Fixing my HP Officejet printer

I can't remember how long ago I bought my Officejet 6500 wireless printer, but it must be quite a few years now. Alongside my Samsung laser printer, this printer has been used to primarily to scan stuff or copy it. When the network works well, it's great to be able to print to it wirelessly and, since it lives downstairs, not to have to run upstairs to get the print!

Recently it's begun to misbehave and not pick up the paper. At first it was reluctant, but with a little encouragement it would work. Now it just doesn't want to know. A long time ago, when I got my first monochrome HP inkjet I had a similar problem for HP supplied a fix in the shape of a piece of glass/sand paper on a block and a bit of software to get the rubber roller running through a cleaning cycle.

Perhaps, I wondered, could it be that the pick up roller on the 6500 was suffering a similar fate and had become smooth or dirty to the point where it could no longer grip the paper? This called for a little experiment!

Staring into the paper tray I watched as the pick roller vainly tried to grab a sheet of paper. I could see the small rollers spinning around on the surface of the paper like slick tyres on a Formula One car on a wet track!

The MK1 Roller Cleaner!

So I went into the garage and got a piece of 320 grit aluminium oxide paper and double-sided taped it to a sheet of paper where the roller picks up. I then inserted the paper into the tray and held it gently in place while I set the printer copying some piece of paper.

You may be able to see the marks made by the roller as I did this several times. The printer simply reports "out of paper" and I just kept hitting the button to set it going again. Eventually I reloaded the paper tray and let it go. Hey presto, it picked up and printed!

I don't know how long it will last. Perhaps tomorrow it won't pick up again, but I'm guessing that dirty pinch rollers were the source of the problem and now they are clean the printer should be good for a while longer. Saves sticking it in the bin!

If you try it, remember not to let go of the paper while you're cleaning the roller. Otherwise you'll get a print copy at best and maybe it will get jammed at worst or even worse the sandpaper will damage the printer somehow.

Iris Notes Executive2

So, how do you go about translating hand-written notes into electronic files? One way is simply to scan them and store them as PDF's. I came across a special offer on the Iris Executive notes system that now looks easier to use with a Mac than when I first thought about trying it a few years ago.

It's simple to set up, and ought to be really simple to use, unless you're left-handed like me! You see I have a rather unusual writing style, even for a lefty, so it was gong to be interesting to see how the device coped with both my script and how I orientate the paper to write.

Logic told me that the device wouldn't know whether the paper was rotated in one direction or the other, so it ought to work. The issue is getting the clip on receiver out of the way of my trailing hand. Ideally I'd like to put it at the bottom of the page, but then I reasoned the text would be upside down. In the end the choices are top centre, top left or top right. I tried top right, the place least likely to be affected by my writing angle. The result was okay for an image, but totally scrambled when the software tried to convert my text to typed text.

No matter what I tried, the results were pretty awful each time, and I'd just about given up on the idea of it ever working for me when I put the device top-centre. The results were very good.

Here's the handwritten note:

It was very awkward working around the receiver, so much so that long-term I think I'd probably suffer some sort of RSI issue in my wrist. I have the same problem with clipboards where the clip gets in the way. As far as I can see the only solution is to start lower down the page!

Anyway, the software sees the text as horizontal and the resultant conversion is very impressive. I haven't "taught" the software my version of handwriting, so you have to be impressed with its interpretation of what it found. Only the lowercase S and the apostrophe are the only errors I can see. 

The device comes with a connector to link it directly to an iPad. I haven't tried that yet, but now I've got it reading my writing it might be worth exploring.

So why not just use the iPad I hear you say. Well, good question. The problem with the iPad is that I haven't found an app yet that will do what I want it to do when it comes to taking therapy notes. Nothing has what I want, so this might just be a way of getting my handwritten notes into an electronic format. On the other hand, I might just stick with pen and paper until it becomes too cumbersome or I decide I don't need pretty little pictures for posture notes and squiggles!

