FAQ 3 - Email, Cleaning
My Epson 1660 glass has never seemed clean -- even when I bought it. Finally it occurred to me to search on how to clean the sucker (top and bottom, scanner disassembles easily).
Scantips is an old time favorite web site. They mentioned pure alcohol. Cheapo 70% isopropyl alcohol worked great (pharmacy grade). Patten was clean for the very first time.
Interestingly the scans really don't look all that different.
Sunday, October 17, 2004
Sifry's Alerts: Oct 2004 State of the blogosphere: Big Media vs. Blogs
Sifry's Alerts: Oct 2004 State of the blogosphere: Big Media vs. Blogs Terrific visual of sources favored by bloggers. The list of reference pretty much follows what I read and post about, starting with the NYT at the very top. Midway down though I start to see sites I'm not familiar with, but clearly need to learn more about.
12,000 new blogs every day?
Sifry's Alerts: State of the Blogosphere, October 2004
Assuming each of the new blogs has only a single posting and allowing for load times, there's no way to even read the inital postings of every day's new blogs in a single 8 hour day.
Technorati monitors about 4 million web logs (I'm not sure it monitors this one). A storm of postings.
... there are about 12,000 new weblogs being created each day, which means that on average, a new weblog is created every 7.4 seconds
Assuming each of the new blogs has only a single posting and allowing for load times, there's no way to even read the inital postings of every day's new blogs in a single 8 hour day.
Technorati monitors about 4 million web logs (I'm not sure it monitors this one). A storm of postings.
Integrating blogs, PDAs and snippets of information
AvantGo
I figured I could use AvantGo to snarf down my Quick Notes entries and put them on my CLIE (PalmOS).
It sort of works, but the pages basically choke the CLIE. It takes 1-2 minutes for a single archive to load and scrolling is tough to. I might try again if I switch to the single-post-per-page method (unfortunately those posts have "Potemkin Permalinks").
PS. Blogger is SLOW these days.
I figured I could use AvantGo to snarf down my Quick Notes entries and put them on my CLIE (PalmOS).
It sort of works, but the pages basically choke the CLIE. It takes 1-2 minutes for a single archive to load and scrolling is tough to. I might try again if I switch to the single-post-per-page method (unfortunately those posts have "Potemkin Permalinks").
PS. Blogger is SLOW these days.
The Fallows Summary of Getting Things Done (GTD)
The Atlantic Online | July/August 2004 | Organize Your Life! | James Fallows
This started as a blog post on what James Fallows' wrote about David Allen's "Getting Things Done" methodologies. Now It's morphing into my short summary of the method, inspired by Fallows' article. Here's the latest version.
I'm still putting priorities on my tasks, but I can see the logic of a method that dispenses with priorities.
Ideally our software would make it easy to do the following:
1. Assign tasks to one or more projects and be able to view them quickly by project.
2. Assign tasks to minimum-required-resource (eg. place): nothing, phone, desk, computer, network, office ...
3. Assign priorities to tasks and projects.
4. Assign dates and notes to tasks (almost all software does this, more or less).
5. Link tasks and projects easily to messages and appointments.
6. Allow editable access to this data on a PDA.
Outlook doesn't do these things very well. Unfortunately. I sort-of-fake-it by:
1. Using Allen's Outlook Plug-In. (The software is crude in some ways and I think it's troublesome, but it gets around many of Outlook's inadequacies.)
2. Using Chapura Key Suite to sync the Outlook data to my PDA.
This started as a blog post on what James Fallows' wrote about David Allen's "Getting Things Done" methodologies. Now It's morphing into my short summary of the method, inspired by Fallows' article. Here's the latest version.
1. If you can do it in two minutes, just do it.
2. Get everything out of your head. Appointments, tasks, notes, contacts -- get it into one place (eg. Outlook).
3. Tasks have three important relationships:
- the minimal context needed for the next action (ex: anywhere, phone, desk, computer, network, office ..)
- the project(s) that contains the task
- date of next action
4. Tasks always have a next action. Identifying and executing 'next actions' is critical.
5. Record tasks/ideas at time they are recognized.
6. Weekly review of about one hour. (This takes me at least 2 hours but I'm trying to speed my review.)
7. Tasks do NOT have priorities.
I'm still putting priorities on my tasks, but I can see the logic of a method that dispenses with priorities.
Ideally our software would make it easy to do the following:
1. Assign tasks to one or more projects and be able to view them quickly by project.
2. Assign tasks to minimum-required-resource (eg. place): nothing, phone, desk, computer, network, office ...
3. Assign priorities to tasks and projects.
4. Assign dates and notes to tasks (almost all software does this, more or less).
5. Link tasks and projects easily to messages and appointments.
6. Allow editable access to this data on a PDA.
Outlook doesn't do these things very well. Unfortunately. I sort-of-fake-it by:
1. Using Allen's Outlook Plug-In. (The software is crude in some ways and I think it's troublesome, but it gets around many of Outlook's inadequacies.)
2. Using Chapura Key Suite to sync the Outlook data to my PDA.
How to disable Windows iPod mounting ...
Apple - Discussions - DISABLE Windows iPod mounting ...
From a posting of mine:
From a posting of mine:
This might be a first.
There are lots of posts from folks who can't get their iPod to mount on their PC. I don't have that problem.
My problem is I DON'T want my iPod to mount on my PC. I want to use my desktop front firewire port simply as a convenient charger for my iPod. Here's the deal.
I use my iPod with my Mac and it's HFS+ formatted. I do have iTunes on my PC, but I use it in a weird and unsupported way to burn music I later move to my iBook managed SMB/NTFS hosted iTunes library.
So I have iTunes on the PC and that's fine. But I want my PC to ignore the iPod and just charge the device.
