Search found 101 matches

by stjames70
Tue Jun 05, 2018 11:41 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: can't connect to mysql host after windows update
Replies: 19
Views: 39370

Re: can't connect to mysql host after windows update

After the latest Feature update to Windows 10, version 1803, some of my workstations refused to connect to the server. I called Open Dental support, and they solved it within a few minutes. Instead of using all capital letters for the server name, we switched to all lower case and voila, it connecte...
by stjames70
Sat Apr 07, 2018 7:15 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: REMINDERS OF SOME FORMS
Replies: 7
Views: 12255

Re: REMINDERS OF SOME FORMS

Get YAPI integration with your OD. It will cost some, but it goes a long way in making you totally paperless. All the forms you can imagine can be filled in an iPad with medical history and other data updated to OD every time the patient comes in. Also, it takes care of sending recall and confirmati...
by stjames70
Sun Feb 25, 2018 4:55 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Trouble Automating Backups
Replies: 6
Views: 10877

Re: Trouble Automating Backups

As far as the size of the RAID 10 arrays I set up, they were 4TB and 10TB in size. The first array of 4TB was composed solely of 1TB SSDs without a hot spare. The second array of 10TB was composed of eight 3TB HDs with a hot spare (self-healing array) just in case I did not repair the array fast eno...
by stjames70
Sat Feb 24, 2018 7:14 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Trouble Automating Backups
Replies: 6
Views: 10877

Re: Trouble Automating Backups

Why backup just databases? I backup my entire server VM nightly to one of three RAID 10 arrays, changing the backup location between the three arrays in an even fashion. This way, I have backups dating back either one day, two days, or three days in case database corruption occurs within those three...
by stjames70
Tue Feb 20, 2018 5:23 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Going paperless - where to start?
Replies: 1
Views: 5010

Re: Going paperless - where to start?

Hi Jim, I am selling my practice to move on to a new location, so we are in the process of going paperless. We started the process at the beginning of 2018 and my goal is for us to be paperless by March 1 of this year. To go paperless, yes, you will have to enter your procedures in the chart module ...
by stjames70
Wed Feb 14, 2018 2:34 pm
Forum: Advanced Topics
Topic: Stability of OD in virtualized environments
Replies: 9
Views: 18143

Re: Stability of OD in virtualized environments

USB stability has not been a serious issues for us. We use vintage 2009 iMacs with VMWare Fusion, so we are running Windows 8 on top of the Mac OS X environment. We have been doing this since 2009 -- Dexis, intraoral cameras, have no difficulty interfacing with OD when connecting them through USB. L...
by stjames70
Wed Feb 14, 2018 2:26 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Advanced features- what are your favorites?
Replies: 6
Views: 12539

Re: Advanced features- what are your favorites?

Try YAPI. It is a third party interface that works with OD. It does a few things: 1) scour your database for overdue trophies/recalls 2) send email/text reminders as well as the ability to print those on postcards 3) provide links for new patients to enter their data (and transpose that data into OD...
by stjames70
Sun Jan 28, 2018 6:41 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Dentrix vs. Open Dental
Replies: 16
Views: 40921

Re: Dentrix vs. Open Dental

I don't understand. If you are using something like Windows Server 2012 in the computer that hosts Dentrix's database, can't you set any disks that are connected to that server to use BitLocker? Thus, when a copy of the database is copied to a mass storage device, the mass storage device itself is e...
by stjames70
Sun Jan 21, 2018 5:33 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Dentrix vs. Open Dental
Replies: 16
Views: 40921

Re: Dentrix vs. Open Dental

Seriously? We tried to implement the latest version of Dentrix in our systems -- Dentrix G6 -- eh, how should I express my experience? POS comes to mind. Dentrix is so poorly written and you have to go into the various 'modules' to accomplish the same tasks you can do in Open Dental at a much faster...
by stjames70
Thu Oct 26, 2017 1:04 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: maximum connections
Replies: 8
Views: 14318

Re: maximum connections

Although there is little interest for it from your current customers, I think there would be a lot of interest for OSX based dental offices who use OSX based practice management software.

I guess you will just never find out.
by stjames70
Wed Oct 25, 2017 9:22 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: maximum connections
Replies: 8
Views: 14318

Re: maximum connections

We switched to Windows Server 2012 so that we could prevent that error from ever showing up. We have at 20+ connections all the time without running into that particular error you speak of. Seriously, this problem you are having should never have surfaced -- it only happens in the Windows world and ...
by stjames70
Fri Jul 28, 2017 3:08 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: X ray system with OD
Replies: 6
Views: 18887

Re: X ray system with OD

Well, I have a different opinion. Dentrix = fugly Open Dental = pretty Dentrix feel like something programmed in the early days of Windows/Mac OS: 1) unintuitive -- you need lots of training to 'maximize' the potential of Dentrix 2) multiple modules -- are you f---ing with me?!?!?! Management system...
by stjames70
Mon Jul 24, 2017 3:36 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Windows 10 or 7 for new practice
Replies: 6
Views: 15817

Re: Windows 10 or 7 for new practice

I think the consensus is Win 10. Windows 7 has always been a dog in our computers (which are 2008-2009 vintage) and they never ran really well with it. Win 10 in contrast, has zero issues with our older computers.

