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If Dell or places like that do not have it,

Posted By: sm on 2008-08-07
In Reply to: need help finding MS word - misswebster

try a local computer store/repair service.


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I have both a Dell Latitude Laptop and a Dell Dimension desk top PC and bought both...
off of Ebay.  The laptop I paid $300 for had Windows XP and works great.  It wasn't wireless, but they sent me a PCI card with it and it works fine.  The desktop PC has XP on it as well and I paid $250 for it.  Both have Pentium IVs.  Both work great for work.  I have no complaints and I feel like I got a great deal both times out on Ebay.
Company provides a Dell for work, I have a Dell for personal use, too.
x
Dell customer service is overseas. I have had a Dell, a
Toshiba Satellite, and an HP.   The Dell was a piece of junk from day 1.  The HP hard drive crashed after 4 to 5 years, but otherwise no problems.   I bought a Toshiba about 6 months ago and it is okay, nothing special.  I was looking at the Sony Viao and the salesman said that some laptops are made to be portable, but that the Sony was not one of them, but the Toshiba was.   My keyboard also has a numerical pad on it, but it throws the other keys off a bit, so when I'm in a portable mode and don't have room for an external keyboard it really slows me down.  I have a Duo Core processor and notice no difference whatsoever in speed, the number of programs I can have open, etc.   I have also noticed that even when I am not on battery power that every so often the battery is charging.  I don't know if this is a defect or something that is supposed to happen, but I need to investigate it. 
I've had two dell laptops and 5 Dell PCs. Here's the thing...

Make sure you get the extended warranty, again, MAKE SURE YOU GET THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. And, here is why.


My first laptop went out on my, though it was a couple of years old.  Because I had the extended warranty, a service tech came to my house, replaced motherboard, hard drive, heat sink, and keyboard.  He was able to back up everything first and restored it once all the new stuff was in place. 


One of my PCs kept giving some weird blue screen error and I couldn't get to go even in safe mode. I called up Dell, told them the problem, they looked up my extended warranty and they sent someone out to repair it.


Overall, I have been happy with Dell products.  The only drag is that everything Dell sells regarding accessories is proprietary and you have to order it through Dell.  No generic accessories will work.  My suggestion is if you decide to buy a Dell laptop, make sure you get the car power supply and you might even get a 2nd regular power supply because I have been known to leave town and forget the power supply at the house.  Now, I have everything in my laptop bag for when I go out of town and can just throw my laptop in the bag and know everything is there.


Lastly, some Dell laptops require a special aircard to connect to the internet.  I ended up getting a 2 cabled USB air card and I'm glad I did because 2 USB plug ins give better reception than one.


If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. I'm happy to help.


I don't like Dell. I bought a Dell laptop and it

was a piece of junk, so I'm not the one to ask if you should buy a Dell.   I'd get at least double that processor speed.  My computer is about 10 months old and I have 5 times that, which means that there is probably something faster out now, or soon will be.  It is more than I need for work, but I also use computer to download music/pictures, and a bunch of other stuff.   The Dell I had had 650 mHz and it was slow and that was almost 6 years ago.   You may have to customize anyway to get XP unless you buy one previously owned, which you can also buy from Dell.   It is always a good idea to buy bigger than you need currently just to allow for updates to any software or new software you may add.    You need to also think about tech support.  I know Dell has tech support in India, which can be extremely frustrating.  I don't know that other computer companies don't offshore their tech support, but that would be a question I would ask and find out if there is a locally authorized dealer to handle warranty repairs or if you need to send off the computer.    I would not recommend a Gateway computer and I would not recommend any computer that has a Celeron processor.   They tend to be in all the lower end computers. 


 


Buy a Dell!! You can't go wrong with a Dell but
I bought an Emachines and had trouble with it from day one. I returned it, as the store I bought it from a six month return policy, so I returned it after about five months. I bought a Dell two years ago and have had no problems since!! Buy a Dell, you won't be sorry!! :)
I am not a Dell lover. My Dell has been
a lemon.  I just replaced mine with a Toshiba Satellite and I have seen a few others here recommend this.  Dell's customer service is in India.   The only thing I dislike about my Toshiba is that because it also has a number keypad the shift key is in a different position than I'm used to and I end up deleting and retyping when I use the laptop keyboard.  I normally use an external keyboard, but I travel a lot and try to work on the road and just don't have space for an external keyboard.    
Where did you hear that everything you buy for a Dell has to be from Dell?

I have LOTS of peripherals on both my laptop and desktop Dells and they certainly didn't come from Dell. You've been misinformed.


