I had high hopes of benefitting from my sheet-fed scanner by scanning large
software and hardware manuals into machine-readable files and searching
them, but it turned out there is no easy way.
Most scanner software sets, even the ones costing less than $100 including
the scanner, have a "scan to text" mode, which means you lose all the
illustrations but get a machine-readable text file. Subsequently, you have
to reconnect them to the pictures by composing a new version of the
document and inserting the pictures, scanned as line art or as color
pictures, with the associated disk-space consumption. Tables, screened
half-tones, and other highly structured images, regardless of the fact
their content is really text, need to be treated as graphics because of the
alignment of the printing grid with the scanner grid. If you scan screened
photos, you can get lucky with the pictures, but it is just that . . .
LUCK. Normally you have to take the most trouble with screened half-tone
pictures. Once the document is scanned and composed, you can compress it
and ship it around on the internet as an object.
Dick
----------
> From: Arfon Gryffydd <arfonrg(a)texas.net>
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
> Subject: Scanning old manuals
> Date: Tuesday, March 09, 1999 9:33 AM
>
> Okay,
>
> I have some old computer manuals and I just bought a scanner......
Anyone
> care to suggest the best way to convert these manuals to electronic form
> and not take up HUGE amounts of memory?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Arfon
On Mar 9, 12:32, Stephen Dauphin wrote:
> I'd like to second this notion. Could those on this list, who are
> scanning for posterity, share their methods?
>
> What platform(s), what hardware(s), what software(s). Any intermediary
> format(s), final output format(s). Whatever it takes.
I, too, would appreciate thoughts on software/platform.
> [I note Jim Stricklan's reply came in while writing this. I have scanned
> down to newspaper legal notice size. Is this 6 point? It OCRed virtually
> identically at 200 or 300 dpi and the results were high 90%]
That's not what I'd call "high". That means that on average, you have to
correct or interpret every tenth character. I'd call less than 99% "low",
not high. Our Department looked at this a few years ago, and rejected
anything less than 95%, I think. Even that means correcting (or as one
person put it, "clicking on") one character in every twenty.
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Dept. of Computer Science
University of York
<'click on this little picture to make it go'. Linux will do some damage i
<the server market and other places where you have to have someone with som
<computer smarts but, most corporate purse strings are again controlled by
<those same 'click-idiots'.
Not, will do. It is one of the significant players in the server market
and growing. In that market teh cost of ownership and the ability to find
people that know it and can grow it are big pluses.
<I really wish GNU would take a good command line OS (like CP/M), make it
<32/64 bit, and multi-tasking/user and add a GUI and try and compete with
<Winblows.
I'm a CP/m advocate but that really doesn't fly. First there are CP/M
emulators for Linux already. The other is CP/M was never a prime time
candidate for a GUI thing being totally single user and single tasking,
the later CCPM may have had a shot.
To keep closer to topic. Those that forget CP/M and what it was will
forever repeat it's errors. It was good, is good and limited. The lack
of heirachal directories is a serious limitation for modern software
another is the size of disk and files (8mb in 2.2, 3.0 got it to 32mb).
The single thread and single task problem would have to be dealt with
as well. Then all the apps one would want would have to be ported from
Z80 or worse 8088.
There are people trying to do windows like/compatable interfaces but
hitting the MS APIs is like shooting at a moving target. Besides
Linux/unix has xwindows. What's missing is applications that appeal to
those that already know windows. On the desktop no one cares what the
OS is so long as the application they want/need runs under it.
Allison
Sheesh! Don't you just hate it when someone replies to the whole list
instead of the one relevant person? Even worse, when they waste even more
bandwidth and email space with useless "whole list" apologies! :-)
-- Tony
>Actually, I like them both for what they are. CP/M is nice because it is
>simple. No libraries, no shared files, all files that are needed for an
>application are usually in one directory and not strewn across the
>directory structure. (But, it doesn't TCP/IP. DAMN!)
>
>Linux on the other hand is GREAT for it's multi-user, multi-tasking and
>networking abilities! I love every one of my Linux boxes! But, it is a
>flavor of Unix and therefore has endless numbers of library files (that
>somehow are never the right version) and an application's needed support
>files are strewn across 50 different directories.
