menkent drew

Friday, November 1, 2013

Canon Pixma MG7120 review: All this gorgeous printer needs is cheaper ink

We weren't expecting to like the Pixma MG7120 as much as we did, as we're predisposed against printers with high black ink costs. But the overall experience and print quality softened our stance. At $200 (as of 10/30/2013) it's about as good as you'll get in a photo-oriented MFP, but yes, we'd prefer pay a bit less per page for ink.

Design includes front-loading cartridges

The Pixma MG7120 has a beveled-edge design distinct to certain Canon printers of the last several years, and other design improvements that were introduced last year with its cousin, the Pixma MG6320. You control the printer using an upper front touch panel: A 3.5-inch touchscreen display contains most functions, with contextually lit buttons that show up as needed. It has a very short learning curve. You lift that panel to access the ink cartridges, instead of lifting up the entire scanner bed, as with most multifunctions. You can connect via Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or USB.

Paper capacity is limited: 125 sheets of plain paper in the bottom cassette, and 20 sheets of 4-by-6-inch or 5-by-7-inch photo paper in the photo tray found directly above that. Flip over the photo tray, and you'll find the optical media tray, which inserts into a slot just above the output tray. The output tray itself is immediately above the paper trays and opens automatically when printing or copying. There's no automatic document feeder (ADF) for scanning or copying multi-page documents, which isn't unusual for a home-oriented printer, but we like it when we see it. The HP Photosmart 7520 is a like-priced competitor that has an ADF (and—ahem—cheaper ink).

Next to the ouput tray, another front panel folds out to reveal three card slots: Secure Digital, Compact Flash, and Memory Stick. You may print via any of them as well as Wireless Pictbridge.

The Pixma MG7120 comes with the usual array of remote printing features (email, Wi-Fi, though no NFC), and Canon has apps for both Android and iOS. The top-mounted scanner bed is A4/letter-sized with a lid that telescopes an inch or so to accommodate thicker materials.

Canon's My Image Garden is the main software application used for scanning, editing, printing to optical discs, and keeping track of images, But the company also provides utilities for viewing images on the desktop and launching various features of the printer (scan, copy, edit, etc.) They're especially handy if you're dedicating an office PC for printer chores, limiting the amount of time you must spend hunting through the applications for the feature you need. For occasional use, they're probably overkill.

Six-ink system produces great photos

To get the best results from the Pixma MG7120, you'll need to use good photo paper, which will always set you back a few dimes. But Canon could do better with the ink costs.The Pixma MG7120 uses a six-color system: black, pigment black, cyan, gray, magenta, and yellow. All are available in both standard and high-yield ('XL') capacities. In standard capacity, black pages cost about 5 cents, and four-color pages 16.6 cents. This is not counting the extra photo-black and photo-gray, which contribute miniscule amounts to a non-photo page. The XL-capacity cartridges are only slightly cheaper: 4.6 cents per page for black, and 12.7 cents for all four colors. If you print occasionally—tickets, web pages, and the like—then the MG7120 has decent costs. If you print lots of monochrome business documents, not so much.

The quality of the Pixma MG7120's output is where it earns its keep. Photos are superb for a $200 photo printer, and the color palette is nicely balanced, neither overly warm or cold. Text is sharp, and there was nary a defect in large areas of black, which is where you'll usually spot any problems with a print system. No striations, no banding, no muddled edges. Good stuff here.

Performance is better than average for a photo printer. Subjectively, we never felt like we were waiting an overly long time for output to arrive—especially when using draft mode, whose quality is good enough for most everyday applications (and will stretch your ink a lot further). By the numbers, the Pixma MG7120 printed text and mixed monochrome pages at an aggregate 8.6 pages per minute on the PC and 7.9 on the Mac. 4-inch by 6-inch photos printed at 2.7 per minute to plain paper and 1.7 per minute to glossy stock. A full 8.5-inch by 11-inch photo printed on the Mac took just over two minutes.

