Farewell, My Canon Pixma ip1800 Printer! Hello again, Epson XP-231 Printer!

    Yesterday, I discovered that my MX-18 system (32 bits) ran too old for updates. Thus, I started testing MX-21.  This computer is so old and so weird that I always bump into some problem.

    Well, I was right.  Firefox keeps crashing (it started doing it since release 96, I think, on MX-18).  I guess it has to do with the 32 bit architecture because Firefox does not present that issue on my 64 bit laptops.

 

   Then, it was the time to check if my printers worked.  I was totally out of luck with my Canon Pixma ip1800.  Although I had the drivers and knew the way to install them, unsolvable dependencies would make the installation impossible. I'll have to think about a way to get it to work as it is a fine printer and it is perfectly functional. 

   Next, I checked my Epson XP-231 printer.  I did notice something weird: there were no drivers for the XP series! Where did they go? 

 

  Fortunately, a little search got me back on track. Following this method from the friends at Linux Mint, did the job. All I needed to do was to open a terminal and type this command:

 sudo apt-get install printer-driver-escpr

With it, the XP drivers were available again. Instead of the printer setting tool, I used CUPS for the set up. Not to forget, you enter CUPS from your browser by typing this on the address bar:

http://localhost:631

 By the way, the method to get the scanner to function still works! 

The next step will be to see if I can get the printer to go wireless...

It's Been 12 Years with Linux!

Today this blog is celebrating its 12th anniversary! 😄

That also means it has been 12 years since I started using Linux and decided to document my learning and thoughts about the world of the penguin, some days later than Mandriva Linux Chronicles.

Since my first entry here, many distros have gone away (some that were truly dear to me) and others have appeared.

Also, I've seen Linux running on computers that previously would not let it do it. UEFI's restricted boot has interfered with the installation of my favorite distro on some laptops, too. Fortunately, those problems have been solved. 

So, what did I do to celebrate my coming to Linux land?

I bought an external HDD and installed MX Linux on it so that I may use it in my office at work. Using such device to work is extremely important to me, especially because my country was hit by Conti's ransomware and several government institutions, faithful Windows users, are currently experiencing a terrible time.

While they keep repeating the same mistakes and keep falling into the same traps, I will keep my freedom and continue learning.

 

Where Was I at this Time Last Year?

 My job, thanks to all this Covid craze, has kept me busier than ever. While I miss the free time I had in the past, I am indeed glad that I still have a job. Many people have lost theirs and life, in general, has become really tough.

Since my inspiration has left me and I seem to catch the latest news in Tux Land when they are not news any longer (for example, MX-21.1 has been already released and I had no clue!), I haven't been writing much here.

Thus, I decided to do a little retrospective exercise. Where was I at this time last year, for example?  What did I write about?  Did write anything at all in April last year?

I went to check and found only one entry in April: This one. 

What was it about?  Amazing!  Windows updates! What a weird coincidence!

 

This month I spoke with a colleague who had to borrow a laptop from our university to do her online work.  She has a small Linux laptop, but Zoom was not very stable on it.  I recommended my colleague to make sure that Windows updates were already done on the borrowed equipment.

Some days later, she told me that at the end she used the Linux laptop.

I asked her the reason, of course.

"Windows updates simply did not let me use the laptop when I needed it!" was her reply.

As I said before, it is a very strange coincidence that, after a whole year, people keep experiencing the same nasty situation with Windows updates.

Or not?