Monday, July 22, 2013

A little of this and a little of that....

They say "Nothing's forever" and it's true. That was a favorite saying of a former boss of mine before I got pushed into early retirement 25 years ago, and it applied to him as well - he wasn't forever either! But I digress; the stuff that's not forever this week consists of a Canon flatbed scanner that died because its power supply, a poorly made (in China) AC Adapter stopped working. There was nothing wrong with the scanner, I'm sure, but without its power supply, there's no way to get it going. So I bought a new one - another Canon flatbed scanner -
because Canon and I go back a long time, and they make very good products.
Their latest flatbed scanners have solved the problem of the dying AC Adapters by changing the power source to your computer itself, which makes perfect sense to me, an old retired electrician. Now, there's only one cord to plug into the back of your new scanner - and it carries everything, the power supply included. Unpack the scanner, plug in the cord, put the installation disk into your DVD drive, install the programming, and in minutes, you're ready to use it.

Actually, I didn't go to the nearby office supplies store to get that scanner. I had really gone there for a new keyboard, to replace one that still worked fine, but had seen too many lunches and coffee breaks and snack times over its keys.  It was while getting a new keyboard that I discovered the new Canon flatbed scanners are even cheaper and better than the older ones were. This new one is almost twenty dollars cheaper than the one it replaces, and it has more features.

The same is true of keyboards. A lot of them are wireless now, but the nice young man at the store said there's two problems with the wireless ones: the need for new batteries, and if the transmitter/receiver unit is plugged into the rear of your computer's tower, as many are, then it may skip certain letters on the keyboard, because the signals are not reaching all of the required parts. So he says for the most reliable operation, you should still use a wired or USB type keyboard. And his store's own brand is only $16.86, requires no installation program, and comes right out of the box with 10 hot keys that work right now.
At a price like that, with those features, you can't afford to keep your dirty old keyboard another day, let's face it. 

4 comments:

  1. The way you put it Ray...I want run right out and buy a new key board and a Canon scanner if the they're 20 dollars cheaper like you say...Except...I don't need a scanner...and...I don't think I need a keyboard either...But you know how to turn a phrase as they say...You would make a great AD man...U/R

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  2. Coming from someone like yourself who has a fascinating history with South Carolina Educational Television I can only take that as a compliment, and say "Thank You, Sir!"

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  3. you can't afford to keep your dirty old keyboard another day, let's face it.

    Ray does that statement only apply to dirty old men from Vancouver?

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  4. We can always make room for another dirty old man from North Bay, Ont., if you insist, but have you got a Staples Office Supply there?

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