Scans were decently fast, at just under a half-minute at 600 dpi and just under a minute at 1200 dpi. Copies arrived at a sprightly 5 pages per minute.

The good outweighs the ink

The Canon Pixma MG7120 color inkjet multifunction delivers extremely nice photos, and text quality that's just this side of laser. It also automatically duplexes and has some of the easiest controls the company has produced to date. It's a printer well worth considering, even with its somewhat pricey inks.

Jon L. Jacobi Jon Jacobi, PCWorld

Jon L. Jacobi has worked with computers since you flipped switches and punched cards to program them. He studied music at Juilliard, and now he power-mods his car for kicks.
More by Jon L. Jacobi

Melissa Riofrio Senior Editor, PCWorld

The daughter of a mechanical engineer, Melissa grew up playing with machine parts and still loves getting into the nuts and bolts of how things work. She is never happier than when she is on a factory tour.
More by Melissa Riofrio

Subscribe to the Power Tips Newsletter

Thank you for sharing this page.

Sorry! There was an error emailing this page

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2053275/canon-pixma-mg7120-review-all-this-gorgeous-printer-needs-is-cheaper-ink.html#tk.rss_reviews
Similar Articles: NBA brett favre sat scores carrie seattle seahawks

US unearths new drug 'supertunnel' under Mexican border

Los Angeles (AFP) - US and Mexican authorities have unearthed another sophisticated "supertunnel" used to smuggle drugs beneath their common border, the third since 2011, officials said Thursday.

Zig-zagging for a third of a mile beneath the border between San Diego and Tijuana, the newly-constructed tunnel was equipped with an electric-powered rail system to carry the drugs, as well as ventilation.

For the first time, agents seized cocaine intended to be smuggled through the tunnel as well as more than eight tons of marijuana, indicating that Mexican drug cartels are getting increasingly "desperate," they said.

"These cartels are foolish to think they're shoveling under the radar," said US Attorney for Southern California Laura Duffy at a press conference outside the San Diego warehouse where the US end of the tunnel was found Wednesday.

Investigators released video footage of the tunnel, which they stressed was uncovered before it had been been used.

In a message to drug smugglers including notably Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, Duffy vowed: "If you continue to build and attempt to use these tunnels, we are determined to make this a big waste of your dirty money."

Three people were arrested and authorities seized the huge marijuana haul as well as 325 pounds of cocaine, which is usually transported in smaller quantities and does not come through tunnels.

"Their traditional routes are failing at this point. They're very desperate. They'll do anything they can to get into the US," said Bill Sherman, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)'s San Diego office.

As with two other "supertunnels" discovered in 2011, agents pounced before it had even become operational. "They did not move one gram of narcotics thru that tunnel," said Sherman.

Law enforcement authorities were increasingly seeing attempts to bring narcotics including cocaine and methamphetamines over the border through tunnels, or micro-light aircraft.

"Those are acts of desperation," he said.

The tunnel was built at an average depth of 35 feet, and was 4 feet high by 3 feet wide, said Derek Benner of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Construction likely took a year or more, officials said, adding that it was the work of "engineers and architects." It included hydraulically-controlled steel doors.

Of the three arrested, two were detained in connection with the cocaine seized, and one, a Mexican national, was held over the marijuana haul. All face a maximum of 10 years to life in jail, officials said.

In Tijuana, a Mexican security source said the tunnel was accessed at the southern end by a metal stairway down to a depth of 20 meters, from a building about 80 meters from the border fence.

Discoveries of such underground passageways along the US-Mexico border are not uncommon and authorities say they are used by organized crime groups to traffick drugs and people into the United States.

The tunnel was the eighth large scale such structure discovered since 2006, and the fifth intercepted since 2010.

