[AktiviX] Scanners

[Douglas Paulley]

One of the main reasons I'm still running a dual-boot system at the moment is cos my scanner won't work under Mandrake Linux. It's got a cross thing on the Mandrake Hardware Compatibility website which I understand means it definitely will never work under Mandrake. It's probably a horrible Windows device; mind you it deserves to be at the money I paid for it - £20 new a few years ago. 

It's an Artec Ultima 2000 , you can judge what an excellent piece of hardware it is from the ZDnet review http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/Artec_Ultima_2000/4505-3136_16-2064516-2.html which is quite entertainingly bad:

"Unfortunately, its slow scan speeds and below-average image quality overshadow its other attributes. Even its low price is matched by better products from other vendors, giving us little reason to recommend it."

Unreliable is an understament for it, its driver software is crap.

It's now completely stopped working in Windows either which gives me an excuse to find some dosh to get a new one. But I want to get it right this time. I can't afford too much - £50-£70 at a push - I'm not too interested in flash features, as long as it can scan photos, but it must work well in Mandrake.

Any recommendations?

Cheers