Update on Canon MP620 and Ubuntu 9.10

To be perfectly honest, I'm seriously considering dumping Ubuntu. Much as I love it, I just KEEP HAVING stupid problems -- USB devices working/then not working, and now my printer failed again.

Fortunately, after JUST a couple hours of "having fun" with my Canon linux drivers I've managed to get everything working again. I've previously (Dec 2008) blogged on this and this is now an update,
http://technicaltony.blogspot.com/2008/12/installing-canon-mp620-on-ubuntu.html
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Ever since my 9.04 > 9.10 upgrade I'd lost the ability to print from the rear-tray (as have many others apparently). What a ridiculous problem to be having.

Here was the solution:

1. download and install the latest Printer Definition file (PPD)
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=210977
Download and extract 'ppdMP620-630en-1.5.tar.gz'

2. Follow the included README instructions and copy the PPD file to the system's PPD folder,
> sudo cp canonmp620-630en.ppd /usr/share/ppd/

3. Copy the CONF file to the system's Canon library,
> sudo cp cifmp610.conf /usr/lib/bjlib/

4. download and install the latest "IJ Common" DEB,
http://support-sg.canon-asia.com/contents/SG/EN/0100159004.html
> sudo dpkg -i cnijfilter-common_3.00-1_i386.deb

*** Don't forget there are other DEBs required as explained in my original post ...

5. Delete the existing printer object from System > Administration > Printing

6. Reboot! Not sure if that's totally necessary but it works. This ensures that the new drivers are loaded, and the printer should be auto-detected at login.

If you now check the Properties of the recreated printer it should say:
Make and Model: Canon MP620-MP630

WARNING! INCOMPATIBLE MEDIA TYPES!

Again, this is probably something that would never happen under Windows...

The final step -- for printing photos, at least -- is to select Media Type: Glossy Photo Paper. If you try the other options, e.g. "Photo Paper Pro", the computer will say it's processing and the printer will momentarily say it's receiving and then.... Nothing. The print job will be unceremoniously canceled without any warning or error.
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Obama's next State Of The Union

I just had a quick thought:
President Obama's next State Of The Union speech is going to be crazy popular!

At least, it will be VERY widely watched, probably the most in history. I'm thinking of the domestic audience but this will probably be true internationally, too.

Think of all the drama surrounding him now:
- The country has been teetering on the verge of a new Great Depression
- He's on the verge of 'reform' of the byzantine American health insurance system
- The Right Wing absolutely viscerally hates him
- And he's widely acknowledged, even by his detractors, as a great speaker.

I'll have to get out the popcorn, and my score card! Now, when is this all scheduled? His first State Of The Union speech was in February 2009, just after he'd taken office, so he hadn't had a chance to really dig in yet.
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