Kindle's and iPads

Of the things that I find really useful about my iPad is the ability to stick pdf's on it and read them wherever I might be. It doesn't matter about the style of the pdf, it just works and I haven't had any problems at all as far as I can recall. My iPad has a number of articles and short papers that are colourful and easy to both read and navigate on the nice bright screen. But it's not the most efficient reader, and an iPad is a complete waste of money if all you want to do is read stuff.

The Kindle, of which Anne as the Wi-Fi version with the keypad and I'm getting the non-keypad version for Christmas (yes, I know how lucky I am!), is just one of the alternative e-book readers out there. One of the things I like about the Kindle is the ability to email pdf documents to it. The problem is that the Kindle renders the pdf by page, which can make the typeface very small indeed.

For documents that I write, the solution is simple. All I have to do is to create a custom page size (90mm by 120mm) with 1mm margins and no headers or footers (they're not really needed). I then change the font size to 10 and email the pdf from the print menu of my Mac. Nice and simple, even if a bit time consuming.

Of course the big plus is that I can email this pdf to anyone who wants it, and they too can read it on their Kindle too if they have one. Perhaps there is already a neat and easy solution to generating readable pdfs for Kindle from applications. I know there is something that will convert a document into the correct format for Kindle, but I haven't explored that yet.

I wonder if some bright spark hasn't already, or maybe would like to write an app onto which you can drop a document and it will reformat it for you. Rather like the way Tofu puts a file into columns to make it easier to read.

Dropbox

Ages ago I waxed lyrically about Dropbox, an online backup facility and file synchronising utility. It is great. Works a treat and provides useful off-site storage.

If you want a free account with 2Gb storage to use, then follow this link. It's a shameless attempt to get more free storage for myself because every time someone uses the link to sign up I get another 250Mb of storage!

Goodbye Googlewave

So I found out today that Google is to wave goodbye to its innovative online collaboration tool. Googlewave is to be no more. Apparently the lack of user uptake is the issue.

I thought Googlewave had tremendous potential for planning and developing ideas, but as I found out, not everyone is keen to explore new technology. Having a continuous conversation that is easy to review rather than an inbox full of emails was really exciting. I mourn its demise.

So, I will have to look elsewhere and I've already begun to have a look at what might fill the gap.

Wridea looks promising, but I've only seem the overview. Again the issue is less about finding something to use and more about getting others to try it too.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Life with an iPad

I purposefully haven't gone on and on about having an iPad, partly because not everyone is interested and partly because I don't want to sound like a Mac-junkie drooling over the latest offering from Apple Corp. But I've had it two weeks and I'm settling down to using it.

The wow factor hasn't really worn off, and most of the people that have shown interest in it are equally wowed by how it does some things. In terms of mobile computing, I don't think it will be long before we see more of these kinds of devices. They are lighter than traditional portable computers, the screen is easier to read than most portable computers I've seen and functionally they do what you need them to do. Okay so currently the iPad doesn't multitask, but I sometimes wonder what we mean by multitask. Usually it's about having more than one document open at a time and flipping between them. Rarely does it mean having two programmes running at the same time doing two different tasks. Having said that, I know it's important and for some a let down that iPad doesn't.

So how have I been using my iPad? So far it's been about notes. I used to carry an A5 version of a Filofax system around with me. The iPad probably compares quite well on weight, but it wins hands down when it comes to carrying it. The Filofax was quite thick and therefore awkward to carry in your hand. The iPad is quick and easy to use to make all sorts of notes, and better still, organise those notes. I use Evernote for this and it works well. I can review my notes by tags or date.

Secondly, if I want to write I can do that with Pages, the Mac word processor that has an iPad version. It's neat, easy to use and you can share your documents via iWork.com. I'm awaiting delivery of iWorks '09 which is designed to work with the iWork cloud. I recently did a a sort discussion paper for the local minister's group. I did it on the iPad and used the iPad at the meeting. No paper! Could it be that the long promised days of reducing paper use have actually arrived? The text is so clear and so readable I didn't feel the need to print out my two sheets of A4, one of which would have had about three lines on it.

Which brings me to book reading on the iPad. Clear text, bright colours, easy navigation. Finally I feel able to read e-books without ruining my eyesight or needing to carry another single function device around with me. Okay so I'm not about to stop buying printed books any time soon, but I'm very impressed with the iPad's reader interface.