Over 77,000 people have died in drug-linked violence since 2006, when troops were deployed to battle drug cartels, including under ex president Felipe Calderon and his successor Enrique Pena Nieto, who took office last year.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-mexico-unearth-sophisticated-border-drug-tunnel-191557173.html
Similar Articles: daylight savings time Texas A&m Susan Bennett Apple.com Rafael Caro Quintero

Kim Kardashian, Kanye West Sue YouTube Co-Founder Chad Hurley for Allegedly Leaking Proposal Video

Kim Kardashian is used to living her life on camera -- but some things aren't meant for public viewing. Among them? Kanye West's marriage proposal to her on Oct. 21. Now, the reality star and her fiance are suing YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley for allegedly leaking video of the romantic moment, TMZ reports.

PHOTOS: Kimye's sweetest moments

According to the site, Kardashian and West claim in the lawsuit that Hurley schemed to post the video of the proposal on his new site, MixBit. They also allege that the tech-savvy entrepreneur wasn't invited to the celebration at AT&T Park but somehow found a way in anyway.

PHOTOS: Kimye, the perfect match

Per TMZ, Hurley signed a confidentiality agreement, which he reportedly broke by posting the video of the proposal on MixBit and then tweeting it out to his followers. He also allegedly issued a press release on the clip.

PHOTOS: Stars at court

"Hurley proceeded to try to turn the event into one starring himself, broadcasting the images he knew were the exclusive property rights of someone else," the site quotes the lawsuit as saying.

TMZ reports that Kardashian and West suing for unspecified damages. The lawsuit doesn't say how much the video is worth, but it does note that the footage was supposed to go to MC Cable Television.

Source: http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/kim-kardashian-kanye-west-sue-youtube-co-founder-chad-hurley-for-allegedly-leaking-proposal-video-20133110
Tags: Josh Freeman walking dead Anna Gunn Ios 7 Jailbreak Julie Chen

Africa to lead the world in international bandwidth demand

Africa’s demand for Internet links to the rest of the world will grow by an average of 51 percent every year until 2019, ahead of all other regions, according to a forecast by research company Telegeography.

Rapid economic growth and wider Internet use will drive the increase in demand, which will be met mostly by turning on unused capacity in existing cables, according to Telegeography analyst Erik Kreifeldt. Terrestrial links are in demand partly because much of Africa still relies on satellite, which is far more expensive per bit than wired broadband, he said.

Most Internet bandwidth between continents is provided by undersea cables built and financed by groups of service providers. From Africa, most of those links go to Europe. Other carriers pay to tap into those cables and link their customers to the Internet. In some parts of Africa, running cables from coastal areas to the interior is a challenge so satellite remains the major Internet source, Kreifeldt said.

The capacity of international cables landing on African shores is just a fraction of the bandwidth available between Europe, the U.S. and Asia. After seven years of the growth that Telegeography forecasts, from 2012 through 2019, Africa will have 17.2Tbps (bits per second) of links to the outside world. That’s up from just 957Gbps in 2012 but will still be only about one-quarter of the international capacity of Latin America and less than that of Canada, according to Telegeography.

The hunger for the Internet varies among African countries. Through 2019, bandwidth demand is expected to grow fastest in Angola, at 71 percent per year; Tanzania, at 68 percent; and Gabon, at 67 percent.

Many new cables have been built to Africa and around the continent in the past several years, giving service providers excess fiber capacity that can be turned on when needed, Kreifeldt said. As that fiber gets lit up and supply rises, prices should fall for enterprises and other users in African countries, he said.

However, due to relative scarcity, a given amount of bandwidth between Africa and Europe costs about 10 times as much as the same size connection between Europe and North America, he said. Africa’s bandwidth gains aren’t expected to shrink that gap.

While Africa leads in growth, demand for international network links will rise at a fast pace in all parts of the world, Telegeography says. It projects Latin America and the Middle East to grow at 37 percent per year, while Asia exceeds 30 percent and even Europe and North America, the best-served and slowest-growing regions, will boost their bandwidth by nearly 30 percent per year.

Africa is home to some of the fastest-growing economies in the world, including Ethiopia, Cote d’Ivoire and Rwanda, according to the World Bank. In April, the bank forecast average annual growth of more than 5 percent in sub-Saharan Africa through 2015.