Windows 7, pretty, but inefficient.
by stjames70
Tue Jul 18, 2017 10:01 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: X ray system with OD
Replies: 6
Views: 18887

Re: X ray system with OD

Started with OD in 2003, acquired Dexis for radiographs in 2009, tried switching to Dentrix in 2015 because of promoted feature set, went screaming back to Open Dental within 4 months -- Will. Never. Go. Back. To. Dentrix One word: DON'T start with Dentrix. This is Dentrix: Support: poor. Software: ...
by stjames70
Sun Jun 26, 2016 5:36 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: virtual s/w
Replies: 7
Views: 24825

Re: virtual s/w

As you are not looking for a web server. (I explored it, and lag times would have bothered me to no end and my local internet provider, Comcast, is not 100% on all the time). I like Macs because that is the system I have worked with for the better part of 26 years now, and the event of Virtual Machi...
by stjames70
Sun Jun 19, 2016 7:53 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: virtual s/w
Replies: 7
Views: 24825

Re: virtual s/w

Are you looking for web server hosting or an actual local physical server? If you are looking for a local physical server, this is our setup: We have used Mac OS X MacPro's as servers since 2008 using VMWare Fusion. Our virtual server on a MacPro is running Windows Server 2012 while our virtual work...
by stjames70
Wed Mar 09, 2016 12:31 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: What should I install? Windows 7, 10 or Windows Server 2012
Replies: 11
Views: 20854

Re: What should I install? Windows 7, 10 or Windows Server

For many years we used windows xp without any issues. As a matter of fact, we had close to 20 connections concurrently without problems. Then we moved to Windows 7, which in my opinion was a piece of turd -- pretty, but slow. We ditched it very quickly and we went on to Windows 8. Nice, fast, compac...
by stjames70
Fri Feb 19, 2016 12:00 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Dentrix Ascend to Open Dental
Replies: 6
Views: 14845

Re: Dentrix Ascend to Open Dental

Hi Lauren, We have been running OD strong for eight years in Apple machines using VMWare Fusion. Speed has never been an issue, and in our scenario, OpenDental and Dexis work flawlessly in VMs. Very fast and very stable -- we have made it even better by switching from Win8 Pro to Windows Server 2012...
by stjames70
Fri Feb 19, 2016 10:29 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Backups
Replies: 2
Views: 7251

Re: Backups

Luckily, we have not been infected by the crypto virus, but isn't the virus self-replicating in your network such that an infection in one of your workstations would cause all the drives, including yours server, to be infected at the same time? I do not allow my staff to use any browsers under the w...
by stjames70
Thu Nov 12, 2015 4:18 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Converting from Dentrix to OD
Replies: 3
Views: 8375

Re: Converting from Dentrix to OD

Why would you be getting rid of Dexis? We have used along with OD since 2009, and it is great piece of hardware/software. It interfaces extremely well with OD, and Dexis in turn interfaces well with our Instrumentarium OP300 CBCT/InVivo Anatomage software.
by stjames70
Tue Oct 20, 2015 6:20 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Dental Imaging Software
Replies: 4
Views: 9884

Re: Dental Imaging Software

Dexis.

It will work with your hardware and its integration with OD is great.

It also integrates well with Anatomage in case you use that to read your CBCT scans for implant planning/placement.

Had it since 2009.

Wouldn't want to change for anything else.
by stjames70
Tue Oct 20, 2015 6:17 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: practice mojo or patient communicator
Replies: 2
Views: 6756

Re: practice mojo or patient communicator

We had patient communicator.
Did not work for us.
Was not confirming in OD and it required you to log into their website to perform maintenance.
Too much work -- which is what it was supposed to reduce.
We found it easier to just call and confirm like we were doing before we got it.
by stjames70
Wed Aug 19, 2015 9:33 am
Forum: Advanced Topics
Topic: Window 7 cannot connect to Windows 8
Replies: 6
Views: 14401

Re: Window 7 cannot connect to Windows 8

To add to my previous post, we called Henry Schein IT support because we bought an Instrumentarium CBCT from them which had Windows 7 and they confirmed to me that they also use workgroup with identical credentials in their offices as well. Best way for all their computers to be able to network to e...
by stjames70
Wed Aug 19, 2015 9:29 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Pediatric Startup w/ iMac's
Replies: 9
Views: 16694

Re: Pediatric Startup w/ iMac's

None of the last three posts had anyone who actually uses Windows as virtual machines in an OS X environment. Well, I do, and I have been for seven years running -- no viruses yet, except in one of the Windows virtual machines -- what did I do with that machine? I trashed it, re-educated my staff ne...
by stjames70
Wed Mar 18, 2015 4:10 pm
Forum: Advanced Topics
Topic: Window 7 cannot connect to Windows 8
Replies: 6
Views: 14401

Re: Window 7 cannot connect to Windows 8

Turn off your homegroup feature in Window 7. Windows 8 is then able to log in with user name and password credentials to your Windows 7 computer and vice versa. We don't use homegroup. We use the old workgroup scheme and it allows all the computers in our local network to 'see' each other without a ...
by stjames70
Thu Jul 24, 2014 6:56 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Intra-Oral Camera Snapshot Software
Replies: 65
Views: 3579035