I love my Dells.


seems to me a lot of places would let you sm
work just weekends as that is the hardest spot to fill.
I think a lot of places are going through this right now
It's been the same here. No work or very very slow. I'm the complainer when the work is low though, but I don't usually complain on message boards. I'm the one that's calling the company looking for more work. I'm flexible and they're good to me and keep me going. I have to appreciate that!
places have always been
doing that.  I really don't think its just starting now.  they save bucks that way. 
Does anyone know of places
that hire people offshore to do data entry work.  I work as an MT, but am thinking about moving to another country in the next 5 years.  I do not believe in offshoring medical records, so I do not consider continuing with MT as an option.  I tried doing a search on Google, but have not found much after trying different queries.  Thanks in advance for all help!
Some places still use it, I use WP5.1 every day - sm
for 1 job, though they do want to convert over, but it is what the hospital uses. It is not hard to use and I have Stedmans's spellcheck and Smartype (the original) for it and you can macro your butt off with it; and very easy to use.
Do you even have to do this? Most places just
s
Other places to try

http://www.choicere.net/adapter/


http://www.dictationmall.com/ind.html


http://hthengineering.com/


http://sylvansoftware.com/accessories.htm


http://dictran.com/medical-dictation.html


 


I think most places
want somewhat of a set schedule or a certain # of hours per week, be it FT or PT. However, a lot of companies offer split shifts and very flexible scheduling. Also, all work as a TAT - turn around time, so it has to be done in a timely manner. I suppose if you work for someone locally, this could be more flexible.
Yes there are still places sm

that give I raises.  If you are dependable, do what is asked and more, don't pick and choose your work types, learn how to do everything that comes across the board and don't complain (at least to your employer-haha), there are companies that reward you accordingly. 


I realize there are companies that do not reward and you have the choice to stay or go depending on your situation.  But there still are places that will pay for good, experienced MTs and pay very well!


Yes, there are a lot of places worse off, but

there are a lot of places that are a lot better too. For the money and the resources that this country has, we do not nearly take care of business the way we should. Do you know that there are countries that do not have as much money as we do or resources, yet every citizen is entitled to healthcare by way of government paid insurance. Do you know how many people we have in the US that are uninsured? Do you know how many countries offer paid maternity leave for mothers? I could go on, but I won't. The US is a lot better than a lot of places, but we should be ashamed at how we handle things a lot of the times. America is full of a lot of greedy people, and we wonder why other countries hate us. Do you know that the cost of the president's inauguration party would have been way more than enough to armor every single vehicle that our military had? Do you know how many lives or injuries could have been saved if only the vehicles were armored better? Where are our priorities there?


Most places, you betchya
While you may have had one person train you, depending on the work you do and number of QA staff that support that work, yes. QA is usually hired as supervisory staff, which means they do QA, train, feedback, report quality issues, nonworking issues, etc. as well as being a source for you to ask for help, report issues, conflicts, etc. Usually when QA is done, all QA staff are polled for each person for any quality issues, complaints from clients, etc. to get the whole picture. While you may not view the QA staff as "bosses" per se, their word carries weight...do not be too quick to burn bridges.
Many places, google them
Ebay is probably the cheapest, that is where I got mine 8 years ago at $600, I am sure they have come down some since then.
I know of two places, but I can't remember the name of the second one.
emediamillworks.com is one of them.  I'll search my hard drive to see if I saved the address of the other company.
Probably true a lot of places
Well, things will be totally different with the new generation since it is an accepted standard that women just do everything a man does for the most part now. I unfortunately was on the cusp of this changeover and will be too old to benefit.

I don't think too many of today's kids think that "male body parts" qualify as superior in the workforce. And if you do, you need to look around, because today women even fly fighter jets.
manufacturing places in TN and KY in USA..nm
xx
Do wi-fi places let you plug your lap top into

nm


Some places use the SS# as the patient ID #. (nm)
.
It varies. 65 is not always the # used. Some places
s
Some places will pay extra for


longer to transcribe. My company does. It does help.
Not that many places pay extra for CMT (nm)
x
of all the places to put a typo!
nm
Places to work...

I can certainly sympathize with your plight.  Am forced to leave MQ because of the pay and now because of the uncertainty of having a job in a few years has come into play.  I searched and found that no one really wants to pay more than 7-9 cpl anymore.  I did find one place that will pay more.  I think it is based on experience, multiple specialties and the account itself.  I start in a week and they are starting me out at 9.5 with a review in 90 days to possibly go to 10.  There may be even 11 in my future, if I do well with this company.  So far, everything seems to be working out with this company.  They have a very strict QA period to start, but I think it will be okay once I start actually typing.  It is also strictly typing, no editing.  So real money for real pay.  I know that I did not find anyplace that paid better on the internet.  This will bring me back to what I was making with MQ before the editing came around, which will be good for me.


 


So, it takes a lot of searching and a lot of hard work to find the right fit for you.  If you would like more info on the company I found, e-mail me and I will let you know.  I have a feeling they will be getting loaded with resumes in the coming months from people from MQ.  Glad, I started before all this started.


