Chiropractic San Diego

by Michael Dorausch, DC

It's May 31st, 2007 and I am excited about the Fedora Project and todays release of the Fedora 7 Operating System (aka Moonshine). It must be a Linux day since I posted earlier about Ubuntu installs on Dell. Anyway, I'll be downloading Fedora 7 tonight and upgrading at least one of the servers (currently on Fedora core 6) we use here at Planet Chiropractic.

According the project, Fedora 7 is the first release where the development was 100% done in the community, with all the code being merged into a single external repository. This allows even more high-quality developers to work directly with the code, offering improvements on more than 7500 packages.

Fedora 7 runs on laptops and it should offer great power consumption along with extended wireless functionality. A very exciting part about this release is it is the first Fedora distribution with full Live CD/DVD capability, meaning you can run it from your cd-rom or DVD drive.

I'll be doing an install on a fresh new dual core intel server that will house our growing library of chiropractic related photos, audio, and video. Just dropped 2 terabytes of storage into it so we should be good for at least until next month. ;-) I'll test out the Live CD while on the road this weekend and give a report when I'm back.

In case you are wondering where you can get your hands on this moonshine stuff, here is a fedora download link: fedoraproject.org/get-fedora. You can do direct downloads or use a BitTorrent client.

If it is your first time downloading Fedora, be sure to review the installation instructions before choosing one of the download methods they offer.

If you are wondering what any of this means to chiropractors or Planet Chiropractic, it's important to remember the open-source community has provided the backbone of nearly everything we have done (as well as the majority of the web) online, from webservers (apache), databases (mysql), operating systems (fedora, ubuntu, freeBSD), and numerous other packages and tools made freely available thanks to opensource.

As I mentioned earlier today about another Linux based OS, this is free software made available thanks to open source -- many people working very hard together to see great software is available to the masses. Thanks to everyone that is developing/supporting open-source.

by Michael Dorausch, DC

PC maker Dell recently announced that they will begin shipping computers in the USA loaded with Ubuntu, an open source community developed Linux based operating system that is loaded with features for the desktop user.

From what I could find online, Dell computers to be shipped with Ubuntu 7.04 "Feisty Fawn" distribution of Linux include the Dell XPS 410n desktop PC, the Dimension E520n desktop, and the Inspiron E1505n notebook computer. Just a few months ago I purchased a Dell XPS M1210 laptop that came shipped with Windows XP Media Center Edition and I was hoping Dell was going to include this model in their release. While I could find no evidence that Dell is planning to offer this laptop with a Linux based system, I had no problem downloading the free Ubuntu operating system and installing it on my notebook. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised and rather excited by the ease of install since I've tried running previous versions of this operating system on my notebook with not so spectacular results.

What I love most about Ubuntu on Dell is the lack of crappy 3rd party software that is typically shipped with their computers. When I bought Dell's in the past I'd basically strip the entire hard drive and do a fresh Windows install so I wouldn't have all those extra programs on my computer which I'd never use. To tell you the truth Ubuntu already comes with too much stuff for my tastes but it's really easy to uninstall unwanted applications in this OS.

Besides not having to deal with the added junk software the second thing that I found critical was that Ubuntu recognized my wireless configuration and I had Internet access as soon as I completed my install. (My wireless even worked when booting just to the OS CD) For me this is the most critical point since nearly everything I do is done online in a web interface and Linux based systems are great for that. I loved that I didn't have to install antivirus software and I'm not getting those annoying notices from antivirus companies to update an upgrade my applications every other day. I mentioned that Ubuntu is based on open source, and for you that don't know what that means, it basically means it's FREE. Yes, the operating his system is free and you can download it from the website at ubuntu.com (had the wrong link earlier, sorry about that).

If you're a chiropractor you may be wondering is this operating system ready for the chiropractic office? In my experience if you're going to run chiropractic office management software you may be better off sticking to Windows for now since I don't know of any office management software programs that have installs and support for Linux based operating systems. That being said I certainly think it's a great idea to get Ubuntu installed for computers your staff may be using to access the Internet, simply because of the lack of virus attacks on Linux based operating systems. Ubuntu installs with OpenOffice, another open source (free) product that features a word processor, spreadsheet tools, presentation tools, and other productivity office related tools. In my experience OpenOffice has been very easy to use and is loaded with productive features.

Ubuntu also makes a great operating system for the chiropractor on the road since there's less likely a need for office management software when out of the office. With Firefox installed as a Web browser, Thunderbird or Evolution available as an e-mail client, the tools available from OpenOffice, and a mindbending number of other opensource products, you should have everything you could desire in an operating system. One example is open-source software called Audacity that allows you to use the microphone on your computer to record voice presentations. That could mean narrative reports, presentations, podcasts, and voiceovers for your slideshow presentations you're making with your OpenOffice tools. Did I mention that all of this is free and without the hassle of viruses infecting your computer?

Just remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it's likely available via open-source.

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Dr. Michael Dorausch is a chiropractor practicing Los Angeles, California. He has been utilizing open source products and platforms since the early 1990s and has been long recommending open-source products to others. Planet Chiropractic has utilized and/or continues to use products such as FreeBSD, Apache web server, Fedora core (now simply Fedora 7), Ubuntu desktop edition, Ubuntu Server, Audacity, Gimp, Wordpress, and a long list of other open source products. We are happy to support the open-source movement and would like to thank everyone working in this environment that has provided us with support and expertise.

2006 Parker graduate looking for a position in a North Dallas area clinic. I have been working as an independent contractor in a multi-disciplinary clinic and am now interested in taking a salary position and focusing on treating patients. I am familiar with the following techniques: diversified, F/D, Thompson and Activator. I have also worked with decompression therapy and cold laser therapy. I am excited to learn new procedures and help grow a practice. I have experience with screenings and have done public health talks.
If interested please email me at DrOvermiller@yahoo.com or contact me at 469-688-8933. Dr. Daren Overmiller