Stephen Lawson, IDG News Service , IDG News Service

Stephen Lawson covers mobile, storage and networking technologies for the IDG News Service.
More by Stephen Lawson, IDG News Service

Subscribe to the Business Brief Newsletter

Thank you for sharing this page.

Sorry! There was an error emailing this page

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2060120/africa-to-lead-the-world-in-international-bandwidth-demand.html#tk.rss_all
Similar Articles: hocus pocus Dario Franchitti politico Heisenberg new york times

Hagel blasts states on same-sex benefits policy

FILE - In this Oct. 23, 2013 file photo, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel speaks during a media conference after a meeting of NATO defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013 sharply criticized U.S. states that are defying the Pentagon by refusing to allow National Guard facilities to issue ID cards that enable same-sex spouses of military members to claim benefits. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Thursday sharply criticized U.S. states that are defying the Pentagon by refusing to allow National Guard facilities to issue ID cards that enable same-sex spouses of military members to claim benefits.

"This is wrong," Hagel said in a speech in New York.

"Not only does this violate the states' obligation under federal law, their actions have created hardship and inequality by forcing couples to travel long distances to federal military bases to obtain the ID cards they're entitled to," he said.

Hagel said this is causing division among the military ranks.

In his remarks to an Anti-Defamation League centennial dinner speech, Hagel did not name the states that are defying Pentagon policy on this issue. But the Pentagon has cited nine: Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia.

The Pentagon says there are 114 Army and Air National Guard sites in those nine states that are not providing ID cards to eligible same-sex spouses.

Hagel also used his speech to announce that he has directed the Marine Corps to expedite the manufacture and delivery to Israel of V-22 Osprey aircraft, hybrids that take off and land like a helicopter and cruise like an airplane. It is to be the first overseas sale of the Osprey.

Hagel also offered assurances that the Obama administration's interest in negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program is a way of testing Iranian intentions for a diplomatic solution to a matter that has been in dispute for years.

"If we can find ways to resolve disputes peacefully, we are wise to explore them," he said. Israel is skeptical of any negotiation with Iran.

Convinced Iran is pursuing the development of nuclear weapons to threaten his country, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the Iranians are trying to trick the West into easing economic sanctions while still pushing forward with their nuclear program. Iran insists its program is for peaceful purposes.

Hagel focused much of his dinner speech on the gay rights matter, which was a central issue during the tenure of his predecessor at the Pentagon, Leon Panetta. Panetta, who retired in February, was honored at the dinner for his long career in public service.

Under Pentagon policy that took effect Sept. 3, same-sex spouses of military members are eligible for the same health care, housing and other benefits enjoyed by opposite-sex spouses. That decision followed the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in June on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act.

Some states, however, have refused to allow issuance of the necessary Pentagon ID cards on National Guard facilities.

In Oklahoma, for example, Gov. Mary Fallin ordered her state's National Guard to stop processing requests, making legally married gay couples apply for benefits on federal facilities like Tinker Air Force Base. Oklahoma in 2004 approved a constitutional amendment prohibiting giving benefits of marriage to gay couples.

Hagel said these states' policies are unfair. He said he ordered the chief of the National Guard Bureau, Gen. Frank Grass, to "take immediate action to remedy this situation."

It was not immediately clear what legal authority Grass has to force the states to change course.

Hagel said he instructed Grass to meet with the adjutants general from the nine states where the ID cards are being denied at state facilities. He said those adjutants general, who work for their states' governor, "will be expected to comply" with Pentagon policy on this issue.

The American Military Partner Association, an advocacy group for gay and lesbian military members, praised Hagel's remarks.

"Secretary Hagel has made it clear the National Guard in these few rogue states are failing to live up to their obligations to military families under federal law," said Stephen Peters, the association's president. "We applaud him in showing strong leadership by ordering the National Guard in these states to comply and follow lawful direction and DoD policy."