At this time when I plug it in the PC launches iPod Manager and offers to reformat it. I have to cancel out (better not hit the wrong key!) then go to the drive list and "eject" (dismount) removeable drive E. Then I can use my iPod while it recharges.
I used XP services to disable the "iPod service" (stopped it and set to manual start). That may have gotten rid of the dangerous offer to reformat the iPod. XP still mounts the iPod as a removable disk, so I do have to eject before I can use it. That's not bad -- I can live with it. Be great to prevent that happening though.
Saturday, October 16, 2004
Radified:Guide to ASPI drivers and Force ASPI
Radified: ASPI layer drivers updated with Force ASPI [ForceASPI v1.7]
I think XP SP2 may have broken ASPI support for an old scanner of mine. I'm still working through this.
I think XP SP2 may have broken ASPI support for an old scanner of mine. I'm still working through this.
iBook rubber / plastic foot replacement
Apple - Discussions - Lost a rubber foot
Some f/u on the feet, and a bit of a sad (sniff) story.
Zachary sent me a foot (for free!). I tried to attach it, and it was obvious there's no way it was going to fit (read on!). I figured he'd sent me a foot for a 14' G3 iBook or a G4 iBook. I saved it to give away to someone else
So, regretfully, I searched around the web. I could see this site http://microdocusa.com/icebookparts.html had the same 'non-fitting' feet. So I looked further and found this site:
http://www.pbfixit.com/cart/customer/product.php?productid=362&cat=50&page=4
They offered the feet for $5 EACH plus $7 (minimal) shipping. (Versus $5 for a packet of 6). But since they were G3 12' iBook feet I ordered them. Ordered 3 in fact, since that made the postage more tolerable. One as a spare, one to give away.
They caame, and they were are exactly what Zachary had sent me. Rubberish on top, platic on the bottom. Obviously won't fit.
As I puzzled and stared at my iBook, a dim bulb went off deep in my cranium. I realized that what appeared to be a foot receptacle was, in fact, the plastic collar that remains when a foot is snapped off.
I unscrewed the receptacle and popped off the plastic remnant, then screwed the foot fitting back into the iBook. Now the foot snapped in with the greatest of ease.
Gordon Bell (of Microsoft) on Standards
A Time and Place for Standards
On the one hand Gordon Bell is a famous name in computing. On the other hand he works for a monopolistic empire built upon dirty tricks and proprietary data structures; a company famed for perverting standards. A company trusted by noone with any sense.
It's like a member of Ghengis Horde arguing for pacifism and regional autonomy.
Weird.
On the one hand Gordon Bell is a famous name in computing. On the other hand he works for a monopolistic empire built upon dirty tricks and proprietary data structures; a company famed for perverting standards. A company trusted by noone with any sense.
It's like a member of Ghengis Horde arguing for pacifism and regional autonomy.
Weird.
Friday, October 15, 2004
My PBFixit Coupon Code
PB FixIt Customer Survey
I'm not going to use this code, so first one to try gets 5% off a PBFixit order.
Your coupon code is: SURVEY111
Your code is good for 5% off any PowerBook FixIt order in the next 30 days.
I'm not going to use this code, so first one to try gets 5% off a PBFixit order.
Schneier on Internet Explorer
Schneier on Security: Schneier: Microsoft still has work to do
I think it's foolish to use Internet Explorer. It's filled with security holes, and it's too hard to configure it to have decent security. Basically, it seems to be written in the best interests of Microsoft and not in the best interests of the customer. I have used the Opera browser for years, and I am very happy with it. It's much better designed, and I never have to worry about Explorer-based attacks.
You can't erase a hard drive with an external magnet
Dan's Data letters #128
Ok, maybe an immense magnet could do it. These are neat numbers to find. It turns out modern mag stripes are much harder to damage than the ones we had years ago.
There's a simple explanation for hard-to-erase magstripes; they're the newer "high coercivity" type.
Old-style low coercivity magstripes are essentially the same material as is used for cheap ferrite cassette tape; they have a coercivity of only about 300 Oersteds. That means a 300 Gauss field is enough to wipe them. You can easily get that from a plain ferrite magnet, or an electromagnet you can make in ten minutes with some wire and a nail and a lantern battery.
Floppy disks score 720 Oersteds, higher coercivity tapes (DAT, 8mm video tape...) can score as much as 1400-odd Oersteds, and high coercivity magstripes are as tough as hard drive platters, in the few-thousand-Oersted range. Some high coercivity stripes apparently manage as much as 4000 Oersteds, though I think ISO Standard 7811 only specifies 3000. Magstripes are, of course, easier to wipe than a drive platter with the same coercivity, because you can lay a magnet right down on top of a magstripe; they don't have an aluminium casing around them like a hard drive.
My giant rare earth truncated pyramid fridge magnet has a real live 7000 Gauss field strength at its small end, which is way more than is needed to wipe any magstripe ever made. The part I grabbed is the big end, but that's quite likely to still manage better than 4000 Gauss.
Ok, maybe an immense magnet could do it. These are neat numbers to find. It turns out modern mag stripes are much harder to damage than the ones we had years ago.
Fujitsu ScanPartner 15C Flatbed Scanner Reviews at Shopping.com
Fujitsu ScanPartner 15C Flatbed Scanner Reviews at Shopping.com
A rather nice review -- I'd have said exactly the same thing. This old machine is a real problem for XP SP2 though. Key point is that a reliable document feeder is EXPENSIVE, and the home user doesn't value document feeders enough to pay what it costs to make a reliable one.
A rather nice review -- I'd have said exactly the same thing. This old machine is a real problem for XP SP2 though. Key point is that a reliable document feeder is EXPENSIVE, and the home user doesn't value document feeders enough to pay what it costs to make a reliable one.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)