HP Photosmart c4280 scanner in Fedora 19 Linux

I own an HP Photosmart c4280 scanner printer combo. I cannot vouch for the printing capabilities, but I can declare that I have got it working with scanning. Here is how to quickly get it setup in Fedora 19 Linux:

For the printing capabilities, run:

sudo yum install hplip hplip-gui libsane-hpaio hpijs  hplip-libs

Then run:

sudo hp-setup

If you just want to use the scanner, you still have to do the Printing Setup steps, but after that, it is ready to go. This setup uses the "Sane" scanning/printing system backend, so any graphic interface that uses that backend will now work.

NOTE: You may need to shutdown/startup the device again, and also restart Sane (xsane).

For a simple straightforward graphic app to help you scan, I suggest installing 'xsane', though there are also Gimp Sane plugins and one for KDE as well I believe.

How to Convert APE (cd images) in Linux

Sometimes when I download music, the format is in APE which isn't convenient in Linux.

To convert a single APE file to a single FLAC file:

ffmpeg -i inputaudio.ape outputaudio.flac

To rip the multiple tracks from an entire CD image (with a .cue file) from a single APE file:

1st, convert the entire large ape to flac.

ffmpeg -i inputaudio.ape outputaudio.flac

2nd, edit the .cue file: Look for the line which lists the file name of the .ape file.

FILE "The Shrimp Shack Shooters - The Album.ape" WAVE

Change this to the converted output flac file:

FILE "The Shrimp Shack Shooters - The Album.flac" WAVE

3rd, then open the .cue file in K3b

4th, switch K3b to Conversion mode, by going to the menu: Project -> Convert Tracks.

Now you can output the tracks from the flac file individually.