Learning something new: Off-Lease Computers Make Amazing Thin Clients

For those who don't know, thin clients are computers used primarily to connect to some other computer where the actual "computing" takes place on the remote computer.

We need thin clients because we're using a remote desktop session host based IT infrastructure. Sounds complicated, but it'll help our physicians see patients more effectively and efficiently (well, that's the promise anyways).

So what did we learn today? It's amazing the value you get from off-lease computers. These are computers leased by large corporations for a few years, and then returned as "obsolete" even though, in practice, they are still fully usable.  They aren't the fastest or prettiest machines on the block anymore, but as thin clients, they are more that adequate (frankly, some of these off-lease computers are comparable to many people's home desktop, and blow most "special-purpose" thin client machines out of the water).  They even come with fully licensed versions of Windows, which, at $150, is oftentimes more expensive than these off-lease desktops!

Here are thin clients 3, 4, 5, and 6 (of 30) being tested on our highly sophisticated test bench (a.k.a. a dining table).

Construction Update #2 - Walls, walls, walls everywhere!

An amazing amount of work has been done to transform the space into a clinic these last couple weeks.  Indeed, there are steel studs everywhere now, and the drywall is starting to go up in certain places.

This third photo is particularly interesting.  For scale, the ceiling here is 16' height, and the opening is 12' x 5'

Making our own Custom Live Edge Worktable

Instead of commissioning a normal worktable out of wood veneer and MDF, we elected to go with something more fun (and yet cheaper!)

We'll put everything together onsite and post some more photos then, but some photos in the meantime.  We're using a 7' x 3' live edge tabletop from Urban Tree Salvage and custom welded table legs ordered from Turkey off Etsy.

Construction Update #1 - Floor Polishing

After a long planning process, we're excited to see our vision starting to come together.

One of the first steps was to polish and seal the floors.   They're quite dusty in the photos, but you can see how the grain of the concrete really comes through!

Online Booking

One of the ways our clinic seeks to offer our patients an improved experience is by offering real-time online bookings.

What we mean by this is that all appointments will be available to be scheduled online, with our online schedule fully up-to-date at all times.  For example, if a patient cancels an appointment, that timeslot will become available to other patients immediately.

Our hope is that this system will enable our patients to have better and more convenient access to their physicians.

Here's an example of how our online booking system will work.