply surpirsed to see that any school would recommend (or mandate) a Tablet PC. As of now there functionality and usefulness is certainly up for questioning.
In fact, I think many view them as a gimmick and merely a passing fad. This was the motivation behind my comment.
Ah, I think I know where you are coming from. I think that you are viewing the Tablet PCs as a desktop replacement or laptop replacement device. That is not what they are to be used for.
I should have been more clear in my original post but the reason the school is making everyone purchase a Tablet PC is because this is the first step toward completely electronic charts. A handheld computer is too small to fully display all the information that would be needed in an electronic chart and a laptop is too big and the battery doesn't last long enough. This tablet on the other hand is the perfect match. You can hold it in one arm and write with the other, it's screen is adequete to display a good bit of information and the battery life will exceed 8 hours of continuous use (as tested by the tech department at my school while utilizing the wireless conection). My class will be the first to get these Tablets and we'll have them before we enter the clinic in January. As of right now we'll be able to check patient information, patient status (are they in the waiting room yet?), complete activity sheets and complete a treatment plan and maybe a few other things I don't know about. In the future they'll be moving more and more of the chart electronically.
I hope I've now explained the functionality and usefulness of these Tablets.
I should have been more clear in my original post but the reason the school is making everyone purchase a Tablet PC is because this is the first step toward completely electronic charts. A handheld computer is too small to fully display all the information that would be needed in an electronic chart and a laptop is too big and the battery doesn't last long enough. This tablet on the other hand is the perfect match. You can hold it in one arm and write with the other, it's screen is adequete to display a good bit of information and the battery life will exceed 8 hours of continuous use (as tested by the tech department at my school while utilizing the wireless conection). My class will be the first to get these Tablets and we'll have them before we enter the clinic in January. As of right now we'll be able to check patient information, patient status (are they in the waiting room yet?), complete activity sheets and complete a treatment plan and maybe a few other things I don't know about. In the future they'll be moving more and more of the chart electronically.
I hope I've now explained the functionality and usefulness of these Tablets.
