Eric Stein's Homepage and Blog

Windows 7 Brother MFC 7820N scanning update

2009-03-11T15:45:00.002-04:00

I posted earlier about an issue with scanning in Windows 7 with the Brother 7820N printer. I had installed Windows 7 as an upgrade, and while most everything worked, it broke the scanning functionality of the Brother from that machine. Well I was able to resolve it.

I clicked on the "Uninstall" option in the Brother program group to uninstall instead of using the Add/Remove programs option. Then I re-installed the Vista version of the software following all prompts to re-boot the machine. It now works as it did previously under Windows Vista.

I can give Windows 7 two big thumbs up. I think Microsoft did an excellent job improving productivity with this release. Vista was lipstick on XP which worked fine already. Windows 7 is polished and has true time-saving and productivity enhancing features.

Rand Paul for Senate 2010 - KY

2009-02-28T15:40:00.001-05:00

Windows 7 and Brother MFC 7820N

2009-01-20T16:20:00.002-05:00

Well I figured I'd put this out there on the Internet in the assumption that someone else has the same issue I do. So far I am loving Windows 7, it is a great OS and so far Stable! (Remarkable given it is still in Beta). My only issue at the moment is that I cannot figure out how to get the network scanning to function on the Brother MFC-7820N. I see that they have Windows 2008 printer drivers, and Windows 7 seems to have built in printer drivers, but I haven't seen anything related to Network Scanning yet. Leave a comment if you are in the same boat and we'll try to figure this out.

Campaign For Liberty in Kentucky

2008-07-15T20:06:00.003-04:00

Looks like there is a website detailing elected officials positions on the Northern Kentucky Smoking Ban. http://www.cflky.org

So far the positions from Campbell County elected officials are up on the site.

Pro-Liberty (Against the ban): Commissioner Mark Hayden
Anti-Liberty (For the ban): Judge Executive Steve Pendery and Commissioners Dave Otto and Ken Rechtin

Ron Paul

2007-06-10T23:44:00.001-04:00

The Enquirer - Volunteers ready to clean riverbanks

2007-06-07T00:28:00.000-04:00

The Enquirer - Volunteers ready to clean riverbanks

It would be great to see some people out helping with this event. I can tell you the river sure needs it!

Socialist from UC?

2007-05-23T07:46:00.000-04:00

I knew Nancy Zimpher wasn't good for UC, I just didn't realize that she might have socialists on the faculty in the (at least formerly) well respected College of Business. (To her credit he could have been there before.)

Craig Froehle, apparently a Ph.D. in business from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, responded to my article about City Wi-Fi "Public Web access is crucial need for Cincinnati" stating:

"There will ultimately be those who wrongly claim that governments should not be in the "business" of Internet access ("City doesn't need to be in Wi-Fi business," May 19). These small-government types may also question the wisdom of publicly built/operated roads, street lights, water and sewer systems, emergency services and many other essentials that our governments provide or oversee."

I guess I fail to see how Internet service, when it is already widely available in Cincinnati with all of that "evil" competition, is a "vital city service". Unfortunately running multiple water systems, road systems, street lights, and sewer systems in one city isn't feasible, as I'm sure "Dr." Craig Froehle realizes in his boiler plate socialist-style response to "small government types". What he failes to mention is that THERE ALREADY EXISTS no fewer than 5 companies providing high speed internet access to Cincinnati ranging in cost from $19.99 to $59.99 a month. Not to mention that there already exists city-wide high speed wireless Internet access from 2 companies (Sprint and Verizon).

Froehle claims that it is our "Essential civic responsibility" to provide everyone who works or lives in the city Internet access. I ask, is it also our responsibility to provide everyone with computers? How about a cell phone since it is immoral to force people to place phone calls from the confines of their home? Why not provide everyone a car since it is unfair that we don't have $100 million 4 mile loop for streetcars? Maybe we should provide people health care (oh wait that's already in process). Gee, something sounds a lot like "To each according to their need.". WHAT isn't mentioned is how that is paid for, hint, "From each according to their ability". If that isn't Socialism, then I don't know what is. (Yes there is some sarcasm in this paragraph).

If this is the sort of thing being taught at a business school at the University of Cincinnati, and other colleges, I feel we are in for a long and sad road towards Socialism in this country. The death of the American Dream, where hard work, not loud whining, gives everyone the opportunity to be as successful as they want to be.

In response to Cincinnati's proposed Wi-FI plans.

