How incredibly frustrating, I’ve spent the last 45 minutes trying to get a printer/scanner/copier working with my computer. I’ve ensured that I’ve downloaded the correct drivers and software from the manufacturers website for the correct version of the operating system I’m running on my laptop as I have a drawing my son has done which I need to scan. You would think, with all those “ducks in a row” that it should be a simple thing to then transfer the image onto the computer, but I’m guessing the computer or the printer knew I was in a bit of a rush and so decided not to play ball. Despite best efforts, I couldn’t get the HP printer software to function correctly but suddenly remembered a Windows API (Application Programming Interface) that provided a standard way to interface to a Windows computer for scanner manufacturers, often referred to as WIA (Windows Image Acquisition). As Windows seems to come with nearly all you need to get working these days, I took a look at the application that came with the operating system and guess what.. it worked perfectly first time. Who says things are difficult on a PC (oh, yes I did, at the beginning).
I’ve just beat a hasty retreat to my office from the lounge as a program has just started that I can only stand about one minute of; it’s not that’s it’s a terrible program, it’s incredibly popular, has a strong(ish) cast, great locations, excellent cinematography but to me it’s just a glorified soap opera – the program is of course Downton Abbey. Now I wouldn’t normally mention such things (unless completely desperate of course!), but it was the programme’s sponsors lead in that caught my attention. P&O Cruises sponsor the series, and the lead in shows a man and woman in some sunny location, apparently on holiday, with the woman posing to have her photograph taken. Still not that interesting, but I caught sight of the camera that the man was using… have a guess what it was… Canon? Nope. Nikon? Nope. I’ll give you a clue, think about the content of the program, and what possible socio-economic demographic it might be aimed at.. yep, you got it, the camera was a Leica M9! The first Leica was around at the time the series is set, however with The Great War, it’s unlikely that an English Gentleman would get his hands on one of these cameras, about as likely as me getting my hands on one in fact!
*Yes I know Chimpanzees are Apes, but I was referring to the printer software!
Andrew Skelton: 
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