Sangean Again!

The reason why I love Linux so much is due to the commitment and dedication of its community. Linux users and developers are quick to respond to help you through the slightest challenge or problem you might have experienced while familiarizing yourself with this wonderful operating system. The community is always there to help. I've made some wonderful friendships through using Linux. These new Linux friends have introduced me to open source technologies that have enhanced my cartooning and computing experience.

In the same way, the folks at Sangean really stand behind their products! As you may recall, I've blogged about how terrific the Sangean WFR-20 interent radio is! Recently, I had a slight problem with the radio and called the folks at Sangean. They were only too happy to help me out! My radio is fine. Its up and running and streaming music from my Linux Mint computer and allowing me to listen to over 15,000 radio stations from around the globe!

Sangean and Linux. You can't go wrong with either one. Both stand behind their products. If you're looking for a terrific radio (and have a broadband connection), definitely get a Sangean WFR-20 WiFi Internet Radio & Media Player!

(Also, you may want to consider the new Sangean WFR-1 WIFI Internet Radio. It's in stores now!)

Likewise, if you need a terrific operating system that folks stand squarely behind, get Linux.

Tomorrow is tax day here in the U.S.  A lot of Tea Parties are going to take place. People are just plain mad!  I'm mad, too!  I'm forgoing talking about Linux today to join my fellow citizens and raise my voice in protest to all the wasteful spending our government has been doing.  The following comes from Jim Z and sums up the situation far better than anything I could ever write.   Bravo, Jim!  Please feel free to copy and pass along to others.

Dear Mr. Obama Dear Mr. Obama,

Tomorrow I will be sending $3000 to the IRS. Too bad,  if I had that money I can think of a lot of things to do with it. The guy down the street is a carpenter. He's been looking for work for a long time. I was thinking of re-finishing our Kitchen floor. Looks like I won't be doing that this year. I also know a guy who does vinyl siding. I would love to get my house sided, and $3000 would certainly be a large part of the cost.  But I  guess I won't be doing that this year. I know an electrician who is out of work.  I'm sure he could help me upgrade our electrical service.  Too bad, I won't be doing that this year. Perhaps I could put the money towards a new car. I know someone at a dealership that is really in need of the business. Oh well,  looks like I can't do that this year either. Instead, I am handing it over to the government so you can "stimulate" the economy. Am I missing something here ?

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My New Scanner!

My new (actually refurbished) scanner arrived last week and I've been putting it through the paces here in my studio.

It's an HP Scanjet 8250. It has an automatic document feeder and a flat bed scanning area of 8.5 x 14 inches.  This larger scanning area comes in handy because I draw my comic strip 4 inches by 13 inches.

In a previous post, I was looking at modifying the size of my comic strip template and drawing it a bit smaller to accommodate my Umax scanner.  I used Scribus to design the template and was all set to go when a Freespire community member pointed out how this HP scanner was at geeks.com for only $65.00.  I jumped on the deal!

The scanner is wonderful!   And the really great thing is, Xsane supports it. All I had to do was pull the scanner out of the box, plug in to my USB port on my Linux system, power up, and I was scanning!   No software or drivers to install.  Xsane was already in place to handle the scanner.  (and Xsane and Kooka both support the ADF feature!)

Here's the neat thing.  I've been using a Umax scanner in Linux for the last year or so.   All I did was unplug it, then plug in the HP scanner and Linux did all the rest!   The HP scanner was up and running in an instant!

Each scanner just works in Linux!  It's true plug 'n play.

Since I  run a rack system, I plugged in windows XP to see how the HP scanner would fare compared to Linux.

30 minutes later, I was still installing drivers and software. I had to restart the system a couple of times, as well.

After finally getting all the necessary software installed (some would not install.  I have to check with geeks.com for another disk),  the scanner worked nicely.   But, it did take about 30-40 minutes for software and drivers to install.

So, I'm quite happy with my new scanner.  It allows me to scan larger pieces so I can continue to draw my George comic strip 4 inches by 13 inches.

And Linux and Xsane support this scanner, so set up was a snap!  I plugged in and was scanning in less than 30 seconds!

Get Linux!