2007-05-23T07:39:00.000-04:00

From the Cincinnati Enquirer: "City readies for Wi-Fi"

I had to respond to this with a letter to the editor. Since Cincinnati already has High Speed Cable, DSL, Broadband over powerline, and wireless EVDO high speed data plans available from no fewer then 5 companies, it seemed dubious that there was a "need" for city-wide Wi-Fi". It got published:

City doesn't need to be in Wi-Fi business

We live in one of the most connected cities in the nation. We have cable broadband internet, we have DSL from the telephone companies, we have broadband over power lines from Current (Duke), we already have city-wide DSL like speed broadband wireless access from Sprint with their EVDO rev A network, and Verizon with their EVDO network. Sprint has a service called WiMax coming soon that will provide better than broadband speeds. We have wireless hot spots throughout the city without a dime of public money spent.

If the city wants to use a wireless data network to "improve their workers' productivity," give them a wireless broadband card from Sprint or Verizon. It will be far more economical in the long run, allow for upgrades to the latest and greatest technology, and be supported by those that are in the business of providing wireless data and voice services. You can even make city vehicles roaming "hot spots" for city workers with these EVDO cards.

The role of government is to protect its people. Well, here the government should protect its people from a plan that would create a government agency to provide outdated services to the public run by bureaucrats that haven't the slightest clue about the latest and greatest technology, all for a cost that will be far greater than anyone expects. Municipal Wi-Fi is just another boondoggle, just another way to spend taxpayer money to subsidize an outdated technology and create a new governmental agency.

Buying the services from those in the business to provide them at a profit will cost all of us less money in the long run. They know what they are doing, they have the technology available now, and they spread the cost amongst millions of users.

This money would be much better spend on police officers to patrol the streets so that, maybe someday, we could actually walk them without fear, and be able to enjoy one of the city's hundreds of already in place hot-spots.

Officer won't be cited - Would a regular citizen be so lucky?

2007-03-30T12:11:00.000-04:00

From the Cincinnati Enquirer:

PRICE HILL-- A Cincinnati police officer won't be cited in an accident in which her cruiser knocked a car carrying a mother and child onto its side.

District Three Police Specialist Patricia Hoffbauer, 44, hit another car at West Eighth Street and Hermosa Avenue about 1 p.m. Thursday when she failed to yield to eastbound traffic while making a left turn south onto Hermosa Avenue, police said. The other car hit a tree and flipped onto its left side.

The driver, Noel Walker, 21, of Delhi Township, and her 11-month-old son, Cameron Walker, were taken to University Hospital with minor injuries, treated and released. Walker is three months pregnant. Hoffbauer was not injured.

I would be willing to bet I'd be cited for failure to yield if I were the one who caused the accident. Is this another example of the city flaunting its power? Remember the Cincinnati Garbage truck fiasco trashing my friend's car?

"Deal Finder"

2007-01-10T21:43:00.000-05:00

You gotta like this one. (That is unless it becomes too popular!)

From the site: Use eBay Deal Finder to discover valuable items that others haven't. All items have zero bids, less than 4 hours left, no reserve price, free or fixed rate shipping and a total price that includes shipping costs.

So for all of those out there looking for an easier way to find those hidden deals on eBay, click below:

http://dealfinder.ebay.com/dlf/home

Rhapsody's "Merry Christmas" - Rhapsody service unavailable

2006-12-25T15:35:00.000-05:00

Wow. What a day for the Rhapsody service to go down. After trying for 45 minutes to sign into Rhapsody on 2 different machines with no luck, I had to contact live support to find out that the "service is down". Nothing like making a customer guess there are issues instead of posting something on the homepage or during sign-in. When asked about a refund for the period the service is unavailable, "I'm afraid that's not possible".

I guess "Unlimited" music isn't quite ready for prime-time. I'd be REAL unhappy if I had purchased a Rhapsody Sansa MP3 player this Christmas. Bad enough I can't play Christmas music for the family now...

Two thumbs DOWN!

Lock Bumping fiasco

2006-11-29T15:48:00.000-05:00

Proof that the information superhighway can make people safer (at least in the long run)

If you haven't heard about lock bumping, I'll boil it down for you, 99% of home locks (including deadbolts) can be bumped open. Apparently this technique has been around for over 50 years! (story here)

In that story there is mention that spaying WD-40 into the lock can help reduse the bump attack effectiveness. I have no ieda if this helps or hurts but I thought I'd post the info in hopes that it might help someone!