Re: Intra-Oral Capture Button Software

Hi Justin, I think it is pretty neat what you are doing and what you are sharing with the OD community. I think you should add a PayPal contribute button to your web site. I donate to software companies if they provide freeware that I use. I definitely would contribute to your efforts, and I think i...
by stjames70
Mon Feb 17, 2014 11:54 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: MYSQL Networking Problem
Replies: 8
Views: 10158

Re: MYSQL Networking Problem

Hi Franz, Once you point your workstations to the 'mother' computer's network folder containing opendentimages, the workstations should remember that and not require you to find the path every time you start them up. That being said, sometimes you just have to wait for the workstations to 'self-disc...
by stjames70
Sun Feb 16, 2014 7:06 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Web version of OD possible?
Replies: 2
Views: 5232

Re: Web version of OD possible?

I have thought about this quite a bit as well. Dentrix Ascend will be coming online soon, and it is fully web based. It incorporates patient recall, eclaims, NEA fast attach integration within the monthly maintenance fee and it does not have a purchase fee like OD. I looked into it, but the more I t...
by stjames70
Mon Feb 10, 2014 8:38 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: E-claims service
Replies: 7
Views: 12106

Re: E-claims service

Just a quick question -- why are you switching? It was my understanding that all clearing houses eventually had to go through EDI. We never had problems with Claims connect, so why are you switching?
by stjames70
Thu Dec 12, 2013 7:14 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid... Ransomware
Replies: 25
Views: 36722

Re: Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid... Ransomware

Hmmm.... Another reason why you should use Microsoft Windows only in a virtual environment and limit the applications which can be accessed in that environment. I only allow staff to use our workstations Windows VM for Open Dental and Dexis. All other operations have to be conducted using the Mac si...
by stjames70
Thu Sep 26, 2013 10:31 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Need a Positive Review of Open Dental
Replies: 15
Views: 24457

Re: Need a Positive Review of Open Dental

You can call me at (303) 862-0297

Our office is in Denver, so Mountain Time

James Liu, DDS
by stjames70
Thu Sep 05, 2013 3:49 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: New Server Recommendation(s)
Replies: 10
Views: 15484

Re: New Server Recommendation(s)

Yeah, I checked out the website for ESXi. Pretty neat product, but since I like pretty graphical interfaces and ease of use, I went with Fusion. Commercialized product, but really, really easy to use. It piggybacks on Mac OSX, and runs on top of that environment. Since OSX has never gone down in the...
by stjames70
Thu Sep 05, 2013 2:33 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: 16 weeks using TRS, not a single broken appt
Replies: 27
Views: 26514

Re: 16 weeks using TRS, not a single broken appt

Hi Robert, Thanks for sharing that informations with us. At a cost of $250/month, that cost is negligible to our practice if we can rescue at least one patient that needs dental work and missed their appointment. Our average production/patient is around $2k and with an overhead of 40-45% monthly, th...
by stjames70
Thu Sep 05, 2013 2:21 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: New Server Recommendation(s)
Replies: 10
Views: 15484

Re: New Server Recommendation(s)

Nightmares of the old blue screen of death in Windows based machines for one..... But really, we use VM Ware's Fusion since we run Apple hardware. Truth is, we have extremely few problems with the virtualized set up, but on the one occasion where our server's main drive started to go kaput on us, I ...
by stjames70
Wed Sep 04, 2013 7:02 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Conversion issues, should I start from scratch ?
Replies: 3
Views: 5548

Re: Conversion issues, should I start from scratch ?

We only starting to convert to OD in 2008 when we acquired DEXIS at the same time. I suggest you start from scratch. Just log in the new patients as they show up and keep your old system functional for a specified time period.
by stjames70
Wed Sep 04, 2013 3:31 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: New Server Recommendation(s)
Replies: 10
Views: 15484

Re: New Server Recommendation(s)

I would agree with DJRCB as far as RAID 1+0 being a good configuration to use. You get speed plus redundancy. Hardwired ethernet also works much better than wireless. We run virtual machines on all our servers and workstations. Talk to anyone running IT department these days, and they will confirm t...
by stjames70
Tue Sep 03, 2013 3:39 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: digital xrays
Replies: 2
Views: 4657

Re: digital xrays

We use Dexis. No complaints and OD provides a good bridge to it.
by stjames70
Sat Apr 20, 2013 11:51 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Treatment Presentation / Patient Education Systems
Replies: 14
Views: 23411

Re: Treatment Presentation / Patient Education Systems

Cool, I was thinking of getting Surface Pros for patients, but I am not Ok with the current cases available for it as none of them provide shock or moisture protection. I envision using Lifeproof jackets which provide shock and moisture protection for the iPad, that way I can sanitize those pads dai...
by stjames70
Sun Apr 14, 2013 2:03 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: What is your "Oh no my server crashed" plan?
Replies: 60
Views: 319593

Re: What is your "Oh no my server crashed" plan?

