Comment 2 for bug 447299

There are files in /home/howard/.sane/xsane that apparently tell Xsane how to set up for scanning. Since I have two scanning devices there are two files, one for each scanner. The usb scanner file has no access restrictions the parallel port scanner file shows no read or no write icons. I did a sudo chown -R :howard /home/howard/.sane/xsane followed by sudo chown -R : howard /dev/parport0. Now if I go to Applications>Graphics>Xsane I get no permission denied warnings and get a page that allows me to choose either scanner. Unfortunately, after a reboot the chown on the /dev/parport0 needs to be rerun. There is probably some way to fix this all permanently, suggestions welcome.