My personal let down? Well that would have to Keynote. Looks very easy to use, but it is let down when you use a projector. For some reason, I'm sure someone will say a good reason, once you begin a presentation on an external monitor, the images disappear from the iPad. Why? I don't know,but it seems obvious to me that anyone doing a presentation needs to see what they are presenting! Maybe there's a setting I've missed, but given that most Mac software and hardware seems to do exactly what you expect it to do without fiddling about with settings and control panels, I think this is a major flaw in Keynote.

I think that by the time we reach the third or fourth generation of iPad and iPad derivatives, we may well see the end of the either the desktop computer or the traditional portable laptop. But while we wait for that day I'm really pleased I've invested in the iPad, especially when i walk out the door without a briefcase weighed down with a MacBook, a diary and a good book to read. Lightweight and paperless. Do you think there's at least an advertising jingle in that?

It's finally coming

Ah the Apple iPad. Very soon to be available in the UK and anticipated with some excitement in the Pool household by at least two of us. Three if it dispenses cat biscuits!

I have pre-ordered mine and I'm looking forward to finding out if it's as good and useful as I hope it will be. I know some people can't get their heads around what Apple have done with the iPad. some people think it's just a big iPod Touch or iPhone.

I understand it to be far more than this. It won't, I suspect, replace my MacBook. Too many things i like to use on the MacBook won't be available on the iPad. But I don't think it will be long before some pretty impressive software starts to appear for it.

So roll on the 28th May and don't expect me to be anything but excited for the next week!

iPastor update

I sent some feedback to the developers about this app and got a reply very quickly. Apparently the thing with the review sorting on the first item in a list only is a bug that they hadn't picked up before. So I guess we can expect a fix when they can resolve the problem.

This just goes to show that it's worth the effort of letting someone know, just in case it's not meant to work that way!!

iPastor

iPastor is another little app that comes from the same stable as Prayer Journal. It is designed to be a simple way of recording and tracking ministry needs. The basic idea is good and the interface very simple to use, but it does suffer from one or two minor limitations.

There is something GTD-like (Getting Things Done) about the organisational structure of iPastor. You can assign both a situation (health crisis, grief, chemical dependency etc.) to a need and also a care strategy. Then, when you review the needs, you can do so by strategy or situation. You can also delegate care and review by delegate too. All very useful.

Recording a ministry needs allows for a fair amount of detail. You have space for name, address details, contact numbers, email etc. There's one interesting box 'connections' that allows you to select from a short list of things like small group member, church member, family or friend, prospect and referral.

But this is where the application begins to let itself down. The lists are a little restrictive and there appears to be no way to edit them or add to them. Maybe you don't want too many categories, but it would be nice to be able to make a few personalised adjustments.

Another improvement would be in the way the reviewing process works. As far as I can tell, fields such as 'situation' and 'care strategy' are sorted on the basis of the first item you choose. So, for example, if yo choose "send a card" and "home visit" for your strategy, when you review by strategy it will only show up under "card". That means you have to be careful to check each recorded need for any additional data.

Hopefully these are just minor things that can be fixed or will be fixed as the product develops. I still think I'll persevere with it for a while, just to see how helpful it can be.

One last thing. When you're filling in the details of a particular person and their need, it would be great if it could use your contacts to grab information. I know very little about the internal workings of the basic  architecture of the operating system, but if this can be done easily, it would speed up data entry, at least for some people. Thinking about, being able to add them to my contact list would be good too, rather like you can when you get a 'phone call or message from someone who isn't yet in your address book.

Prayer Journal for iPhone

A few weeks ago I came across this app for my iPhone. It works on iPod Touch too, so don't worry, you don't have to get the phone to get the app!

At £0.59 it won't break the bank and it might just inspire you to pray a little more often.

The interface is simple and easy to use. Simply add prayer requests as you go and then choose how you want to pray. There is the option to go through the whole list, a specific person, or a portion of the list.

