Monday, June 30, 2003

Epson Scanner Issue

Marian Boury writes:


I bought a Gateway computer 1 1/2 years ago when the XP was first out. At
that time I also bought an Epson Perfection 1250 scanner. Every time I want to
copy something, I get an error message that the scanner is not connected. At
first I thought it was my kitten that had been laying on the cords, but I have
fixed it so he can't do that and I still get the error message. After I pull out
the cord and reconnect it, it works fine (unless I have many, many pages to
copy).


Also, I have to copy using the color button or the pages are reduced to less
than 1/4 the size of the page and I can't find anywhere in the book to change it
so it is full sized.


Help, Please!


Hi
Marian,


My sense (from the reviews I've read) is that you've got yourself an inexpensive
and buggy scanner. I recommend:



  • Download the latest drivers for the scanner. Uninstall the old ones before
    installing new.

  • Make sure you're current with Windows Update.

  • Contact Epson and/or Gateway for help.


I did a

Google search
and found over 10,000 web sites. This won't fix your problem,
but it's interesting nonetheless to hear what bad things people are saying about
this scanner.


Good luck!


Danny


Tuesday, June 17, 2003

.08 Drunk Driving Standard Effective July 1

Iowa State Patrol Chief Col. Robert Garrison joined us for the June 28 show. 
He says research shows there will be 25% fewer traffic deaths after the new law
takes effect.  For a 170-pound male, a blood alcohol concentration of .08
can be attained with four to five drinks in the first hour.  You can burn
off about a drink an hour.  There is a book and a web site that can help you reduce your risk of being arrested for drunk driving. This site also features a chart that can help you estimate your Blood Alcohol Concentration. 
(Chart)



Peer-to-peer file sharing: Napster vs ITunes

Apples says it's going to release ITunes for Windows by the end of the year. 
I've been saying for months that I would not pay $1 per song from Apple's ITunes. 
Why?  1) You don't get a disk; 2) it's a propriety format; 3) there isn't
the selection I want.  with WinMX, I can get the songs I want and I'm not
out $1 a pop.  I have thousands of songs that I wouldn't have if I'd bought
them online.  Face it RIAA, they aren't worth thousands of dollars.


I would have bee happy to pay a flat monthly fee (something like $5/month) to
continue using Napster, so that the artists could get something out of the deal. 
My tastes are mostly 70s and 80s music, and let's face it, there have been no
big dollars for anyone in the older music genres.  But I guarantee that the
minute people can get whatever they want, you'll see a lot more of the older
music being sold and subsequently more licensing dollars being charged.


What does an artist get for every record sold?  Probably a few pennies,
but it really depends on the deals they make.  Some agree to a small
residual, while others just sell their rights for cash up front, in which case,
they get nothing for an older song when it sells.


In any event, Apple has been negotiating with record labels and pursuing its
Windows port and may well release at Christmas time, which could be huge -- or
flat.


Unsettled: A Queen City News Investigative Series Into SC Solicitor Jay Hodge

Queen City News Investigative Reporter Jody Barr is on the beat of this explosive 4-part series, which outlines highly specific criminal, ci...