Defense officials estimate there are 18,000 same-sex couples in the active-duty military, National Guard and Reserves and among military retirees. It's unclear how many of those are married. The Pentagon policy on equal access to benefits does not apply to unmarried gay partners of military members.

A Pentagon ban on gays serving openly in the military was dropped in September 2011.

Austin American-StatesmanSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-10-31-Hagel-Gay%20Rights/id-b526bb275870434cb382a66b9fa9dff7
Similar Articles: silk road Danny Garcia sunday night football powerball winning numbers Christopher Lane

Driver expects to fight Google Glass ticket

This undated photo released courtesy Cecilia Abadie shows Cecilia Abadie a software developer from Temecula, Calif., during a presentation. Abadie was pulled over for speeding on Tuesday Oct. 29, 2013, in San Diego, when a California Highway Patrol officer noticed she was wearing Google Glass and tacked on a citation usually given to drivers who may be distracted by a video or TV screen. (AP Photo/Courtesy Cecilia Abadie)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An early adopter of Google's Internet-connected eyeglasses plans to fight a citation for wearing the device while driving in San Diego, saying the technology makes navigation easier than smartphones and GPS devices.

Driver Cecilia Abadie was pulled over for speeding Tuesday evening, when a California Highway Patrol officer noticed she was wearing Google Glass and tacked on a citation usually given to drivers who may be distracted by a video or TV screen.

A challenge to what may be a first-of-its-kind citation could force authorities to re-examine laws and consider how best to regulate evolving gadgetry that will one day become mainstream.

The lightweight eyeglasses, which are not yet widely available to the public, feature a hidden computer and a thumbnail-size transparent display screen above the right eye. Users can scan maps for directions — as well as receive Web search results, read email and engage in video chats — without reaching for a phone.

About 10,000 have been distributed so far in the United States to "explorers" like Abadie, and this week Google announced another 30,000 would be available for $1,500 apiece. Abadie, a software developer, got what she describes as the life-changing technology in May.

In an interview Thursday, she said she was not using her Google Glass when she was pulled over for allegedly going about 80 mph in a 65 mph zone on the drive home to Temecula after visiting a friend.

"The Glass was on, but I wasn't actively using it" to conserve the battery, she said. The device becomes inactive if it's not asked to perform a task.

Abadie expressed surprise that wearing the glasses while driving would be illegal and said she's "pretty sure" she will fight the ticket. First, she said, she needs to seek legal counsel. In the flurry of online commentary her traffic stop has generated, several people saying they are attorneys offered their services.

"The law is not clear, the laws are very outdated," Abadie said, suggesting that navigating with the device could be less distracting than with a GPS unit or phone because drivers don't have to glance down.

"Maybe Glass is more a solution to the cellphone problem than a problem," she said.

It's unclear whether a citation for Google Glass has been issued before. The CHP said it is not sure whether an officer within its own ranks has written one, and an agency spokesman pointed out hundreds of law enforcement agencies in California alone can write traffic tickets.

What is clear, CHP Officer Marc Hale said, is that drivers should not use Google Glass.

"Anything that takes your attention away from the motoring public in front of you is a distraction," Hale said.

Though Google Glass users can continue looking ahead, by glancing at the screen they still divert attention from the roadway and that can make the headgear dangerous, according to David Strayer, director of the University of Utah's Center for the Prevention of Distracted Driving.

"Your eyes aren't looking where they need to look," said Strayer, who has tried Google Glass (though not behind the wheel). Like Abadie, he noted that the law lags far behind the technology.

Legislators in at least three states — Delaware, New Jersey and West Virginia — have introduced bills that would specifically ban driving with Google Glass.

A spokesman for Google Inc. did not reply to a request for comment. On its website, Google says this about using the headgear while driving: "Read up and follow the law. Above all, even when you're following the law, don't hurt yourself or others by failing to pay attention to the road."

___

Associated Press researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.