12 April 2013: Drive #3 of our Macpro suddenly disappears from our four drive array at 3:00 pm in the afternoon. Bad moomoo. That drive contains our XpPro server so all of our workstations lose contact with the server. I reboot our server and drive #3 shows up again. I clone the VM of our server to ...
by stjames70
Sun Apr 14, 2013 6:40 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Computers for a startup
Replies: 15
Views: 20641

Re: Computers for a startup

Search for Open Dental on a Mac in the forums. The last post about running VMs is correct. Should your hardware die, virtual machines can be restored to another piece of hardware within minutes instead of hours of reloading all your programs and putting the databases back in order. If you are going ...
by stjames70
Sun Apr 14, 2013 6:35 am
Forum: Advanced Topics
Topic: The NEW Metro Interface
Replies: 13
Views: 20657

Re: The NEW Metro Interface

Strange, Win8, despite its quirky visual interface, is amazingly fast on our virtualized computers. And these are 2009 iMacs running VMWare Fusion. Empirically, I can say it's faster than WinXP Pro and Win7. Win8 was designed to work with limited hardware resources so I would make sure you started w...
by stjames70
Sat Mar 02, 2013 6:36 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: OpenDental Support Fees
Replies: 17
Views: 19807

Re: OpenDental Support Fees

I second and third those opinions that we should continue to support OD development through our support fees. We call support one or twice a year and we upgrade maybe twice a year, yet, OD is fast, easy to use and never bogs down our VMs running Windows 8. OD is an elegant program and I just wish it...
by stjames70
Mon Nov 26, 2012 9:12 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Need Networking HELP..
Replies: 35
Views: 53091

Re: Need Networking HELP..

Hi Kevin, So glad you resolved your networking issues. Jordan's reply a few posts ago about changing the maximum number of connections in the ini file was what I had to do many years ago when our computers were solely wireless. I set the number of maximum connections to something like a million so t...
by stjames70
Thu Nov 15, 2012 1:34 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Need Networking HELP..
Replies: 35
Views: 53091

Re: Need Networking HELP..

Another thing.... We had a problem six years ago because of our wireless networks. Since the router released and renewed the IP addresses, Open Dental would eventually give up because some setting reached its limit. There was a small config file in Open Dental which had to be modified, and I did thi...
by stjames70
Tue Nov 13, 2012 12:22 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Need Networking HELP..
Replies: 35
Views: 53091

Re: Need Networking HELP..

Hi Kevin, I am just throwing this theory out there since you seem to be having so many problems. Get rid of your linksys/cisco EA3500 wireless router and buy/borrow an Airport Extreme unit from Apple. Reinstall mysql and reinstall OD (we are still running 12.0.1.9). See if that helps. I used to own ...
by stjames70
Tue Oct 30, 2012 7:30 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Open Dental on a MAC
Replies: 30
Views: 54015

Re: Open Dental on a MAC

I think I posted a personal answer to your query, but to answer your question, I would start with a scratch copy of XP Pro by installing it on a new VM. Then I would only install the core programs necessary to run your main computer or your workstation. I forgot to ask, did you allocate enough memor...
by stjames70
Wed Oct 24, 2012 8:19 am
Forum: Advanced Topics
Topic: Virtualization vs Hyper V and help with Schick
Replies: 5
Views: 13250

Re: Virtualization vs Hyper V and help with Schick

You know, can you go back to XP Pro? I have found no compelling reason to use anything beyond that iteration of Windows. As far as your motherboard burning out, I read that, and I bought a used MacPro 2008 with nearly identical specs to our main computer which is a MacPro 2008. By cloning the hardwa...
by stjames70
Wed Oct 24, 2012 8:03 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Open Dental on a MAC
Replies: 30
Views: 54015

Re: Open Dental on a MAC

Anyone see the new iMacs? I think those computers would be the ideal workstations for a dental office. When those particular iMacs run the course of their hardware life, you can plug in a Mac mini and reuse the computer as a monitor, the keyboard and the magic mouse (for infection control, you can p...
by stjames70
Mon Oct 22, 2012 5:50 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: What is your "Oh no my server crashed" plan?
Replies: 60
Views: 319593

Re: What is your "Oh no my server crashed" plan?

Hey, I thought I would just put in my two cents. If you look at some of my other posts, you will see that I am a big proponent of VMs. I have a good friend that works for Western Union, and for the most part they run strictly VMs throughout their enterprise. And the reason is simple -- data loss can...
by stjames70
Mon Oct 22, 2012 4:10 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Howto - Server Virtualization
Replies: 39
Views: 60026

Re: Howto - Server Virtualization

Strangely enough, I thought that bridged mode would cause less problems by separating the virtual machine from the host's own NIC. Of course in a OSX environment, the NIC for the virtual machine is virtualized itself, so that configuration travels with you any time you clone that VM. Personally we h...
by stjames70
Mon Oct 22, 2012 9:15 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Howto - Server Virtualization
Replies: 39
Views: 60026

Re: Howto - Server Virtualization

Talking about virtualization, I use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone my system drive and to clone the drive containing the VM for Windows 7 to two separate drives every night. The cloned drives are fully bootable and up and ready to go in case the originals fail. Of course, you are running a virtual envi...
by stjames70
Sat Oct 20, 2012 8:32 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Open Dental on a MAC
Replies: 30
Views: 54015

Re: Open Dental on a MAC

I tried setting up a wine virtual machine a few years ago. It was quite difficult and not very stable. The latest iteration of Fusion 5.0 along with OS X 10.8.2 is exceptionally stable. I had two iMac workstations where the hard drives failed. Of course hard drive failure is bound to happen. As it w...
by stjames70
Wed Mar 21, 2012 8:50 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Best Provider for eClaims?
Replies: 25
Views: 38593

Re: Best Provider for eClaims?

