[muglo] Re: Peripheral Problem

on 10/9/02 10:36, Paul Thomas at paulthomas@xxxxxxx wrote:

> I am considering giving up my older computer (Performa 5260) in favour of my
> iBook.   This raises a number of questions concerning my peripherals which
> currently use the SCSI port.  I believe one can run these off a USB/SCSI
> converter?  I have heard mixed opinions concerning this idea!   The
> alternative to this is to replace them by USB peripherals - a printer,
> scanner and zip drive.  In a similar vein, with only one USB port, can one
> get some sort of splitter to enable one to connect a number of peripherals
> on to the single port?

Dump all your SCSI stuff :) Well, not really, but you could ;).

I don't know of anyone who's used a USB-SCSI adapter. In your case, I'm not
overly convinced that a USB-SCSI adapter would be an effective route to take
because, unless you have a particularly good scanner and printer, I don't
think it's worth it. There's a chance the scanner is not supported by the
USB-SCSI adapter (can't say for sure) and a SCSI printer is such an archaic
rarity by today's standards that I highly doubt it'll be supported on a G3
(again, check with manufacturer/USB-SCSI manufacturer)!

If you only rarely use the scanner, you could always keep the 5260 and
transfer scanned files to the PB via ethernet (does the 5260 have
ethernet?).

> I have heard that one can now obtain a combined scanner/printer (HP?) -
> anyone have any experience with such a device?  Incidently, I just rtcently
> purchased an Epson C42 printer for which the black ink cartridge became
> empty within 2 weeks with little use!!  It seemed to spend a lot of time
> 'pumping' itself at start up times - so at that rate I returned it!!!

I don't know how happy you'd be with a combo-system
scanner/printer(/photocopier/fax). Sue recently got one but I haven't heard
anything about it and her user-satisfaction (& I've been hearing mixed
reviews... some people love the all-in-one nature, others hate it).

PS If you expect to do a fair amount of printing (500-1000 pages/year) get a
cheap laser printer instead. The *initial* cost may be more, but you TCO
(total cost of ownership) will be markedly lower than a modern inkjet.

> Also, with regards to the Zip drive: (a) the advantage is that I have
> already got about 16 disks or (b) should go with a CD burner?

As far as ZIPs go, I'm 100% convinced they're not worth it for people
starting out fresh (though, in your case you have a lot invested in 16 ZIPs
so you're in a different situation). You can pick up a USB Zip for $150(?)
but ZIP drives are one thing that'll work very well with USB-SCSI adapters
so, in that case it may be cost-effective to keep your SCSI Zip drive and
get the adapter.

However, if your iBook comes with a CD-RW (if you can afford it, I'd
recommend it) don't bother with your SCSI Zip. CD media is soooooo cheap by
comparison that I wouldn't even consider a Zip for niche-purposes. 1 CD-R
(only usable until it's full) costs $0.80 (HP), CD-RWs are quite a bit more
expensive ($2.50 (Memorex)-$4.00 (Sony)/) but can be reused up to 50 times.
Both CD-Rs and CD-RWs hold 650-700 MB each, and can be read by 90%-95% of
the computer CD-ROMs in existence).

L8r, Eric.



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