Free as in speech

A couple of weeks ago, I needed to make a big PostScript file (4×3m, more on this later), and it seems like InkScape won’t let me use an arbitrary format. So I went ahead, googled for a PostScript tutorial, got the BlueBook as the first result and downloaded the reference manual for PostScript level 3 from Adobe.

I must say that PostScript is really a fun language to play with, and I had quite some fun doing something that would have been pretty boring otherwise. Enjoy the power of a complete programing language to automatise a couple of things while you’re at it.

I eventually had a look at the DSC and EPS specifications too, and ended up reading the PDF reference for PDF 1.6. I’m quite disappointed they scrapped the “PostScript is a complete programing language” part. I’m also quite disappointed by the “let’s use byte offsets in the xref table”, which is really painful to manage when writing a PDF file with a text editor, but I admit that it’s probably the best solution.

So, it was time for a cool hack using what I gathered about PS and PDF. Here it is, I added EPS and PDF as output formats for the screenshot in TiLP; the screenshot is written as a raw RGB (or black & white) inline image, compressed with zlib and encoded in ASCII85.

I wish I had learned all of this a year ago, when I had to debug a printing problem with CUPS. Now I can tell what the bug was; CUPS wasn’t honoring the DSC indicating the next page was to be printed on A3 paper with landscape orientation. Instead, the stupid thing added a DSC telling the page was to be printed on A4 paper. If this bug still exists, I’m going to send them a dead-tree copy of the DSC specs, so they can bang their heads against it :-P

I’ve been looking at getting some more RAM for my HP LaserJet 1100 (C4224A, not a 1100A) for some time now, but it seems I just can’t find that in France at a decent price. Not even a clone.

An original HP part (16 MB, C4137A) costs about 100-400 USD depending on your vendor. I could find 2 or 3 resellers in France at about 150-200 Euros, but that’s a lot more than what I’m prepared to spend for this printer. Might as well put in the extra 300 Euros it’d cost to get a faster printer (and it would be a color LaserJet, even).

Alternatives are:

• Smart Modular Technologies: known to work, about 50 USD
• MemoryX: known to work, about 30 USD, plus 19 USD international shipping
• Viking: sold on Amazon, known to be incompatible with the LJ1100

I’m >that< close to go and order a module from MemoryX, but the shipping would be 2/3 of the hardware price... which is a bit too much.

The memory needed is a 100-pin EDO DRAM module, which isn't exactly widespread (read: I don't have that lying around in my office).

Hints welcome :-)