I am with Jordan here, ClaimConnect. I think if you research it carefully, all provider for eClaims eventually have to go through EDI which is the parent company for ClaimConnect. Thus it would make sense that their claims response should be fractionally faster and better than all other 3rd party pr...
by stjames70
Fri Mar 16, 2012 10:37 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: What is your "Oh no my server crashed" plan?
Replies: 60
Views: 319593

Re: What is your "Oh no my server crashed" plan?

Right. That is why the original post was correct. Copying a virtual machine is not complicated and VMs are truly hardware agnostic as long as said hardware runs fast enough. Between OD, Dexis, Quicken, Excel and TimeClock Manager, that pretty much comprises my core apps, so hardware overhead is real...
by stjames70
Fri Mar 16, 2012 9:39 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: connection to database
Replies: 3
Views: 5480

Re: connection to database

You may also want to make sure that once you restore your database, your database still thinks that the images folder is on the same folder as the original computer. You may have to redirect OD as to where the new database is store in your local computer. I have a backup of OD running in my home com...
by stjames70
Tue Feb 28, 2012 2:50 pm
Forum: Advanced Topics
Topic: Mac: Parallels vs VMware Fusion?
Replies: 16
Views: 28822

Re: Mac: Parallels vs VMware Fusion?

Sorry for making you chase a dead horse. I must have used something else back then, or it is possible that security updates back then allowed that modification and now it has become impossible due to the latest security patches.
by stjames70
Sat Feb 25, 2012 9:04 pm
Forum: Advanced Topics
Topic: Mac: Parallels vs VMware Fusion?
Replies: 16
Views: 28822

Re: Mac: Parallels vs VMware Fusion?

That is precisely what we have now. RAID 10: Expensive, very forgiving, and fast rebuilds. Although, I have to say that RAID is probably overkill -- OD is very efficient as is and does not seem to be bogged down by patient data. BTW, our MacPro is a vintage 2008, but it works really well -- speciall...
by stjames70
Sat Feb 25, 2012 5:03 am
Forum: Advanced Topics
Topic: Mac: Parallels vs VMware Fusion?
Replies: 16
Views: 28822

Re: Mac: Parallels vs VMware Fusion?

Hi Josh, My images folder is in the default folder the installer put it in when I first installed open dental. Your workstations will not have a problem seeing that folder and mysql database as long as you point them to the computer which hosts your mysql and images folder. An important side note: w...
by stjames70
Fri Feb 24, 2012 9:43 am
Forum: Advanced Topics
Topic: Mac: Parallels vs VMware Fusion?
Replies: 16
Views: 28822

Re: Mac: Parallels vs VMware Fusion?

The proof is in the pudding? I know that this looks too simple, but the fact of the matter is that it did work for us. We have 12 workstations running WinXP Pro 32 bit without a problem. They are all able to access the mysql database without a problem. If you don't believe me, you can have your staf...
by stjames70
Thu Feb 23, 2012 12:36 am
Forum: Advanced Topics
Topic: Mac: Parallels vs VMware Fusion?
Replies: 16
Views: 28822

Re: Mac: Parallels vs VMware Fusion?

http://www.speedguide.net/articles/windows-xp-sp2-tcpipsys-connection-limit-patch-1497 http://www.lvllord.de/?lang=en&url=downloads#4226patch Hi joshuab, I have posted above the exact links which I used in 2009 to 'patch' my instance of XP Pro. The first link actually provides the exact lines that n...
by stjames70
Tue Feb 21, 2012 5:55 pm
Forum: Advanced Topics
Topic: Mac: Parallels vs VMware Fusion?
Replies: 16
Views: 28822

Re: Mac: Parallels vs VMware Fusion?

Fusion works really well for us. Do you really need a server? Do a search on the internet on how to overcome the 10 user limit on WinXP-Pro. Really easy to do. I like Macs and I don't like the idea of having the computer which hosts the mysql database get infected, that is why we virtualized all of ...
by stjames70
Wed Feb 08, 2012 7:55 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: digital radiography
Replies: 22
Views: 69599

Re: digital radiography

Dexis Pros: 1) software is best in class 2) support is great 3) with service contract after 1st year (within the first year, service contract is included), accidental damage to sensor incurs a small fee for its overnight replacement 4) networking is easy with dexis and it integrates extremely well w...
by stjames70
Mon Feb 06, 2012 2:32 pm
Forum: Advanced Topics
Topic: Virtualization vs Hyper V and help with Schick
Replies: 5
Views: 13250

Re: Virtualization vs Hyper V and help with Schick

Teethood mentioned that other users also use virtualization but with simpler set ups. If you do a search on running OD on a Mac, you can see plenty of posts on how that virtualization is accomplished on a Mac. I personally use Carbonite in both Mac and Windows to backup my critical files, I also phy...
by stjames70
Fri Jan 20, 2012 3:12 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Help with networking on virtual machines on a Mac
Replies: 5
Views: 7612

