HP Photosmart 3310 All-in-One Printer Scanner Fax

Here is a printer with networking features to the hilt. Its network link lets any machine connected to the network use the unit to fax, scan or print. Go to the printer and press scan and it'll ask 'to which machine' and then you can scan away, saving files on that machine, as if by remote control. Uploading pictures from a Pictbridge camera or a Flash card reader similarly asks which computer should receive the files. Alternatively, since a drive icon shows in My Computer, you can plug in the Flash card reader, go to your computer and browse the card as if it was a drive.
It has ethernet for wired network printing as well as wireless ethernet and amazingly it hops between these transparently. Disconnect the cable and the wireless takes over.
Really nice is a 10 x 15 cm photo tray which automatically bursts into life when selected by the software driver. No catches or buttons need pressing to hop between A4 and postcard size prints.
The software driver package is a hefty one with a slow install, however, bear with it because the result is a hec of a lot of function.
One small surprise was its Bluetooth capability if you bought an HP Bluetooth dongle. This lets you print a picture from a PDA or phone. Being too mean to buy the HP dongle I plugged in a cheap one made by Bluetake and this immediately started working! I think these BT things must use the same chips!

The HP 3310 was bought to replace a HP PSC 950 which scanned, faxed and came with HP Director - very capable software for its time. Bought in 2002 the build quality of the PSC 950 wasn't up to the hammering we gave it. The new HP prints really fast, feels good and strong enough from the start and it's one I'd care to recommend.

0870 - 0845 National numbers

Good news this month as the telecoms industry move to help telephone callers estimate what they pay when they dial a 'national rate' number beginning 0870. Currently you can pay a wide variety of anything and since very few people on the planet can understand a BT telephone bill, I'll wager that most people will continue never to know this. At around 8p (15 cents) a minute, an 0870 number doesn't cost that much to call but with landline calls now costing almost nothing to call, beside this they look pretty dear.

I still find it a touch alarming that numerous (but not all) businesses actually profit from you caling their 0870 number and are given 2p a minute on each minute of the call. I doubt if they're getting that wealthly but to be congratulated are those who devised the scheme where a business pays for a 08xx number, and consumers pay more for their calls as a result.

I've dabbled with the idea of getting 08xx numbers for myself and finally succombed. However it's taken a while to realise that if anyone offers you such a number you're obliged to keep it or else no one in future is going to be phoning you. An 0870 number (and an email address) is not just for Xmas, it's a commitment for life,

Plusnet, the ISP (Internet Service Provider) offer a free Fax2email 0870 number that sends a fax to your email box. It's a brilliant service until you put the number on your letter heads because Plusnet have the evil practice of disconnecting the number at random and giving the number to someone else.

Another firm, Robotelecom in Hemel Hempstead provide local call '0845' numbers. I signed up to one on their promise of "no fees to pay forever". This bunch too are truly fickle if not on the fringe of dishonest. Without notice Robotelecom decide to levy a £50 per annum fee for the number. That's not being trustworthty, to the nth degree. They claim that they were taken over by another firm called 'Virtual Effects Ltd' who had different terms so their promises didn't have to be kept. If you hanker for an 0870 / 0845 national number, you're going to pay one way or another. Friends tell me they have a more predictable time using companies other than robotelecom.co.uk.

Oneforall Wireless Telephone Extender

Spending sixty pounds for a telephone extension takes a bit of thinking about but after a couple of years dithering it was time to realise that life is too short for that kind of silly. People need phone sockets for their Sky box near the TV. My need was to get the telephone answering machine where it was needed. The fact that it's a DECT wireless system you can use anywhere made the need to spend £60 just a touch bizarre.
The 'One for All' Telephone Extender puts a phone socket where it's needed by sending telephone juice through the mains cabling. You can then pick up the phone signal at another mains outlet. Numerous reports from those with Sky Boxes were very positive but for straight forward phoning the solution was very hit or miss. First impressions of its two white boxes with mains leads and plugs suggested it's a lot of wires for a wireless solution. Recent units however improve on this by making the boxes with an integral plug. In use you do need to choose your sockets carefully because for a couple of days we'd missed half our calls and getting a line was a touch hit or miss. By day three, when it was clear that caller ID was not working over the link, the unit was on its way back to the shop. The small print on the OFA support web suggests that all these issues are likely. The sales part of the site only warns that it'll not work on ADSL lines or via a surge protector. It not only needs some kind of gauge to tell you how good the signal is - it also needs a note on the box to say that as solutions go this really is half good.

Mounting slim flat panel monitors - and keeping technology out of sight - click for full story

Pop into any computer room and you very often see LCD screens replacing the spaces that were once occupied by CRT monitors. In many cases, the space the LCD actually saves will be brought into question. Often you need to change the desking to reap a space-saving benefit.
Here’s my solution, based on an IKEA ‘Jerker’ desk, which also happens to be cheap. IKEA ‘Jerker’ desks have won fans and become a legend for the way that you can load them up with home office technology. You can for example attach power extensions (using Velcro strips) to the low cross beam. As of this moment mine has 20 out of sight power outlets for a phone, PDA, clock, lamp, computers, monitors, cassette recorder, speakers and external hard drive that have become part of this hilarious space called the home office. Designer Nicolas Cortolezzis deserves a prize… find out what we did (PDF = 250K)

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