by Kevin J. Fry

The Paperless Home : Hardware

Everyone should have a computer with an Internet connection and a good scanner. These are not really expensive, as they've been in the past, a lot like ink-jet printers. What you may want to do is either get a scanner, or if printing is still required for some tasks, get an all in one printer, copy, fax, scanner. One thing to consider is if you want a form-fed scanner, or a flat-bed scanner. If you are just starting out, you may want to go the flatbed way to get used to scanning. Form fed scanners, and ADF (automatic document feeder) scanners are great for those who intend on doing a lot of scanning, but there are maintenance and cost issues to consider. You should probably do you research before making the purchase. Also be aware that flatbed scanners would be good for scanning in items of all shapes and sizes, as a form fed scanner may need some adjustments. Form fed scanners may not be able to scan in business cards and pictures to your liking. I would recommend going to Dell.com for a new computer system, if in fact that’s the route you intend on going to a paperless home. A new computer for a fresh start. New hardware, new software, etc. A basic configuration is all you would need. Now a days, even the site’s bare bones systems can run about $350 USD, not including anything else. You’ll also want to consider the Monitor, Keyboard, and Mouse. Will this scanning computer be connected to a network? The most ideal solution for a paperless home is to have one computer doing all of the scanning, file-saving, and OCR recognition. If this computer is connected to a home network, all of the files could be shared on the network. This is where the file naming and directory structure come in handy as described earlier. Every member of the house could have their name as a directory in the root directory. (a rant of an earlier topic) When choosing the components, you will need a case, main board, CPU, RAM, video card, network card, modem, hard drive, and a DVD-R (for creating backup copies of files). Connected devices you choose would be a scanner (necessary), MP3 player, Monitor (necessary), and a printer (very optional). Scanners on Dell.com range from $60.00 USD to $43,000.00 USD. A happy medium would be the DocuMate 510 Workgroup Document Scanner. An ADF type scanner, this will scan in up to 50 pages at a time, at a rate up to 10 pages per minute. This scanner runs about $350.00 USD. The added bonus is that this scanner also comes with the following software: PaperPort Deluxe 9, TextBridge Pro 9.0 and ArcSoft PhotoImpression. If you are choosing to use your existing hardware and software that is also possible. You may want to consider getting the hardware of a new scanner, new external hard drive to store your information, or even new software. The decision is ultimately yours to decide what option would best suite your needs. Your personal computer, if you choose to get a new one, should be from Dell. I would recommend this company compared to other’s I have seen out there. I would consider hardware as the main CPU / Processor, keyboard, mouse, anything that connects to your computer for regular operating. Technology, on the other hand, would be considered as your MP3 player, GPS device, even a laptop or tablet pc. An MP3 player would be great for hooking up to your car to listen to music on your way to/from work, or even if you decide to go for a walk. There are many ranges for an MP3 player as far as how much music, and now even movies that it can hold. For a service such as NapsterToGo, you will want to make sure that the MP3 player you choose meets their requirements for their service. The same would apply to Rhyposidy and other music services. The funny thing about mp3 players is that if you get a player for their service, it’s not MP3s that they read. More than likely, their using a protected file format like Windows Media Player or Real Player, and then decodes your rights to that music through the software and the player. Depending on your job, what you do in your car, if you hike, etc. You may be interested in knowing that there are GPS services for your car and your personal use. These devices help you find your way from one point to another and some even show you what the nearest restaurant is or where your friends house is. These devices can be hooked up to your computer to guide you on trips or to help you in an instant to find your way. Now a days, cell phones have their own GPS devices in them to help you find your way. A service from Verizon Wireless called VZ Navigator will help you with turn-by-turn directions if you ever find yourself lost. Another type of hardware are two devices, but for all purposes, I’m placing them here as one. They are the laptop and tablet PCs. These are your portable computer when you’re on the go. Most have the functionality of the regular desktop computer, but the compactness, allowing you to bring it with you wherever you go. A laptop in the car could show you on a larger screen where you’re headed with a little card in side (GPS). It would also allow you to go on-line in coffee shops or at home using wireless Internet. The functions of a laptop / tablet pc are great for moving about the house / office / car / etc, while staying connected, doing work, or hearing your music. The smaller alternative to your laptop / tablet PC is the device called the PDA. This device lets you check your e-mail and do small tasks that a computer can do. This device is small, could be the size of a cell phone, GPS device, or an mp3 player. This little device usually holds things like music, contacts, little notes, pictures, e-mail, and little things like that. I found my PDA to be a very useful tool combined with my cell phone. If you have your address book on-line with a service like Yahoo!, you can also get all of your contacts synced with what you have on-line. A PDA is a tool to carry with you that has your important information you need to bring with you on a daily basis. Although it’s useful, a multi-purpose cell phone may be the better answer to you problems. What the blackberry did before is what the iPhone by Apple is doing now to the PDA / Cell Phone combination did in the past, but on a much more seam lined solution. Internal hardware components of your computer decide on how fast your computer will go. As of this date I’m writing / reviewing this book, I would recommend at least the following in a new computer configuration for the paperless home: Processor: 2 GHz Intel + RAM / Memory 1-2 GB + Operating System Windows Vista Hard Drive 80 GB + Scanner DPI 1200 x 1200 min Updates for this will be posted at frypublishing.com if you need assistance in the future.