Re: Help with networking on virtual machines on a Mac

Ain't that a good feeling? You should have a smooth experience from this point forward. Back to My Mac should in theory work with a lot of routers, but I just bought the Airport Extreme Router so that I could reduce the number of steps necessary to set it up. With Back to My Mac setup, I can 'see' a...
by stjames70
Fri Jan 20, 2012 2:29 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Open Dental on a MAC
Replies: 30
Views: 54015

Re: Open Dental on a MAC

Since I am an ardent supporter of VMs, let me restate the obvious advantage of having a VM -- you can TRASH IT! anytime it annoys you and put in a clean copy. I have worked with Open Dental for the last five years in a virtual environment. It is NOT cutting edge -- it's just smarter. Open Dental sup...
by stjames70
Fri Jan 13, 2012 10:55 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Open Dental on a MAC
Replies: 30
Views: 54015

Re: Open Dental on a MAC

You should only run one virtual machine per computer. You should not run WinXP when you are running Win7. I do not understand what you mean by registration -- we have licenses to run up to 50 copies of Win7, so these VM copies all come up as Microsoft certified genuine Win7 machines which will self ...
by stjames70
Tue Jan 10, 2012 12:13 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Help with networking on virtual machines on a Mac
Replies: 5
Views: 7612

Re: Help with networking on virtual machines on a Mac

Can your Macs see each other in Finder? If yes, then it is something in your VMWare Fusion 4 settings which may not be quite correct. On VMWare fusion settings window for your machines, find the Network Adapter settings and choose the second option which is to directly connect to the physical networ...
by stjames70
Tue Dec 13, 2011 6:01 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Best Value Xray Sensor for use with OD
Replies: 11
Views: 13351

Re: Best Value Xray Sensor for use with OD

As you say, you eventually end up paying one way or another. I can't speak for the XDR software, but Dexis' software is really slick if you ever have the chance to try it out.
by stjames70
Mon Dec 12, 2011 5:12 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Best Value Xray Sensor for use with OD
Replies: 11
Views: 13351

Re: Best Value Xray Sensor for use with OD

I think what you get with Dexis is really great software and if you are on the service plan, little oops here and there won't set you back thousands of dollars. We got Dexis because it was the only platform whose service contract was basically accidental insurance for the sensors. Can you really aff...
by stjames70
Wed Nov 09, 2011 8:22 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Open Dental on a MAC
Replies: 30
Views: 54015

Re: Open Dental on a MAC

VM Ware Workstation 8 would be a better solution in you case than esxi. I looked into it, and esxi is a good product, but it is one that requires support since it is provided for free. It is not meant as a consumer end product. Esxi is a VM Ware product but I believe that it is not a product intende...
by stjames70
Wed Nov 09, 2011 4:20 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Open Dental on a MAC
Replies: 30
Views: 54015

Re: Open Dental on a MAC

I am allotting 2gb. Are you using Fusion? The idea of VMs is that they are hardware agnostic. The virtualizing software is supposed to 'virtualize' certain hardware requirements dependent on your particular hardware. As long as your machine is fast enough, VMs do not suffer much of a penalty perform...
by stjames70
Mon Nov 07, 2011 7:09 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Running on MAC computer
Replies: 1
Views: 3888

Re: Running on MAC computer

do a forum search for 'Open Dental on a MAC' I just posted a reply to a question about running Windows 7 on a Mac. Running Windows as a virtual machine is reliable and functional on a Mac. The only reason why I use Apple machines is that they seem to fail less often, are more aesthetically pleasing,...
by stjames70
Mon Nov 07, 2011 3:01 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Open Dental on a MAC
Replies: 30
Views: 54015

Re: Open Dental on a MAC

Can't speak for Parallels. I use Fusion because it updates easily, and I have found no issues with it running Windows 7. Performance will not be an issue since OD runs really well in our 2005 Dells running XP Pro. OD utilizes very little CPU and memory. It's amazingly elegant for all it can accompli...
by stjames70
Mon Oct 10, 2011 2:38 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: small business server 2011 essentials
Replies: 12
Views: 13512

Re: small business server 2011 essentials

CrashPlan eh? It looks good -- question: 1)Has a crash occurred and you had to restore from backup? As to the previous question regarding Win7 on a MacPro: speed is not and probably will never be an issue on OD since I can run OD even on my POS Dell workstations which are nearly 7 years old and runn...
by stjames70
Sat Oct 08, 2011 3:17 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: small business server 2011 essentials
Replies: 12
Views: 13512

Re: small business server 2011 essentials

I of course have heard the argument that your 'server' and your personal 'workstation' should not be one and the same machine. But then again, I know many business where separating the server did not help one bit when multiple hardware failure points occurred and data was lost. Now let me propose th...
by stjames70
Fri Oct 07, 2011 12:50 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: small business server 2011 essentials
Replies: 12
Views: 13512

Re: small business server 2011 essentials

May I ask why you need a server at all? In OD, you need one computer with the main database (we will call this the 'server'), and all the other computers will connect to this 'server' As far as I know, there is no limit to how many computers you can link together with Windows 7 and with Win XP there...
by stjames70
Wed Sep 28, 2011 3:46 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Open Dental on a MAC
Replies: 30
Views: 54015