It is a really helpful and simple application that can only get better. But then again there's not much I would change, except maybe the ability to group items in some way. And maybe a desktop version with synching would be nice but not a reason not to try this app out.

Wireless at church

It has to be said, an Airport Express is a wonderful thing!

I knew you could use one to create a wireless access point to a network, but I hadn't tried it until this morning. It took five minutes at the most, and most of that time was spent thinking about the set-up and configuration questions.

So now I have wireless in the church study, and maybe even on the platform in church, given that my study is next to it.

I guess the next step is to link the audio out from the MacBook to the PA system and I can play Youtube videos on the big screen!

Mighty Mouse is not so mighty!

As most Mac users of the famous, or rather infamous "mighty mouse" will know, the scroll wheel clogs up and stops working after a while. Having finally decided that mine had probably broken down and would need replacing, I thought I'd see if there were any alternatives.

It was then that I came across this simple technique for cleaning the scroll button that I thought I'd pass on in case it's helpful to anyone else.

1. Disconnect the mouse
2. Turn it over and run the wheel in all directions on a blank, clean piece of paper (I pressed down on the mouse as I did this).
3. Do this for about 60 seconds
4. Reconnect the mouse.

And it actually worked. My mouse is scrolling nicely once again.

Thanks to the reviewer on the Applestore site that included this tip. It's saved me £34 that can go towards getting another Airport Express or two!!

Laptop pain

Ho hum. I bought a new laptop today for Anne to use at home. She's offered to take over doing the accounts and so we decided to get a new Windows laptop and install Microsoft Money on it. Easier said than done.

The laptop is okay, it's Microsoft that gets me frustrated. I put the installation CD in the drive and the first thing that Vista says is that it doesn't recognise the publisher. Strange that, given that it's the same company that writes the operating system. So I ignore the warnings and install the programme. Next I think to myself it should be a simple matter of restoring a backup of the file from the old laptop to the new one. Not so.

Invalid filenames, missing permissions. nothing works! It looks very much like I will have to start from scratch and put all the data in again. Unbelievable! I even tried replacing the file manually but now it won't even open that one.

What is going on? Does this mean that there is no point backing up a file because there's no way it can be restored? What happens if the laptop crashes and I have to restore the operating system? Will it reject the file again?

Well, by now it should at least have managed to install the 15 critical updates Vista needs, so maybe I'll try again. Is there a way to sweet talk a PC into doing what you want it to do, or do I need to fetch my Birmingham screwdriver?

Swurl becomes history?

It looks like Swurl is no more:

Hello Swurlers,

We built Swurl as two guys doing something we love in our spare time.
Unfortunately, due to the pressures of our day jobs and other
distractions, we can no longer support or maintain the service at the
level that we think our users deserve.

Building Swurl has been a great experience for us. We want to thank
all of the folks that used Swurl as a way to document their lives
online and share with their friends and families. Thanks a bunch to
those users that gave us lots of valuable feedback and encouragement.

Oh well, it was a really good idea and better than other things I played with. Perhaps someone will take up the idea and it will reappear somewhere.

Bemused and BeTwittered

For a few days I've been tweeting about problems with BeTwittered on my MacBook. For some strange reason it stopped working on the MacBook but worked fine on the iMac. 

Occasionally in the past I've had problems, particularly when there's been an update to Safari, but that's predictable. This time it just seemed as if Safari was looking in the wrong place for the application. 

The solution turned out to be really simple, so if you're a BeTwittered user, this may be helpful.

If you're getting a login failure and when you try to logout and back in you get an application not found message, then this is what worked for me:

Reset Safari (Safari ); enable cookies always (unless that's your default setting); refresh iGoogle. This should take you back to the BeTwittered login. Login and it should be fine. 

Don't forget to reset your cookie handling.

And yes, I am doing this on Christmas Day, I was just waiting for the in-laws to arrive and now they have!

Popego

Once again Jeff Noble (now possibly famous in Poland!) has stumbled on another life stream application on the internet. Popego looks quite interesting and I've set up an account to see what it's like. 

