How To Downgrade Epson XP Printer Firmware (Fix Ink Not Recognized Error) XP-300 to XP-630, XP-640, XP-830

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Introduction

Despite a supreme court ruling in favor of third party ink suppliers, printer manufacturers remain relentless in their quest to eliminate cheaper ink alternatives. Everything from issuing stealth firmware updates disguised as security patches, to questionable takedown notices on eBay, these companies are determined to make consumers pay for their high cost ink.

For Epson, new firmware updates are applied by default as part of the routine software update checks. Although the firmware frequency varies by model, many printers were issued a January 2018 update that effectively disabled the majority of third party ink cartridges. Printers affected by this will suddenly receive notices that one or more ink cartridges are unrecognized, incompatible or non-genuine. The company expects you to replace the ink with their much more expensive name brand format in order to continue using the printer at all (e.g., $100.95 from Epson's shop for the full 410XL ink pack, versus $27.79 by a competing ink remanufacturer). Read Full Article

How to Increase Default Zoom Level in Outlook 2016

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Although there are many accessibility options integrated into modern operating systems and software applications, increasing the default zoom level of received messages in Microsoft Outlook remains surprisingly complicated and inhibiting. I have recently been assisting with computer setup and tutoring of a friend who has macular degeneration, which makes it increasingly difficult to read small text. One of the more difficult tasks was personalizing Outlook 2016 to make the baseline text much larger with minimal required user interaction. Below is a summary of my tribulations and my most recommended way to configure Outlook for those with advanced vision impairment.

These instructions should be equally applicable to Outlook 2010 and Outlook 2013, but have not been tested. Read Full Article

How to Unofficially Install the Plex App on Opera TV (Vewd) if It's not Available

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tl;dr: Create a developer account at the Vewd Publisher Site, pair your device and then use URL Loader to call http://plex.tv/web/tv/opera

Personal media servers have come a long way this millennium. In the 1990s, transferring media from a computer to a television usually required a balanced mix of hardware and luck. My earliest foray involved running an S-Video cable from my PC's video card to a compatible TV, then using the television as a secondary monitor strictly for media watching and video editing. Read Full Article

The Best FREE Oculus Rift Touch Games and Apps

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tl;dr: Skip straight to the list!

A Long, Long Time Ago...

Over 21 years ago—circa 1995—I got my first dose of "virtual reality" by glimpsing into the lenses of a store display model Virtual Boy at Target. Featured within this curious contraption was a vividly monochromatic, red-tinted 3D world. The demo game was Wario Land, and in those fleeting seconds I recall dodging 3D spike balls that lunged out toward me before vanishing back into the abyss. Despite being critically panned and discontinued shortly thereafter, this experience on the Virtual Boy proved strangely captivating and my fascination with 3D and virtual reality continued onward. Read Full Article

The Deceitful "Bait-and-Switch" Tactics of Auto Dealership Prize Giveaways

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I receive unsolicited prize giveaways in the mail all the time, mostly from regional auto dealerships trying to promote their inventory and overstock. The tactics used to entice the recipient into reading and reacting to the send-out can be both entertaining and aggressive. The goal of these mailings is naturally to maximize consumer response and get as many people as possible through the doors to sell them vehicles. For this reason, everybody wins!

Some dealership promotions come enclosed in very important looking "NextDay Verified Fast-Tracked Mail" envelopes designed to mimic actual overnight services while still being sent regular media mail (complete with handwritten jargon about there being crucial documents inside.) Others come with a generic key that must be checked against a lock box at the dealership.  Almost all of them include some variant of a scratch-off or pull-tab ticket with some fantastic prizes on the table. Read Full Article