Re: Open Dental on a MAC

Absolutely agree with you. Keep access limited and less viruses will infect your computer. But I will reiterate my preference in running Windows as a VM. You can get up and running much faster if you can simply clone a clean copy of an entire computer instead of buying/reinstalling a brand new machi...
by stjames70
Tue Sep 27, 2011 1:04 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Open Dental on a MAC
Replies: 30
Views: 54015

Re: Open Dental on a MAC

Should have include this in the last post: Do you believe you get what you pay for? Well, I do. There's a good reason Apple hardware costs more, and it is not simply because it is prettier. It is because in general it is more reliable, elicits less complaints from its end users, and garners a great ...
by stjames70
Tue Sep 27, 2011 12:54 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Open Dental on a MAC
Replies: 30
Views: 54015

Re: Open Dental on a MAC

Excellent point. Our operatories are 'open' -- the computers can be exposed to some airborne particles. I was able to get screen protectors from Photodon, keyboard covers which were cleansable, wipable, and slick, and the multi-touch mouse can actually be covered with sticky disposable film and stil...
by stjames70
Mon Sep 26, 2011 6:48 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Open Dental on a MAC
Replies: 30
Views: 54015

Re: Open Dental on a MAC

Since Macs do not natively run Windows, you will need Fusion installed and a copy Windows 7 for each workstation. The form factor and the ease of maintenance are the main reasons why I went with Macs instead of Wintel boxes. I admit, I like MacOSX, and you could probably get away with WinTel all-in-...
by stjames70
Sat Sep 24, 2011 8:59 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Open Dental on Mac using CrossOver/Wine
Replies: 1
Views: 3752

Re: Open Dental on Mac using CrossOver/Wine

I am using a MacPro to store the main OD database. We run XP Pro on all of our iMacs under VMWare Fusion. All computers are currently connected through an Airport Extreme Router. Understand this, OD is very elegantly written, such that even really old Wintel boxes can run it. My 2008 MacPro is 16gb,...
by stjames70
Sat Sep 24, 2011 8:59 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Open Dental on a MAC
Replies: 30
Views: 54015

Re: Open Dental on a MAC

I am using a MacPro to store the main OD database. We run XP Pro on all of our iMacs under VMWare Fusion. All computers are currently connected through an Airport Extreme Router. Understand this, OD is very elegantly written, such that even really old Wintel boxes can run it. My 2008 MacPro is 16gb,...
by stjames70
Tue Sep 20, 2011 8:40 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Best all in one PC
Replies: 7
Views: 8185

Re: Best all in one PC

May I suggest you consider an iMac: 1) Easy to manage with Remote Desktop from Apple. It will also manage any WinTel as long as you install tightVNC 2) Mac screens can be protected using film from photodon 3) Wireless keyboard and mice can be protected with keyboard covers and cover film from Henry ...
by stjames70
Tue Aug 30, 2011 8:58 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Please help: starting up a practice
Replies: 13
Views: 14625

Re: Please help: starting up a practice

I also forgot to mention that with the Back to My Mac function built-in on every single Mac computer, you can log into any of your Mac computers from another Mac computer as long as you have a MobileMe account. Thus, I use my home computer to log into my office computer, check the schedule, and look...
by stjames70
Tue Aug 30, 2011 8:49 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Please help: starting up a practice
Replies: 13
Views: 14625

Re: Please help: starting up a practice

Since your initial hardware requirements seem to be so little (we operate one main MacPro computer with the OpenDental SQL database, 8 iMacs and four Dells), may I suggest you get a nice MacPro which will give you good service for many years, and two iMacs which take very little counter space all co...
by stjames70
Fri Aug 26, 2011 10:07 am
Forum: Advanced Topics
Topic: Hardware, Software & Network Configs
Replies: 23
Views: 28638

Re: Hardware, Software & Network Configs

Indeed I have thought of the issues you have brought up and my ultimate conclusion: come get me! If the government has enough resources to go after one dental office out of the thousands of health care facilities in the nation, then I will eat my punishment if they wish to dole it out. End of story....
by stjames70
Wed Aug 17, 2011 1:41 pm
Forum: Advanced Topics
Topic: server
Replies: 8
Views: 10616

Re: server

how about using a Mac mini server? You could use VMWare Fusion and run Windows 7 as suggested. We have a MacPro as a server and use wireless to connect all of our iMacs. We use Dexis for our radiography. No issues for at least the last four years (I only wish we had hardwired our office, but that is...
by stjames70
Thu Jun 23, 2011 5:09 am
Forum: Advanced Topics
Topic: Hardware, Software & Network Configs
Replies: 23
Views: 28638

Re: Hardware, Software & Network Configs

I just checked out another feature of MacOSX called file vault. It encrypts all the information you put in your 'home' folder (that is where I would put in OD database). Anything that is backed up from that folder would already be in encrypted form. This would remove at least one layer of work. I wi...
by stjames70
Mon Jun 20, 2011 4:25 pm
Forum: Advanced Topics
Topic: Hardware, Software & Network Configs
Replies: 23
Views: 28638

