[buug] Best XP emulator?

Rick Moen rick at linuxmafia.com
Mon Mar 16 15:47:12 PDT 2009


I wrote (about the SANE Project's information):

> Because of that drawback in the way the data-collection process works,
> the more you know about your device, the more mileage you're likely to
> get out of the two tables.

I wrote the above before I realised that _both_ the stable and
unstable-branch Web pages _do_ include entries for your specific model.
At the time, expecting to find nothing _specifically_ for the Canon
CanoScan LiDE 20, I was intending to on to make this point:

Let's suppose there were nothing about the LiDE 20.  Then, you'd 
spend a little time researching what the LiDE 20 _is_.  You'd find 
that it's part of a family of flatbed, USB-connected scanners, all
of which were alike in being based on National Semiconductor "Merlin" 
chips.

You'd make a plausible guess that the reason the LM9831, LM9832, and
LM9833 USB-interface chips all bear the same family name is that they
all have the same, or almost entirely the same, programming interface. 
Therefore, they are extremely likely to all work on the same driver at
the OS level.

So, then, you'd ask yourself, "OK, what Canon CanoScan LiDE-family model
_is_ listed in the SANE databases?"  You'd find that a bunch of them
were, including the hauntingly similar-sounding Canon CanoScan LiDE 25.
And so, you'd make a very plausible guess that the same driver that 
works with the model 25 would also work with the model 20 -- the
"plustek" SANE back-end driver.

You'd then simply move on to the obvious step of configuring SANE to use
that driver -- and, in all likelihood it would Just Work.

_Then_ you would repay the community by sending in a driver
compatibility report to the SANE Project.


And, by the way, very similar approaches, and very similar
considerations, apply in every other area of driver support on Linux.
Thus my point.

-- 
Cheers,              Crypto lets someone say "Hi! I absolutely definitely have 
Rick Moen            a name somewhat like the name of a large familiar 
rick at linuxmafia.com  organization, and I'd like to steal your data!" and lots 
McQ!  (4x80)         of users will say "OK, fine, whatever."    -- John Levine 



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