"An even easier and cheaper option -- and probably the best one for
apartment renters -- is to spray some WD-40 into the lock. This lubricates the
pins, and while it doesn't make the lock bump-proof, it does enable the pins to
move more freely and make it more difficult for a thief to actually bump the
lock."

Video clips from news story (from Medeco)

You can also search YouTube.com for real-life demonstrations

Obviously there is room for improvement on the home lock front and it appears that it takes the internet (YouTube) and a few local reporters to bring the situation to light. Once again capitalism will save the day since there are already bump-proof locks available, both Keyed and Electronic.

Bump-Proof locks I've found so far

Medeco (keyed)

Bob Huggins gets rock star welcome at K-State

2006-10-15T09:56:00.000-04:00

Article Here

Bob Huggins arrival has doubled the season ticket sales, generated enough support to get loge suites built, and is promising a great year of K-State basket ball! Go K-State!!!

Cincinnati will be lucky to sell 6,000 seats this year and will probably start losing national TV coverage next year if it hasn't already happened. I feel bad for the players, the students, and the university. Hope Nancy Zimpher is happy.

Jolie signed on for Dagny, - Atlas Shrugged the Movie

2006-10-11T03:31:00.000-04:00

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7004940391

It appears we are one step closer to an (actual) Atlas Shrugged movie! I'm REALLY excited about this because the casting of Jolie should bring out many viewers who would have probably never read the book. If you don't know why that is a good thing, read the book! :)

Refreshingly rational perspective on Global Warming, FROM US SENATE!?

2006-09-26T14:00:00.000-04:00

While this won't receive near the press it SHOULD, I wanted to do what I can to help spread the word.

“Hot & Cold Media Spin: A Challenge To Journalists Who Cover Global Warming”

The gist of the speech is to point out that journalists have played this scare game with past generations, switching between Global COOLING and WARMING no fewer than 4 times in the past 100 years.

Are we really to believe that journalists, who aren't trained in science and reason, can determine what scientific reports to listen to and which ones to ignore? After all, doom and fear sells better than the truth, the truth that climate change, as caused by humans, is insignificant and not something we should worry about. There are millions of people without running water, and we worry about CO2 emissions like it is the end of the world. It must be nice that some can worry about Global Warming when hundreds of millions of people are dying because of lack of things like water, food, and energy. That is so selfish.

Favorite Skype quote...

2006-08-01T02:51:00.000-04:00

"This is way too important to do it right" -- Bill Watt

Ultimate Treo 650 email solution

2006-06-18T13:33:00.000-04:00

So I am sure there are plenty of Treo 650 users out there that are looking for a better email solution. So you don't have to keep reading the details I'll tell you the combination I have that finally satisfied me.

ChatterMail and an IMAP account from emailtreo.com

My Treo is on the Verizon network and has the Verizon Wireless Sync feature which is really quite good. There are however problems that keep it from being the best solution for email. You must have a dedicated machine running to sync to. While this isn't a problem if your primary machine is a desktop or an office PC that is always on, it IS a problem if your primary machine is a laptop you take everywhere with you! Sort of defeats the purpose!

Why not use GMAIL and VersaMail you ask? Or POP and VersaMail? Simple:

I don't want another email address

I don't want to download all my SPAM

I wan't instant notification or "PUSH" email (IMAP4)

So what is the solution already?

Buy ChatterEmail+ from http://www.chatteremail.com - $39.95 after trial expires (You can always trial it!)

Sign up for the emailtreo.com account from within the application (I had initial problems connecting but it eventualy worked). I got 6 months free when I signed up so you can try it before you purchase it. Even when purchasing, it is very reasonable at $10 per 6 months!

Add a redirect to your current primary email account to your new emailtreo.com account AND mark the option to leave a copy of forwarded email on your server. This is a server side option that some may have access to via their web settings.

Change your reply-to address inside ChatterEmail for this account to your primary email account.

That is pretty much it. EmailTreo.com has an excellent SPAM shield which alleviates my biggest problem using standard POP3 with my account, downloading 300 SPAM messages a day. My email client is what handles spam for me so it simply wasn't an option. Some may have server based spam blocking in which case POP3 is probably ok for you. An additional benefit of using IMAP4 vs POP3 is that you get instant PUSH email. With POP3 you must set intervals for checking email.

ChatterEmail+ has options for changing notification times, sleep times, notification "nudges" or nags to remind you that you have new email, and a ton of other options. The biggest selling point to me is that you can store your messages on an SD card directly. Most other programs, if they even allow that, require you to manually move them or archive them there. For users tight on memory that recieve a lot of email, this is a must!