___

Follow Justin Pritchard at https://twitter.com/lalanewsman

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-10-31-Google%20Glass%20Ticket/id-c729b0ee5b8c409cbfe9ecc955a353a6
Related Topics: melissa mccarthy Jake Locker Dylan Penn david cassidy evelyn lozada

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Turning The Page On Illiteracy, Adults Go Back To Class

This is the first report of a four-part series on adult education.

The national debate around education usually focuses on children in school. But there are 30 million adults in the U.S. who have trouble with basic literacy — they struggle to read a menu, a pay stub or a bus schedule.

It also means it's difficult for them to get and hold onto the most basic jobs.

Tens of thousands of other adult learners are slowly and painstakingly trying to fill in the gaps of their rudimentary schooling. The long shadow of their unfinished education still follows them every day.

Learning Which Route To Take

Shirley Ashley, 55, never learned how to read. With classes, she is finally able to read her own bills.

Kavitha Cardoza/WAMU

Shirley Ashley, 55, never learned how to read. With classes, she is finally able to read her own bills.

Kavitha Cardoza/WAMU

Shirley Ashley flips through a folder of certificates she's received in her adult education class. She stops at one that says "Top Performer," points to the words and starts reading.

"I know this is 'top' something, that means I'm doing good," she says.

The word "performer" is still a jumble of letters because Ashley, at 55, never learned how to read. In school she was always in classes for students with learning disabilities, but Ashley says she wasn't learning anything.

"I felt as though they just passed me just to get me out of school," she says.

In the seventh grade, after one teacher told her, "Whether you learn to read or not, I still get paid," Ashley decided to drop out.

She learned how to give her mother medicine based on the colors of the bottles. To hide the fact she was illiterate, Ashley memorized Bible verses so no one at her church suspected. And she limited her travel to a familiar route.

"I couldn't read the name of the bus, but I learned that the left-hand side of the street would take me downtown and the right-hand side of the street was going to bring me back home," she says.

Ashley's inability to read has made it hard to find a job. She's also seen those closest to her take advantage of her illiteracy, especially when it came to money.

"I would have to pay them, my family members, to come over my house to do a money order," she says. "Sometimes I give them $25, sometimes I give them $30."

Ashley's attended classes at a nonprofit literacy center on and off for about eight years. She initially tested at the kindergarten level; she's now reading at the second-grade level.

"When my gas bill come to my house I'm learning how to read where it says 'pay by July 17th.' That makes me feel awesome," she says.

Getting To The Next Level

Ashley is at the "low end" of the literacy spectrum. Jason White, another adult learner is a little further along.

Marilyn Block tutors Jason White during a one-on-one session that is part of the Literacy Council of Montgomery County at a local library.

Kavitha Cardoza/WAMU

White is 35 and grew up in Louisiana. He dropped out in the 11th grade after years of sitting idle in a special education class. White found ways to cover up his reading struggles, from pretending he's forgotten his reading glasses to relying on computer's "auto-complete" function — even when he was out with friends.

"Say if you're at dinner with five people and you can't make out or read what's on the menu, someone says they're going to have the salmon filet, you say, 'Well I'll have the salmon filet,' " White says.

He works as a construction worker, and in a sense he's lucky. Adults who dropped out of school are more than twice as likely to be unemployed as high school graduates. For those who do get hired, it often means low-end jobs with no hope of advancing. In tough times, they're often the first ones laid off.

For White, not being able to read means his career has stalled. To advance, he needs a contractor's license, and he hopes he'll be able to pass the exam next month.

"I'm very handy, and we do terrific work, but I'm technically not a contractor until I pass that exam," he says. "So it's, it's a little nerve-wracking, you know?"

White has spent the past two years learning to read with a tutor. Now, he can write his own checks and has just finished reading his first novel. He marvels that he can now read street signs.

"If we're driving somewhere, I can't help but read every sign we pass," he says. "It's like a different world."

Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/10/31/241862699/turning-the-page-on-illiteracy-adults-go-back-to-class?ft=1&f=1013
Tags: Bitstrips leah remini