Netbook and old SCSI scanner?
 

I am starting to look at some netbooks that I am interested in. For the most part I don't do very much in the way of powerful applications. I think my dual core 939 Opteron 1.8GHz machine is overkill really for what I do.

I would like to replace it with a decent netbook so when I walk away from my desk I can pretty much take everything with me on the go. The only holdup in doing that is my scanner.

I have an older Umax PowerLook 2100XL SCSI scanner. Obviously most laptops, especially netbooks, don't have a scsi connection. There are some SCSI to USB connection out there.

Has anyone been able to use Slackware to connect to a SCSI scanner through the SCSI to USB cables that are out there? Does it work?

mh, I don't know if this helps. I once configured my multifunction printer/scanner device to allow scanning over the network. So if you don't replace the old machine but use it as a scannerserver, you've solved the problem. Here is a short description: http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...etwork-761212/.
I did it with Gentoo, but it will work with any distribution. One needs on the server xinetd and sane, on the netbook you'll have to install sane/xsane.

Markus

Hi,

i've never seen something like SCSI -> USB converter, but older PCMCIA SCSI cards are available at e*ay for low cost. I used an old scsi scanner for years with an Adaptec PCMCIA card, and it worked well. Possibly this will be an option for you.

This is not relevant to your scanner question but is relevant to choosing a netbook. If the ports you will use are on the side of the netbook then they will make it less convenient to use. For example the VGA port on the Samsung N150 is on the right side where most people use the mouse; when an external screen is plugged in the VGA plug/cable interferes with mouse usage. To make matters worse, the only right angled VGA cables I've found point the wrong way so cannot be used to mitigate the problem.

Apart from that the Samsung is a nice netbook with a great keyboard (subjective) and a matte screen (a personal choice vs. glossy) on which Linux can be set up to make almost all the hardware features work.

I have been using a SCSI to USB adapter for several years with a HP ScanJet 5p on slackware and have not had any problems with it.

Hmmm, that might be a solution. This PC however will be re-purposed as an HTPC. I would keep it linux, but I want blu-ray available as well for it.

I do have some older hardware I can put to use as use it as a scanner server. A small box with just slackware running and the scanner connected to it might be the answer. I could also use it as a file server or something as well.

Good idea, thanks!

I thought about that but the netbooks I'm looking at don't have PCMCIA or Cardbus slots on it, so that's not an option.

Right now I am looking at this one...

ASUS Eee PC 1215T-MU10-BK

I will be looking to practically LIVE out of this PC. Do work at home, when I leave, take it with me. I will use it for everything.

That is what would be the perfect solution. What brand cable did you use? Did you just plug it in and slackware found it without a problem, along with sane/xsane?

Well, this seems to be a good notebook. I'm using a Thinkpad x100e of Lenovo, it has also an AMD processor and 2GB of RAM, but it has only 11.6" display which is too small for working multiple hours a day with it. I think if it's your only computer you'll have to use an external monitor for your work at home.

Markus

Definitely. I have a 22" CRT I'll use with it as well. Later in the year I'll upgrade to a nice LCD.

I like the Lenovo Ideapads like the one you have, but it's almost $200 more than that one. The one I pointed out also doesn't come with an O/S...

There is no brand name on the adapter. lsusb gives this info
ID 07af:0005 Microtech SCSI-HD50 SCSI-Bridge [shuttle]

I bought the adapter to work with a SCSI zip drive 4 or 5 years ago. As long as the permission is correct xsane sees it without any problem. I build my own kernels and do not remember having to turn anything special on for it to work.

Well, I guess I'll give it a try. If it works, great! If it doesn't, well...I guess I'll go with the scanner server idea.

Thank you!