“Make the world go away… ” Thanks Eddie Arnold (and Hank Cochran) for that thought. In that spirit, no politics, social commentary or whatever from the “news” here, just play time for (low) techies.
Think back to “shadetree mechanics” and… begin.
Some of the fun of playing around with computers is attempting to use them–and “(in)appropriate” peripherals–for purposes they weren’t originally intended for. Now, we’ve all done that with computers from time to time: made them into hardware firewalls/routers, print servers, doorstops, boat anchors, shelving supports and more–or at least I assume we’ve all done so. *heh*
Ran across a neat lil peripheral recently as the result of some printing woes here at twc central. Background: because I’m a cheap, tightwad of a curmudgeon, I decreed some time ago that we all simply share one printer on the network (nice to be the potentate ruling my own domain *heh*). Currently, that printer is a nice HP AIO with memory card reader that’ll catch the memory cards from any (digital) camera in the house, scan, copy, print, etc. Then, along came my (completely unnecessary) upgrade of Ubuntu from 8.04 to 8.10. Since the printer at issue is connected to this computer (I have the largest desk, so by default EVERYTHING gravitates to it), naturally sharing ANYTHING–not just the printer–died with the upgrade.
*sigh* I fixed network shares pretty easily, except for the printer. Went right down the line by “the book”–no joy. Went off book with a vengeance. No joy. Hassled with the thing off and on for a couple of days and gave in and bought the HP Wireless Printing Upgrade Kit. Got my confirmation email from amazon.com that it had been shipped.
Shazam!! Printer magically appeared on other computers as shared.
Isn’t that the way it always works? Better than wearing a dreadlock wig and shaking a chicken bone rattle while mumbling arcana and dancing around, perhaps shrieking like a bansidhe* to boot. Just buy something to fix a problem and the problem disappears. *heh*
So, now I have the HP Wireless Printing Upgrade Kit and no need for it. What to do? Go ahead and screw up the working network printing by installing the kit and then spending days getting IT working? (Altogether too likely *heh*) I don’t think so. So, what else is the thing good for?
Looked at the thing. Can’t tell anything from the outside, so just thought over what topology the kit would have to introduce/fit into to work as advertised. Checked out the “advanced” setup mini-micro-nano-information on the CD concerning using the thing on an existing wireless network. *heh* “Looks like it’s just an access point and a wireless adapter the software configures for the printer use,” me thought. Plugged the part that looks like a thumb drive or wireless network adapter for a n otebook into this computer, enabled wireless networking, entered the network key and… bob’s your uncle. (Of course, enabling wireless networking has meant the wireless connection has usurped my network connection from my wired ethernet, but since the MIMO capabilities on my Netgear WPN824 seem to be used by the lil wireless adapter, I’m getting very nearly the same throughput I do with wired ethernet.)
Next up: installing the unit designed for (USB) attachment to the printer to the network elsewhere (say, an old XBox, using an already adapted XBox cable–a simple hardware hack) and see if it’ll act as the wireless access point it would seem it is. Heck, I might get more use out of this for entertainment value than by using it for its intended purpose. And, if networked printing goes south on me again, I can always pop this lil puppy out and install it for its intended purpose, eh?
Now, how can I retask that old 2.5′ tall P-II server I had made into a router/firewall… Ahhh! Attach it to the network as a subnet and play with the lil kit items on it. Hey! Might be able to make that back into my primary router/firewall, since its firewall capabilities exceed similar functions in the Netgear router…
All kinds of fun to keep me occupied away from getting more important stuff done, if I want it to let it. 😉
(Yes, this post does indicate I’m semi-sorta-kinda “icebound” for now. Just do not want to navigate the hill out of our lil neighborhood on the sheet ice I walked earlier.)
*”Bansidhe”–Don’t complain to me about the spelling! Complain to the bansidhes, if you dare! Spell it “banshee” if you want, but don’t come running to me if you wake up with one of ’em shrieking under your window at night because of your inconsiderate spelling…
Note to any bansidhes reading this: I really, really need my sleep, and I tried to discourage folks from disrespectful spellings referencing your class, so lay off, OK? 😉
Do check out Linkfest Haven Deluxe for the latest, greatest linkfests.
So did Son & Heir stay the night or attempt to negotiate the glaciers?
Well, Perri, after a call from his mom *heh* he decided to do the responsible thing and stay south with a friend. Worked out, although he did feel a bit harried when he found out the guy emailed/Facebook messaged us to let us know when S&H left. *heh*
I was out a bit ago, and ONLY the highway through town and main street are even sanded. Slick getting up the hill out of our lil neighborhood (Son&Heir clued me in before I got out) involved getting a drive wheel on some grass verge–and back the same–cos the street itself was packed sleet over sheet ice. By the time it starts melting the city “workers” will start sanding the residential streets. *heh* From past experience, I expect the schools will be out through tomorrow (confirmed), since many of the rural roads won’t begin to be safe for buses until probably Thursday at the earliest. I certainly know some I’d not drive on until then, if the forecast for today/tomorrow is anywhere near (within 10 degrees on temperature) close.
At least it looks like it’s not going to be a repeat of the January 2007 situation that blacked out much of the county for a month. No loss of any services so far; everything is still up to its nominal third world county standards (lousy road crews, except where the State has responsibility; local telco POTS line service spotty; cable service rock solid–but of course, it’s not based in America’s Third World County… )