 


Good Luck.


The same features are all there but in different places because
of the new ribbon. If you were productive in an older version, you would be just as productive in 2007 once you learn your way around the new layout. Almost all of my old keyboard shortcuts still work in 2007 so I don't fool with the ribbon all that much. I toggle it off most of the time because it's so huge and takes up too much room on my screen.

Are you sure your trial version isn't fully functional? Maybe your trial time has expired?

Most places can tell who has edited
a report, whether the MT, QA, or other personnel. I had a physician actually go in and change something on mine which was not correct. I saw that it had been changed and contacted my supervisor and she was able to tell the physician had changed it, not QA. So there are things in place most programs that can tell who made what changes.
If you google it, there are places you can
x
Your sister hasn't been looking in the right places. (sm)
There are companies that hire coders to work at home. Tell her to try www.aviacode.com, www.lexicode.com, www.amphionmedical.com, www.btcworldwide.com, and www.peakhs.com. Tell her to subscribe to the AHIMA jobs board. They have plenty of jobs (some are in-house and some are work at home). Hope this helps.
I know what you mean. I remember when Elance and all those other places
first came out. People were bidding less than minimum wage. Really, how bored or desperate do you have to be to work for free? A legitimate business cannot compete with that. I had a virtual assistant business back then. People didn't care about quality and experience, only cost. That's why I went back to working for someone else.

The same thing with eBay. I used to sell collectibles there. People sell things so cheap that you wonder how they even cover their packaging materials and gasoline to the post office, not to mention the wholesale purchase price of the inventory.

Makes you wonder if these people have ever heard of a profit and loss statement....
Yes, I am aware but there are other places he expresses himself
on this board. I could be wrong, though, it wouldn't be the first time.
It's surprising how many places are paying 6-8 cpl
even though I know some people make more, cpl is dropping in MT, not rising. If you are not a fast typist, may want to consider doing something else.
There are real people at these places? lol nm
Thanks!
Yes there are many places without leash laws.
x
It can be bought from a number of places.
I bought it for an older computer of mine from an online company. I know this can be risky, but the company had good reviews (do not remember the name). I bought Microsoft Office from Dell.
Most places pay per audio hour
Unless it is paying $60+ per audio/recorded hour, it is not worth it. I did this for awhile. It is tedious and hard to make a decent wage.
I have worked for a couple places sm
one company (national - they took out taxes, so i was considered an employee) paid between $1.10 to $1.35 a report, depending on the difficulty of the account/doctors.  i currently work for a company (considered statutory employee) and they pay is $1.25 a report.  hope that helps.  i think i like being paid by the line, because you have your nit pickers out there that will skip the long jobs and do the short ones if you get paid per report.  if you get paid by line, to me it doesn't matter. 
Hyphens in the wrong places
Thank you! This is why I am so upset. I know this is wrong and my hands are tied. Not all of the QA where I am change this, but a few do. The bad part is that it is fate which determines which QA checks the work each day. Wish only the good QA people were in control.
Are there any places that rent C-phones? sm

I don't mean companies that you work for, but some independent company that you could rent one from.   I had one for a long time, but then the company I work for went to wav files, and foolishly, I got rid of my C-phone.  Now I have an opportunity at another company that requires a C-phone, but they don't supply them or rent them.  Before buying something and then finding out the company stinks, I thought it would be nice to rent one.  Maybe this is a farfetched idea, but thought I'd ask.


Thanks.


This is a slow period most places

Beginning of summer, everybody on vacation.


I have two part-time jobs, one for an MT company, one for a local radiology group doing their overflow work. Maybe something like that would work for you - when one isn't busy, the other might be.


There ARE good places to work for out there

Congratulations! I'm glad you found a job that works for you.


I, too, have found my niche. It's pretty unique and probably wouldn't work for anybody else, but it works for me. 


Especially their interest in CHINA, of all places. -sm
Look at what's been coming out of there already - poison pet food, poison people food, badly made and dangerous children's toys, flimsy everything else, etc. They try to bend the rules on just about everything they make & export.

Imagine the quality of their medical transcription.....

[* SHUDDER! *] :/
voted; said the other 2 are grooming places. I'd like to have a...
nm
compared to what most places offer
This is very good. I would just clarify that time isn't rounded down to the nearest minute on each dictation. This is a good rate even if ESL as long as it is not one of those impossible-to-hear people. :)
Could you not put like "the patient" in most places rather than he/she? nm
@
Most places do not use word 2007
If you choose to upgrade. I have both 2003 and 2007 (yes you can run both at the same time on Vista) and never use 2007 anymore. It says you can save the document as 97-2003 but a lot gets changed in trasmission anyway.