I’ve been writing software for over 50 years and have evolved a set of rules for designing user interfaces that are easy to use and which allow users to get their work done as quickly as possible. These rules apply equally to desktop applications, apps, and web pages. I don’t know what they’re teaching in … Continue reading Programmers: Make Things Easy and Fast for Your Users
There is very little information on this electronic typewriter on the web. I’m selling one on eBay and wanted to check the battery (used for the word processing memory and probably for retaining settings). To do so I had to take the thing apart. Here is what I learned. Opening up the Typewriter It’s kind … Continue reading Brother ML500 Typewriter Repair and Battery Replacement
I use a program that produces Postscript and allows use of non-standard Postscript fonts. I wanted to figure out how to get Ghostscript to load those fonts so I could produce a PDF file from the Postscript. Should be simple, eh? Well it took me a week of trolling message boards, studying documentation, and trying … Continue reading Adding Fonts in Ghostscript
This article describes some of the troubleshooting tips I’ve discovered for solving problems printing labels with Zebra Eltron label printers. Power Supply Problems Most of the label printers you get on eBay come without power supplies. However, other sellers have power supplies that are claimed to be for these printers available for $10 or so, … Continue reading Troubleshooting Zebra/Eltron Label Printers
This is a cautionary tale. Hopefully it will encourage you to not try to install a fresh copy of XP, or if you insist, it will give some hints which will make an impossible project a little less impossible. So I got an old XP computer given to me and I wanted to sell it … Continue reading Reloading Windows XP On Your Old Computer
I’ve been doing a fair amount of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol] work and have learned a lot about replacing both small business and home phone lines with internet-based VoIP service. I’ve found reasonably-priced products and services, and in this post (and hopefully others) I’ll share my experience with the options for replacing one or … Continue reading Get a Really Cheap VoIP Replacement for your Landline
You probably have a box somewhere filled with old photos. This article discusses how to digitize them while it is still possible.
A technique that might fix a clogged printhead on a Canon MX922 printer, and probably other models.
If you’re trying to hook up an old printer or other device with a parallel port (DB25) or Centronics (CN36) interface, but you have a newer computer without a parallel port, there are easy-to-use adapters available for a few bucks that will give you the required port. These ports are also sometimes called IEEE 1284 … Continue reading USB Parallel Port Adapters
These are a bit of a luxury but well worth the expense if you ship more than one or two packages or flats a week. You just click “Print” and out comes a professional-looking label ready to use. Types of Thermal Label Printers A bit of terminology clarification is needed: there are two kinds of … Continue reading Mailing & Shipping 101: Label Printers