The Paperless Home : Technology

We're not at home all of the time, but by having a paperless home, or at least the pursuit for one, we have to consider what's going on around us. A tablet PC would be something that we're able to take to work, the coffee shop, etc. But if this item is a little too big, we can use a small little PDA with Wi-Fi access. To keep track of the more important things. This, combined with the cell phone can be a valuable tool for the person to keep a schedule, send e-mail, get an address, and more. To get rid of the maps in your car, use a GPS navigation system to direct you. Maps can be saved to a CD-ROM and placed in your car for easy directions to your next destination. In the personal business field, get a batch of plastic business cards, that will make an impression on everyone who receives it. With this technology and constant data back and forth with the computer, laptop, PDA, cell phone, and so much more, it's very important that you find a media form to backup all of your information, this is the most important, and I can not emphasize this enough. If you're in a car, another device you could invest in is EZ Pass. This would allow you to pass through tolls and that account would be tied into your bank account or credit card. other devices not connected to the computer, or standalone devices http://www.imageedition.com/scanfaq.htm

The Paperless Home : Software

Software will help you in your effort to bring paper documents into your computer, save them in the right place, and some of them will even convert the image to text for you. There is so much software out on the market, you'll need to find what's right, and cost effective for you. Take images for example. The image program allows you to import a scan onto the screen, save it to where you want, and the file format you'd like. A lot of software that you would use would come with your scanner. Companies like Nuance (formally ScanSoft), offer bundled packages (of personal, not professional packages). These bundled software packages will allow you to scan, organize, and even perform optical character recognition so that you can changeover those images to a text format. software companies and what type of software they develop, only for scanning, data entry, and document organizing Sometimes, faxes could be consider paperless if their through companies like eFax. Testimonies on their site explain that a person can fax an invoice to their computer and when they check their e-mail when they get home, an image of the invoice is there at their fingertips once again, but now it’s a virtual copy of the actual document.

The Paperless Home : Organizing

Organizing your documents should be just like how you organize everything else on your hard drive. This will allow for easier access to the documents so that you know exactly where they are, and make it easy to find them. Depending on the software you're using, some programs default to a different folder for storing the documents for that program. You may need to change that directory to where all of your other files are. When scanning in documents as a PDF, JPG, or other standard file type, make sure you stay consistent with all of your file names and folders. This will help in retrieving these in the future.

The Paperless Home : Mail

Things that come in the mail generate tons of paper that you need to stay on top of. Some of these will be bills, others are letters, coupons, notices, pamphlets, and more. The thing to keep in mind when scanning in mail is to stay on top of it. Mail can add up quickly over the week. It's very important to set apart some time every day to make sure it gets done, if you do indeed have a want to change. I know that some people may want to start their own home business with computers, and here is an idea that if you know what you're doing, you can create a valued service to those who want all their mail in a digital format. One could create a business where customers would set up accounts and be given a specific ID number. They could have their mail sent to a PO Box with an account number, and once received, an e-mail could be sent to the customer with all of their mail in that e-mail. A monthly service fee could be charged to the customer. post office boxes http://www.paperlessmail.com/

The Paperless Home : News Periodicals

Since the Palm Pilot PDA came about, along with an Internet connection, you could download information from the Internet and onto your PDA to read news, check weather, and catch up on sports scores. These articles where made available through magazines and newspapers through AventGo. This remains today to choose the "channels" you would like to subscribe to, and pull that information right onto your PDA while you're getting your morning coffee at the coffee shop with Wi-Fi. This service is free, but another low-cost way to subscribe to on-line magazines is to check out Zino. You can subscribe to many different magazines, and they're saved onto your computer using their viewer. This is an amazing way to look at and read magazines. Try it out on a Wi-Fi tablet. With the accessibility of the Internet, Magazines and newspapers have almost become obsolete. more information on zino, aventgo, and other news portals