So, the other day we had a big snow storm and power failures all around town (it was the day of the Chamber Trade Show, so I remember it well). Many computers in town were adversely affected. Some, sadly, did not make it. I was asked to take a look at an somewhat ancient eMachine PC (Windows XP, 1G mem, and 160G harddrive).

The motherboard turned out to be damaged, as evidenced by a leaking onboard capacitor and the fact that it consistently refused to boot up, even with temporary replacement power supplies, memory, hard drives, etc. So tmalss (to make a long story short) a new computer was needed. The owner bought a new HP Win8 system from his favorite box store in the big city. I then was asked to copy his old data files over and set it up for him. Glad to do it.

The system install went fine, until I tried to install the printer that had worked fine for him with his old computer. Nothing wrong with the printer. It just has no drivers available yet for Windows 8. Hmmm. HP computer. HP LaserJet Printer (P1505). But with Win8 .. no love. The HP website indicates they are 'working on a new driver for spring 2013'. Isn't that just about right now? Chatted online with a not so informed HP rep. All new printers should work with Win8, she claimed. What about this one? Oh, that was news to her. What printers do work with Win8? No real response (All new printers should work with Win8). 

Ran into a similar problem a few months back with a Macbook Pro that could not print to HP Color Laser (designated Windows only). Worked fine with Win7 and after some arm wrestling, with Win8. But no drivers available for Macs. How unfortunate. This client now works on her Mac laptop, saves to PDF, and prints the copied PDF from her new Win8 computer.

So, what is the Strange Truth? Just that there is very little remaining incentive for printer manufacturers to update their drivers. They already have our money, and are much better off just playing dumb or giving lip service and expecting everyone to go out and buy a new piece of printer hardware? Perhaps. Interestingly, these printers both play nice when Linux is talking to them. Yay for the Open Source Team! Whose job is it to make that printer print? IMHO, the operating system designer needs to work together with the various hardware manufacturers to make their systems compatible with for all legacy as well as with new hardware. Work together with each other, instead of pointing fingers back at each other. I must state here, that HP traditionally has a very good reputation for it's efforts to provide drivers, even to Linux.

Kudos to Linux and HP for trying. Bad fish smell to some of you others. 

I was assigned the task to clear off all the files from an old Dell Dimension 2400 computer that was replaced with a new Windows 8 computer, because this old Windows XP system had . slowed .. to ... a .... crawl ..... Ahem. I use Ubuntu Linux on all my other computers but it would not even load on this old computer. I could have reinstalled the old now obsolete WinXP. Instead, I installed the latest version of Linux Mint (which is based on Ubuntu) and was pleased to find that it works just fine. The default Linux Mint desktop manager is Cinnamon, which also works but is just not as snappy as I would like. So, just logged out and back in using Gnome as the default desktop interface. Success! Great looking computer, very responsive, runs most everything any basic user would want. Yay.

Besides the basic stuff Linux Mint installs (Firefox, Libreoffice, etc) I took a little time to install Google Chrome for Internet, Family Search Indexing (Linux version), Wine and PAF, GnuCash for accounting, and even DosBox to run my better half's favorite DOS game Solitiles .. 

I then tested Cinnamon on my Ubuntu Laptop, wow. I knew Linux was customizable, but hadn't really internalized the fact that they can all run pretty much whatever the other distro's can run. When you check the reviews, the focus is on what is pre-packaged with the install. However, with Linux Distros, if I like the way that Linux Mint uses Cinnamon, I can install it and run it on my Ubuntu system. Sweet. Switching desktop environments turns out to be a snap .. I just log off and back on after selecting the desktop I wanted to try.

The old computer is now ready for the upcoming Magrath Lions Garage Sale .. or for donating to the neighbours; completely ready to browse the internet, send and receive email, run PAF and Family Search, and track the family checkbook balances. Fun! 

I bought a Kindle 3 last year. Long story: it was lost for a while in a third world country (Bonaire), but eventually found it’s way home to me. Meanwhile, my daughters sprang for a replacement Kindle Touch for me for Christmas. Thanks Kids! So .. I (am supposed to) have two. It usually works out great, as I have two pockets in my suit jacket that they fit into quite well. It is often convenient to have two references open at once at church or in study. Mostly, they are used as replacement scriptures and lesson manuals and whatever. The bells and whistles of other devices fade in comparison to the crystal ink, usability and readability of my Kindles and they save me from lugging around my old 40 lb Samsonite briefcase.

Anyway, I have a Kindle Touch and a Kindle 3. Last week, the Kindle 3 disappeared shortly after our return from church. It was eventually found next to my computer under another book. Hmmm. This weekend the Kindle Touch also disappeared and eventually miraculously appeared under my daughters pillow in her room. Ahhh. So .. perhap we need some kind of GPS tracking device or a clapper/beeper function to be able to locate lost or stolen devices like this. THAT would be cool ..