getting dad onto linux

[icronk]

I have been talking my father into switching to Linux for a year or so and he's almost ready to do it. There's only one thing that he's not sure about and I don't know myself. He is an active ebayer and uses a scanner daily. The windows app he uses is one made by HP that came with his scanner. He wants to make sure that he'll be able to scan easily and it'll work good all the time (i'm not sure why he would expect that since the HP software only works a 1/4 of the time).

So if I can give hime reassurance that he won't run into any major problems he'll go for it. BTW, he's not what you would call technically inclined, so it has to be pretty straight forward.

Thanks.

[hlrguy]

Borrow the scanner, hook it to your computer, and make sure it works. I assume that you will install the same release as him. For my wife, the scanner was detected on install, and she imports directly into OpenOffice Draw with import-->Graphics-->From scanner.

She loves it, because like you, before, maybe 1 in 4 scans got through, and NEVER above 300 dpi. Now, it is 100% although only up to 600 dpi, even though it is a 1200 dpi scanner. She also likes that instead of the hit or miss 'instant fix' she can adjust the colors, brightness and contrast very easily.

hlrguy

P.S. How to set up a scanner in OO is fully documented under the help system.

[icronk]

That sounds great. I'm glad to hear that it will not only work but work better. That will make him see benefits of Linux instantly. I'll proabably set him up with redhat, thats what I use now, and I think he'll find it pretty easy.
Well thanks for the reply.

[hlrguy]

I forgot,

http://www.mostang.com/sane/

Of course, you can try xsane as the frontend. My wife learned OO in Windows, liked it, and it was easier to transition here to use it.

hlrguy

[Parcival]

If you happen to use SuSE you can nicely install your scanner in YAST and after that scanning in your favorite app like GIMP.

The only challenge is to make sure there is a driver for your scanner in Linux. The SuSE hardware database should answer this question, too - or as hlrguy said, hook it up. :)

[mdwatts]

Originally posted by icronk
That sounds great. I'm glad to hear that it will not only work but work better. That will make him see benefits of Linux instantly. I'll proabably set him up with redhat, thats what I use now, and I think he'll find it pretty easy.
Well thanks for the reply.

hlrguy did not say for sure if the scanner would work, but to test it with your pc (with Linux) first.

Don't go and wipe out your dad's Windows installation to install Linux before knowing that the scanner will work. You may find yourself going without allowance for a while. ;)

[ShieldWolf]

I'm suprised nobody's brought it up yet, but the best bet may be to set him up with a dual-boot system. That way when he runs into a snag in Linux, he can go back to Windows, without having to wake you up for some minor little problem.

Just a suggestion.

[o0zi]

I think the HP scanners have generally good support in Linux, so hopefully you won't have too many problems.

I didn't really consciously convince my dad to use Linux; I just kept talking about it and he decided to give it a try.

[glussier]

I think the HP scanners have generally good support in Linux, so hopefully you won't have too many problems.


True, but there is still a lot of HP scanners which don't work under Linux. So mdwatts suggestion is a very good one.

[Jastiv]

If I decided to buy a scanner, what kind shoudl I get (make model) Anyone want to reccomend some good scanners they are using?

[o0zi]

You can find a list of supported scanners (by SANE at least) here (http://www.mostang.com/sane/sane-mfgs.html).

The HP ScanJets are generally very good quality, and so are models from Canon. Don't go for any Lexmarks whatsoever - I've had enough bad experience with them to realize they're not worth buying.

[ehawk]

Run knoppix from the CD-ROM. See if you can get the scanner detected and working. If you can, then install it to the hard drive. Dual booting would again be nice, at least at first.

[dbfruth]

If you need a simple but powerful scanning app that works on Linux, Mac and Windows you might try Vuescan. It supports over 120 scanners and has a boatload of features. It's not free but the features are well worth it.

I have been using Vuescan on Mac OS 10 for over a year now. and it works great. In fact it works so well that when Canon finally releases OS X drivers I decided that they were not worth using since the quality was not even half of Vuescan.

http://www.hamrick.com/vsm.html

[Parcival]

The HP ScanJets are generally very good quality, and so are models from Canon.

I strongly advice against hardware from Canon, although the quality is good indeed.

The problem is drivers: making my Canon scanner work with my Linux was impossible; I finally gave it to my dad and got his Mustek in exchange.

Canon's driver support is even crappy for Windows: recently I installed a new Windows box for an old lady who had a perfectly running five year old Canon laser printer. Guess what: Canon stopped developping any drivers for that piece of hardware after Win98. Jeez, do they think we should throw away our printers every four years, too?