At first look it's quite a nice application. It grabs feeds just like Swurl, but it has the edge insofar as it doesn't seem to mind that I'm in the UK. Swurl does seem to have some problems, but, having played with Popego, I may now have more of a clue as to what might be happening at Swurl.

In the end the whole idea is to have one place that folks can visit if they want to see what's happening in my world beyond my blog. Not that I'm necessarily sure that anyone wants to do that, but it's a fascinating next step in the development of a life on the web.

I guess there are ways to use this kind of thing to keep in touch with one's wider family who are spread about all over the place.

Anyway, it's on the sidebar if you want to chck it out or you can just follow this link.

Tumblr

So, Ally got me using Twitter, mainly I think so that she can keep an eye on me while away at University. And I always thought it was me as her father that would want to keep tabs on my daughter!

Anyway, it's been fun tweeting and it made me think about how interactive can, and ultimately should, we be via the internet. I've resisted the urge to sign up for Facebook or Myspace or the over fifties version run by Saga. However that's a debate for another day.

The thing with Twitter is that it isn't really a route to use for quick thoughts and quotes etc. Jeff put me onto Swurl and I've set up a homepage there to collate various streams (blogs, music, Twitter, wish lists). 

And because Swurl does the job of putting everything you want to put in one place in... well one place actually, there's no need to spend all day updating a whole range of social sites with duplicate information. It also means that if, like me, you write more than one blog, then you can pull all of them into one place for anyone interested to read all your musing but who doesn't use RSS or similar to aggregate blogs. But that still doesn't solve the problem of posting a quick thought without logging in and creating new posts.

So, to complete the picture so far, I've added Tumblr to my streams. It's a simple, quick thoughts kind of approach to blogging. Using my Blog title "the view from here" I now have a Tumblr homepage, but all the things I post there will automatically appear on the Swurl page. I'm also working on how to add my Tumblr blog to the sidebar of my main blog but I'm having a few problems getting the size right.

Being a Mac user I've also found a dashboard widget, or rather two dashboard widgets for Tumblr. 

The first is available from the Tumblr site, the second from the Apple downloads site. I prefer the second one because it has some automatic formatting built in for posting regular text or pictures or quotes. 

Both are free, so you just choose your preferred style I guess.

Drawbacks at Swurl

So, I've signed up for Swurl and I've been playing with it for a day and I've found out why some things work and some don't.

I added my blog, Last.fm, Twitter, Amazon wish-list and Picasa but nothing shows up for these. The reason seems to be that it doesn't handle none ".com" locations for the likes of Amazon. Last.fm only adds "loved" tracks, a feature I don't use.

So at the moment Swurl just brings my blog posts and Tweets together.

Hopefully, with time, the features will improve, but it's not as useful as it first looked. However, lots of encouragement is due to the guys that have developed this idea and I look forward to more features being added and supported.

Swurl

Some time ago Jeff sent me an email about Swurl. At the time I didn't have the time to look at it and I put it to the back of my mind. anyway, now I Twitter, thanks to Ally, and use Picasa and Lastfm, Swurl looks like an interesting way to bring it all together in one place. So I've plunged in and created an account.

You can visit my Swurl homepage here.

Mozilla Ubiquity

Came across a short review of Mozilla's new toy, Ubiquity today. It's very early days, and by the look of it will be of greatest interest to those folk who live their lives on the internet, organising, planning and the rest.

From what I can see it takes multiple step processes that one typically uses with the internet and makes then executable in plain language and within other applications. So, it's possible to put a map in an email simply by typing the command "Map it".

Of their new product, the developers say:

The overall goals of Ubiquity are to explore how best to:

Empower users to control the web browser with language-based instructions. (With search, users type what they want to find. With Ubiquity, they type what they want to do.)

Enable on-demand, user-generated mashups with existing open Web APIs. (In other words, allowing everyone–not just Web developers–to remix the Web so it fits their needs, no matter what page they are on, or what they are doing.)

Use Trust networks and social constructs to balance security with ease of extensibility.

Extend the browser functionality easily.

Looks very good. I'll probably wait a while before I leap in and try it, but there may be braver souls out there than I who are ready and willing to try the Alpha release.