You make the "real world" sound like it's a competition between
Microsoft products and Unix-derived products. In reality, there
are many OS's out there which fall into neither category and are
more than capable (and in all cases more capable than Unix-like
or Microsoft OS's) to do the real-world jobs that they do. And many
of these OS's run quite nicely on classic hardware, to boot.
Anyone who thinks that the OS issue is entirely limited to Unix-alikes vs
Microsoft vs CP/M is putting on a very limiting set of blinders as to
what is out there doing the real work in banks, offices, factories,
labs, and hospitals.
--
Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com
Trailing Edge Technology WWW: http://www.trailing-edge.com/
7328 Bradley Blvd Voice: 301-767-5917
Bethesda, MD, USA 20817 Fax: 301-767-5927
Michael -
I was part of the HP-85 belt group buy (5 sets,) but I can't find your note
with the total owed and mailing address to send payment. Would you please
resend the info to me?
Thanks!
-- Tony Eros
2105 Anson Road
Wilmington, DE 19810
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Grigoni [SMTP:msg@computerpro.com]
Sent: Monday, March 08, 1999 3:46 PM
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
Subject: HP-85 belts/Capstan repair
Greetings to all:
Since I've been absent for about a week, 800 messages have piled-up
from the list; reviewing them will take awhile so I'm posting this
to report on the HP-85 belt/capstan issues status globally.
The belts have arrived and are being mailed-out early this week. I
installed a set in our HP-85 and they work well.
I tried a new approach to capstan repair which I find works very
well.
Clean the capstan of old rubber down to a minimal amount of residue
with isopropyl. Obtain a can of dipping vinyl (for coating tool
handles, etc.); most hardware stores should have it. Remove the
capstan/encoder wheel ass'y from the motor shaft. Prepare the
vinyl properly according to directions with the product. Dip the
capstan (inverted) at the rate of about 5 seconds for its length,
being careful to just dip just above the bottom rim of the capstan
wheel so that the vinyl creates an overlap of 90 degrees. Withdraw
the part at the same rate as insertion. Immediately invert the
part and place on a level surface in a warm place to dry for four
hours. During the drying time you will note that any vertical
asymmetry evens out. Repeat with another dip and 4 hour dry.
The results were very good and tests with an old tape containing
an 84 record program produced no errors (reading or writing).
Attached is a small jpg which gives an idea of the appearance of the
results (max mag. avail with the camera lens).
Michael Grigoni
Cybertheque Museum << File: CAPSTAN2.JPG >>
Note - the following item...
>> Magnetic tape diagnostic nine-track 7970/13181
This is the manual for the diagnostic, not the diagnostic itself!
Jay West
John Foust replied:
>>In a lot of cases Commodore shipped prototype machines to
>>various maufacturers. I believe they used Sun systems to
>>develop the original AmigaOS.
>
>They used Stratus 68000 boxes in the very early days. I remember
>that; I don't remember the use of Suns quite as well.
Yes that was it. I was confusing them with the Sun machines that the Los
Gatos team bought after they were bought by Commodore.
--
Gareth Knight
Amiga Interactive Guide | ICQ No. 24185856
http://welcome.to/aig | "Shine on your star"
Was cleaning out the manual shelf again...
The following manuals are available free to a good home (yes, the titles are
exact, if not long):
Magnetic tape diagnostic nine-track 7970/13181
Maintenance manual 30032B asynchronous terminal controller for HP3000
computer systems
Maintenance manual 30115A nine-track (NRZI-PE) magnetic tape subsystem for
HP3000 computer systems
Installation and service manual model 7905a cartridge disc subsystem for
HP3000 computer systems
Installation and service manual 40018A plenum assembly
Installation and service manual model 13037A disc controller
Operating and service manual 7970B/7970C digital magnetic tape units
Operating and service manual 7970B/7970C digital magnetic tape units
There is two of the last title.
These are all manuals I have no use for or have duplicates of. Please -
someone take them!
Jay West