Re: Hardware, Software & Network Configs

OK, I get it as far as encryption. I will use my Data Backup to encrypt my data at rest to a specific backup drive, and then have Carbonite copy that data to their servers. The data is encrypted at rest, reencrypted once more during transfer to the offsite Carbonite servers, and stores offsite in en...
by stjames70
Mon Jun 20, 2011 4:16 pm
Forum: Advanced Topics
Topic: Hardware, Software & Network Configs
Replies: 23
Views: 28638

Re: Hardware, Software & Network Configs

I use the webcams to communicate with my assistants -- but you are right on as far as patient privacy. I will include that information in my initial patient paperwork and have the patients sign a form with the understanding that there are webcams active at all times for legal reasons.
by stjames70
Mon Jun 20, 2011 4:55 am
Forum: Advanced Topics
Topic: Hardware, Software & Network Configs
Replies: 23
Views: 28638

Re: Hardware, Software & Network Configs

hmmm,

Never mind, I did not know it, but Carbonite uses a combination of Blowfish and DES encryption while Data Backup uses AES-128 algorithm.
This standard is the latest encryption standard approved by the U.S. Government for sensitive documents. So my current set-up does comply with HIPAA regs.
by stjames70
Mon Jun 20, 2011 4:49 am
Forum: Advanced Topics
Topic: Hardware, Software & Network Configs
Replies: 23
Views: 28638

Re: Hardware, Software & Network Configs

Good point. Do you know any software that will encrypt backup to physical media and any cloud backup services that backup your data enroute? I could google it, but I think you know the answer....
by stjames70
Sat Jun 18, 2011 4:16 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Serious Connectivity Bug
Replies: 14
Views: 16688

Re: Serious Connectivity Bug

I am rubbing it in. Switch to Macs -- osx is pretty close to linux but Apple has kind of worked out most network issues if you use their 'expensive' hardware. The time you are now spending fixing your network issues is costing you time and money. Vertical integration may cost you, but at least you d...
by stjames70
Thu Jun 16, 2011 3:17 pm
Forum: Advanced Topics
Topic: Hardware, Software & Network Configs
Replies: 23
Views: 28638

Re: Hardware, Software & Network Configs

1. Server Config MacPro 16gb, 4 1tb drives, one external backup drive. MacPro contains main OD database running in a VM using VMWare Fusion 3. All workstations are iMacs running OD using VMWare Fusion 3. Since OD is very small and uses very little resources, this set up is extremely fast. Database b...
by stjames70
Tue Jun 07, 2011 10:42 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Running OD on Mac
Replies: 6
Views: 8068

Re: Running OD on Mac

I had thought of installing a server as well, but you should know Windows 7 allows unlimited number of connections between computers inside the same family. Are you going to have your own email server/file server as well? And why are you using a Dell as your server? If it's because you already own i...
by stjames70
Thu Jun 02, 2011 4:24 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Running OD on Mac
Replies: 6
Views: 8068

Re: Running OD on Mac

Oops, I did do a search, and I couldn't find my original post. So here it goes: MacPro 16gb octocore running VMWare Fusion and using four cores to run XP Pro serving as the database repository. Seven iMacs and 4 Dells look to the MacPro for the database. Computers connected through AirPort Extreme 8...
by stjames70
Thu Jun 02, 2011 3:35 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Running OD on Mac
Replies: 6
Views: 8068

Re: Running OD on Mac

Yes,

Do a search on this forum and look for user stjames70 (me). I think I have written in detail on my office set up. I will be glad to reply to any specific questions you might have after you read my posts.

Cheers :P
by stjames70
Sat May 28, 2011 3:24 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Looking for Paperless system
Replies: 8
Views: 10073

Re: Looking for Paperless system

Robert, Did I respond to your post previously? We use VMware Fusion. It works just fine. Keep the MacOS in the background. I like the MacOS and use MobileMe and Remote Desktop (from Apple) to manage my computers over the net and over the local network. Also, using OD inside a virtual machine means t...
by stjames70
Sat Dec 11, 2010 8:02 pm
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Primary Provider
Replies: 7
Views: 7385

Re: Primary Provider

Along the same lines, our practice consists of four partners, and every time we have a new patient call in, the patient is assigned to the practice's default provider. Is there any possible way for the program to request who will be patient's primary provider instead of simply assigning to the defau...
by stjames70
Sat Dec 04, 2010 2:40 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Dental Hygienists need a solution...
Replies: 3
Views: 5648

Re: Dental Hygienists need a solution...

Hi jef, Our setup: 1) MacPro (early 2008) 2.8 octocore with 16gb of RAM and 4TB of internal storage with 7 iMac (early 2009) workstations and 4 Dell (2005) workstations. 2) MacPro runs OSX with Open Dental running in a virtualized (VM Ware Fusion 3.0) XP box with all the iMac workstations set up in ...
by stjames70
Thu Mar 18, 2010 11:01 am
Forum: Main Forum
Topic: Open Dental on Mac
Replies: 8
Views: 9635

Re: Open Dental on Mac

Dear Dr. Sparks, We use OpenDental on a Mac platform with DEXIS, and it works flawlessly for us. I understand there is not much of a chance you will recode OD to work natively on MacOS X, BUT I would beg you to reconsider. I believe there is a large market for practice management software on a Mac p...