116 CHAPTER 8 (How to cite a web site) GETTING EVERYTHING UP AND
116 CHAPTER 8 GETTING EVERYTHING UP AND RUNNING 5. Next is the dots per inch (DPI) setting. Generally speaking, 300 DPI is acceptable for scanned photos, while 150 DPI will be acceptable for artwork such as diagrams. 6. Beneath are the gamma, brightness, and contrast sliders, in that order. You can use these sliders to adjust the quality of the scan. 7. To scan a preview, click the Scan button. 8. When the scan is complete, the image viewer window will display the scan (note that XSane is clever enough to crop the picture and delete any space around it). Here, you can choose to manipulate the image by rotating it or applying cleaning filters (look under the Filters menu). Once you re happy with the results, click the Save button on the preview window s toolbar (the first button on the left). 9. If you wish, you can adjust the brightness/contrast settings and scan again. Just close the original preview and click the Scan button. Using a USB Memory Stick Although at one time the floppy disk drive ruled when it came to transferring small files between computers, nowadays, the USB memory stick has taken its place. These small devices, often incorporated into key rings, contain nonvolatile memory and retain their contents even when no power is applied. The good news is that Ubuntu works with just about every make and model of memory stick. Simply insert the device, and then wait a few seconds while Ubuntu recognizes it. It will then make the contents of the stick available via a desktop icon. Alternatively, you can click Places . Computer to access the device. The standard Nautilus file browser window is used to access the device, so you can copy, delete, and rename files as usual. An important caveat is that when you re finished with the device, you shouldn t simply unplug it. Instead, you need to unmount it first. Make sure you ve saved and closed any files on the memory stick. You might also need to close any Nautilus file browser windows that are browsing the stick. Then right-click its desktop icon and select Unmount Volume. Installing 3D Graphics Card Drivers Virtually all graphics cards are automatically supported and configured within Ubuntu, so you can stick with the default X.org drivers installed by Ubuntu. However, if you want to use their 3D functionality usually to play 3D games or run 3D modeling software then some extra steps may be necessary. ATI and Nvidia 3D cards are well supported under Ubuntu, including the Radeon series and the GeForce series. Adding 3D graphics support involves downloading and installing special driver software from the Ubuntu repositories via the Synaptic Package Manager. If you haven t yet configured the Synaptic Package Manager, see the Setting Up Online Software Repositories section earlier in this chapter. The drivers are provided by the manufacturer of the graphics card and are closed source (sometimes referred to as binary only or proprietary).