Scraps Of Mind

Archive for the ‘Life’ Category

Posted by karooch on

July 14, 2010

Canon PIXMA MP990 Review

One of the cool things about writing Scraps of Mind is that every now and then I get contacted to try out different products. And so when Canon Australia asked me if I’d be interested in trying out their PIXMA MP990 printer/scanner and all round multi function device I said I’d be delighted.

Let’s just make a couple of things clear at this point:

Canon are not paying me, either in money or in product;
There is no requirement for me to write nice things about them or about the PIXMA PM990;
In fact, there is no requirement for me to write anything at all if I don’t want to.

So having got that off my chest, let’s take a closer look at the Canon MP990.

This beast is not just a printer it’s also a scanner, a fax machine and a photocopier. In fact if I looked hard enough I’d probably find a kitchen sink in there somewhere!

My main interest is in its printing and scanning functions. I tried out the photocopier but I don’t really have a use for a fax machine so that is not covered in this review.

First up I have to say this is a large beast, or at least it felt like that in my current restricted space environment. I guess that’s inevitable with all the different functions it provides. But with a paper in-tray at the back and the paper out-tray at the front it takes up a lot more space on my bench top than I like. It’s dimensions are 7.9 x 18.5 x 15.2 inches but that’s without the extension of the two paper trays. If space is a major consideration for you then this might be an issue for you.

Setting up the PIXMA MP990 whilst not difficult was very time consuming. There seemed to be a hundred different bits to install and configure. Having said that, the Getting Started Guide did provide very clear and well illustrated steps to guide me through it so I’m very grateful for that. Plus it was written in a way that techno-dunces like myself can understand.

Ink cartridges are always of interest to the printer buying consumer; because that’s usually where the ongoing expense lies. The Canon PIXMA MP990 uses a separate cartridge for each color. I much prefer this system to printers that use a single cartridge containing all the different colors in separate compartments. At least with this system if you tend to use more of some colors than of others you only have replace the relevant cartridges. And that usually translates into a saving in the long term. I always hated throwing away a cartridge when I knew there was plenty of ink still in some of the colors.

So how does the Canon PIXMA MP990 perform?

As a Printer

I found the printer to be significantly quicker and quieter than my own printer.

The output was crisp and clean with good quality color. And the good news is that it seemed to be paper agnostic. By that I mean that you don’t need to exclusively use Canon photo paper to get the best results. I printed out oll of the digital scrapbook layouts from my Step By Step Digital Scrapbook tutorials on both the Canon paper supplied and also on some Kodak photo paper and I was very happy with the results on both. This is an improvement on my HP printer as it tends to reserve its best performance for HP paper.

I tried printing on ordinary plain paper and whilst not as good as the print quality on high resolution photo paper (only to be expected) the quality was still very good. Let’s face it, you’re likely to be doing most of your printing on ordinary paper, rather than more expensive paper so this is pretty important.

As a Scanner

Once again I found the scanning function of the Canon PIXMA MP990 was significantly quicker than my own scanner (which is also a Canon). The scanning control panel which comes up on your computer monitor includes some very handy features under the Advanced tab which let you adjust the quality of your image before you scan it. This is especially useful with old photos which have grown dark with age. If you adjust the lighting on the image before you scan it you will bring out a heap of detail in the photo. That means you don’t lose this detail in the scan and you can then refine this more in your photo editing software.

As a Photocopier

I’ve never really bothered about a photocopier before as I have always just used my scanner. But it can be a handy device to have. If you’re intending to make a print out of a hard copy page it’s much quicker to use the photocopier function than to scan and then print. And even quicker if you need multiple copies.

I must confess, working out how to use the photocopier function was more challenging than I expected. However once I discovered the instructions on the back page of the Getting Started Guide it all worked out happily. Photocopying was quick and quiet and the output was clear and crisp. That pretty much covers it for photocopying.

In a Nutshell

So taking everything into consideration I would have to recommend the Canon PIXMA MP990 as a good buy for a multi-function device for the home. As long as you have the surface space for a chunky sized home printer it’s a great machine. And of course it does come with all the other functions as well.