On my treo I have had ChatterEmail reboot my Treo 3 times in the last 2 months. I find it an acceptable compromise to downloading hundreds of emails a day that are pure JUNK.

One of my pet peeves with the palm version of the Treo is the need to constantly "buy" software to do the things you expect it to do in the first place. While this is a pain, it also allows the market to create some incredibly ingenious solutions to fill the gaps that are there. So far this has been money well spent.

Gripes:

While emailtreo.com is incredible, I haven't been able to use HTTPS to connect to my webmail. This is an issue in public wi-fi spots as my user/pass is in cleartext.

The Enquirer - Vision becomes a Village (The house the Huggins built)

2006-05-10T12:37:00.000-04:00

The Enquirer - Vision becomes a Village The house that Huggins built

Great facility made possible by the success of UC's D1 Basketball program and all the revenue and national press that the program brought to UC. UC would not be in the Big East were it not for Huggins. Not one mention of this in the article or anywhere else for that matter.

PITT AND JOLIE TO TEAM UP FOR AYN RAND EPIC?...

2006-04-28T00:05:00.000-04:00

From Drudge: PITT AND JOLIE TO TEAM UP FOR AYN RAND EPIC?...

This would be great on many levels. It would expose what I consider to be the best novel written, to a much wider audience. Atlas should be required college reading! Who is John Galt?

My new Trailblazer SS - Love it!

2006-04-04T12:55:00.000-04:00

6.0 Liter 400HP, 400 Ft.Lbs of torque. To borrow a Dodge phrase: "The Trailblazer SS Hybird, it burns gas AND rubber!" Loving it so far. It came with XM Radio, it blows Sirius out of the water in terms of sound quality. Programming? Eh... We'll see.

The Enquirer - UC tuition to rise 5.4 percent

2006-03-28T18:20:00.000-05:00

The Enquirer - UC tuition to rise 5.4 percent

UC raises tuition the maximum amount allowed by the state. The article mentions "Officials said it was necessary in part because state appropriations won’t keep pace with inflation next year."

They are also probably factoring in the loss of revenue from a major basketball program with TV deals, NCAA tournament bids, and Big East Tournament money.

ESPN.com - NCB - Lawyer: Huggins accepts coaching job at K-State

2006-03-23T09:34:00.000-05:00

Huggins accepts coaching job at K-State

Well at least I have a team to call my own until Nancy leaves UC. I won't give UC a dime until she leaves. Nancy's only hope at redemption is to hire Andy Kennedy or Mick Cronin, but I can almost bet that won't happen. I sure hope Nancy is happy with her decision to fire Huggins.

Apple May Sacrifice France For Exclusivity - Forbes.com

2006-03-21T20:15:00.000-05:00

Apple May Sacrifice France For Exclusivity - Forbes.com

Three cheers for Apple! I wish Microsoft would do the same with the EU's insane lawsuit!

Is Sirius serious about no Fox?

2006-01-05T16:20:00.000-05:00

Well Fox is back. I guess it pays to have a little patience.

As of 1/1/2005 there is no Fox News on Sirius. This is an added dissapointment to my Sirius experience so far. I understand they have the right to change lineups, but come on... Fox news is the most popular cable news channel out there. If you pay $500 million for Howard, how about spending a little on Fox?

Sirius Sound Quality Review

2006-01-05T13:51:00.000-05:00

I purchased a Sirius Starmate Replay over the Holidays and I must say that while I am impressed with the quality of the programming, the sound quality is pretty bad. I would equate it to listening to a 64Kbps MP3 stream, not a MP3Pro or MWA stream, but plain old MP3 at 64Kbps, maybe 96Kbps. The high end is very muddy with quite a bit of artifacts in the encoding. Cymbals are the most affected. I really hope that Sirius will address this in the near future. My friend got an XM radio over Christmas and when he comes to my place we'll hook it up to my Stereo for a comparison. But a word to the wise, if you are expecting CD Quality, don't expect it from Sirius, near-CD quality? Nope, I'd say more like near 64/96Kbps MP3 quality. I honestly think that there are FM radio station on my Audi Bose system that sound better than Sirius running through my Audi OR my home stereo. It really is dissapointing.

If you can't tell the differece between 96Kbps MP3 and 128Kbps MP3 it may suit you. I give it a 3 out of 5 stars with the complaing being sound quality.