I've just noticed that one of my dining reviews has been half-heartedly plagiarised by a restaurant review blog. I wouldn't mind if they had credited me or linked to my own blog - since I went to the trouble of actually thoughtfully writing my own review.
That's just common courtesy.
Thief.
© Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
I have just fought with a Windows XP machine to try to get HP Scanner software to install properly. I have installed the software 3 times - twice from the disk provided and once downloaded from HP. I have rebooted the machine probably over 10 times and plug and unplugged the scanner probably about the same number of times.
The result is that only the Twain driver is working. None of the actual HP Software for the scanner works. For a non Administrative user, some of the software just gives an error dialogue when you try to launch it. For all users, the HP Solution Center [sic] software doesn't launch at at. So much for a "Solution Center".
When using the Twain driver, the scanner colour rendition is worse than my 4 year nephew can achieve using a box of broken Crayolas on a sheet of wrapping paper.
The sad thing is that if I Google "HP Scanner Software" I get more hits for people having the same or similar problems than people suggesting solutions other than "get different scanning software".
So two days after I started (on and off) the scanner still doesn't work.
This on the tails of installing the drivers for an HP 5550 Colour LaserJet via a Samba Print$ share. Unfortunately, every Win XP computer that the new printer was "connected to" then required the re-installation of the Konica Minolta Bizhub drivers.
The real question is, I suppose, why am I surprised? Historically HP Software has been a nightmare and clearly, nothing has happened to improve it. I recall being sent countless 3.5" floppy disks by HP support in 1994 in the mail, while writing my thesis, to try to get my new LaserJet 4L to print even remotely similar to what I had painstakingly prepared on the screen.
The HP Scan Pro software that I occasionally have to use on my own MacBook Pro crashes after every second or third scan and amazingly requires a reboot of the entire machine plus various USB plugging and unplugging and power cycles to get the next few scans - and every time I have to manually adjust the colour settings to get an image that looks like the original. It's such a relief to go back to using the CanoScan software.
What's the deal HP? Why don't you just give up and stop selling your rubbish scanners and softwares so that my unwitting clients can't accidently buy them? I do enjoy troubleshooting but not fruitless labour.
Edited 6 Aug 2008. Perhaps this is a solution:
Edit 14 Aug 2008. I'm not the only one...
http://weblog.ceicher.com/archives/2008/08/scanner.html
Was playing with my camera last night on a tripod. The view is from my balcony over the north end of Dubai Marina. Since I'm on the sixth floor, the camera was tilted up slightly which is why the buildings seem to lean into the photo.
After trying to patch my copy of Adobe Reader to 8.1.2 several times - unsuccessfully - I then tried to install Adobe Reader 9.0. This is the result:
A fabulously descriptive error message - wouldn't you agree?
So I removed Adobe Reader 9.0 - and all the preferences - and all the update folders and restarted my computer - and downloaded the package again and reinstalled the package.
The result from the installer package:
If I try to launch Acrobat Reader I get the same message. Once more, for the dummies (you know who I mean...):
Strangely, several days later (without restarting my machine), Acrobat Reader launches just fine.
I know, I know - you're asking why I want Acrobat Reader anyway - since PDF is supported natively on the Mac. Occasionally - less often now it seems - it was useful to see if a PDF file created by the Mac renders properly - in the past I've seen differences.
But it seems to be less and less necessary these days.
I really also question the sanity of the Adobe folk when they steadfastly include their own broken updater crapola instead of just using the built-in updater mechanism that is available to Mac OS X applications.
Whatever - I'm going to the pool to do some laps.
Found the best doormat for my new apartment.
Close up...
The neighbours have already tried to steal it twice - replacing it with their boringly-average grey doormat. They're not real smart it seems - because we tend to notice right away.
When I went to bed last night, I was surprised to find Boris on a pillow, in this position:
He always was a little zen-like so I guess it's not so surprising.
I've just finished reading this:
In Defense Of Food (An Eater's Manifesto) by Michael Pollan
Although "In Defense Of Food" is a quick read - Pollan gives some deeply compelling reasons why the Science of Nutritionism is mostly pointless - and why diets of Westerner's have deteriorated to the point where Obesity, Heart and other Diseases including diabetes are becoming something of an inevitability.
But the most interesting part, for me, was the premise that having a love affair with food, it's creation, preparation and the social aspects of eating had given way to an obsession for having a "healthy" diet by counting nutrients and calories or having processed food, requiring little preparation, in front of the television. So we have lost our connection with our food. Hear hear.
Reminds me of a time I was at dinner at an unlicensed restaurant in Sydney with a friend from France who exclaimed: "I can't believe we are having dinner without wine!"
A very interesting read.