It’s a bit of a time consuming and fiddly exercise to set it up but once that’s done you can enjoy excellent quality output and a quick and quiet operation.

Having each colored ink in its own separate cartridge I saw as a distinct bonus and I was particularly impressed with the quality of printing on non-Canon papers.

So if you’re out there looking to upgrade or replace your current printer and you want a machine that can do more functions than just print — and can do them well – then you really should take a good long look at the Canon PIXMA MP990.

Posted by karooch on

June 29, 2010

The Cat and the Celtics

The Cat in the title doesn’t have four legs, doesn’t meow and is in fact the singer/songwriter formerly known as Cat Stevens.

My daughter Seona has been a humongous fan ever since she was 13; fourteen years after he gave up his singing career! So when I found out that he was doing some concerts in Australia I knew that tickets to see him would be the perfect birthday present for her.

With the help of her partner Phil we arranged that I should fly up to Sydney on the night and meet her for dinner before the show as a surprise. There were a few hiccups in the plans along the way (not least when I accidentally on forwarded the two tickets to her) but through a web of lies and deceit we managed to keep her in the dark and the surprise was wonderfully successful.

She was totally wound up for the concert; having loaded her iPhone with his entire catalogue and spending the last two weeks revisiting every song he’s ever recorded. So I was a leetle bit nervous that the actual show might not be able to live up to the high expectations.

Fortunately my fears were unfounded. We both had a fantastic time and Yusuf (as Cat Stevens has been known for the past 30 years) put on a magnificent performance with two hours of solid quality.

Seona was totally melted when he sang Sitting (the song that first got her into Cat Stevens). All the favourites from the old days were there and also some new stuff which we both enjoyed too. Amazingly his voice doesn’t seem to have changed at all over the last 30 years. He sounded exactly like his recordings.

Plus his interaction with the audience was brilliant. You really felt that he wanted to be there and was putting on the show just for you. He laughed and joked in a relaxed way with just enough chat between the songs to keep the flow going.

The light show was wonderful with some magnificent art work and Yusuf gave us a taster of a musical show he’s written called Moonshadow which we’re very excited about and are keeping our fingers crossed that it’ll come to Australia.

It’s always risky going to see someone that you have been a big fan of as often your expectations can be impossibly high and it’s easy to find yourself disappointed with the reality. But fortunately all expectations were met by Yusuf last week, and then some.

The Celtics

Long time visitors to Scraps of Mind may remember that the last weekend in June is when I get my annual Folk Fix. The Kilmore Celtic Festival (14 years and going strong) is where Allan and I rug up warm and head up the Hume Freeway to spend a day immersed in Celtic music of every flavour.

Once again Kilmore imported the weather directly from Ireland and Scotland for the event. I realise that the cold in Australia may not be of the professional standard of cold that some of your homes may achieve, but let me tell you Saturday in Kilmore was plenty cold enough for me. Still when the craic is good and the wine is flowing (sorry, I’ve never come to terms with Guinness) what do a few frosty fingers matter?

Several of our favourite acts were there again this year. Bhan Tre returned with a new and excellent fiddler from Dublin who’s backpacking her way around Australia. And of course what would Kilmore Festival be without Ced le Meledo and Bric a Brac; always a great act to watch and listen to. And the Breton/French music adds some great variety to the Scottish and Irish tunes.

Our new band to watch this year is called Shannachie and they’re from the Lake School of Celtic Music. This place seems to be producing some great future talent. They’re still a bit unpolished in their stage presence but we definitely liked what we heard.

And we got a double helping of Braemar this year. Braemar always bring out the Scottish in me, even though there’s really none there (I’m Irish t’be sure). Eddie has the perfect voice for those Scottish laments. This year Eddie and Marc were joined by a couple of friends on the fiddle and the uilleann pipes. The sad thing is that it was Braemar’s final year at the Festival as they are disbanding in the next couple of months. So thank you Eddie and Marc for all the great Festivals we’ve enjoyed with you and we wish you the very best for the future.

As the day drew to a close we head south a few kilometres and called in at my sister Elaine’s place. Also now a tradition for us. A warm and toasty evening with yummy food was the perfect end to another great Kilmore Celtic Festival Day.