Category: computer

computer



(mis)Diagnosing Network Disk Issues

This narrative documents a series of events and subsequent trouble-shooting undertaken in September 2018. One of our internal servers (running Ubuntu 16.04.5 LTS) was showing errors (uncorrectable sectors) on its boot disk, a 7 year old Western Digital 10,000 rpm Velociraptor. As we knew which data files were corrupted (and we were able to restore […]

Processing old maps

Sources of maps: Scan yourself from printed copies Scanned images which are made available on other websites (e.g. National Library of Scotland) Vectorised maps (e.g. OpenStreetmap) Note about copyright: Depending upon your intended usage of any maps you harvest, especially if you intend to publish them on a website, be careful of the copyright. For […]

Updating stock in WooCommerce

The problem Once you have thousands of products in your WooCommerce store, you usually need an automated mechanism to periodically update the stock levels and prices. The usual way to achieve this is via a CSV file (perhaps exported from a spreadsheet ) which contains the changes. A typical example (assuming unique SKUs in your shop) […]

A WYSIWYG html editor

Background We often prefer to edit our HTML pages and templates using text editors, such as gedit, Vim, or Bluefish. However when it comes to creating more complex HTML tables, handcrafting becomes rather error-prone and it is preferable to be able to design/modify tables in final form (like a WYSIWYG word-processor does). A decent current […]

Maintaining Old Printers

As long as your existing printer continues to meet your needs with regard to connectivity (USB, ethernet, wireless etc.) print speed functions (such as automatic double-sided printing, support for colour, paper size…) compatibility with the devices and O.S/firmware versions you use to send print jobs (PC, laptop, tablet, smartphone etc.) affordability (and obtainability) of consumables […]

Research-Based Authoring

  Preparation of write-ups is typically quite an organic process – you start with some specific ideas around a topic, make notes and begin to expand them. However it is rarely a linear practice, as further ideas and background research brings more to mind. It is useful though to impose a structured method that separates […]

Turn It Off and Count to Ten

Turn it off, wait ten seconds, then turn it back on again.   That’s the first advice you will usually get from a helpdesk.   Some users find it annoying; here is the explanation. This is almost always the best initial response to a problem. Usually it will be best done as soon as the […]

Product Codes

This is a general article about the different kinds of product codes used in business. It’s a subject that looks unimportant from the outside. From within a business getting codes right is vital. Every trade historically had its own way of doing things, tea, coffee, wines, cheeses, auto spares and the military. American gun-makers like […]

Buying Printers

From Tesco’s Website in November 2016. This is a very typical low-cost inkjet printer and it has quite a few features – you probably couldn’t actually buy a standalone scanner for the money, but this has one built in. Canon’s “My Image Garden” and “Creative Park Premium” software come with it as well. If you […]

Inkjet Printheads

We sell spares. We are interested in machines and it’s a market that appeals to us. There is an ethical pleasure in making it possible for people to repair things. Amongst the spares, we also sell printheads for inkjet printers. It would seem a bit crass to stop selling one of the spares people are […]

Laser Printer Toner Cartridges

Toner cartridges fall into four basic categories: New original cartridges, of the same brand as the printer (sometimes known as genuine OEM cartridges) New compatible cartridges – new cartridges made from scratch by a third party manufacturer (also known as clone cartridges) Refilled cartridges – recycled cartridges which have been refilled with toner Remanufactured cartridges – recycled cartridges which […]