There was a day when you plugged a printer (or scanner) into a Mac, and everything just worked. That was back when Apple sold us printers. In those days, Windows printers were not very high on Apple users' lists.
The decision to not make printers probably gave us access to printers that we would never have had the chance to use. Depending on your experience that is either a good thing or a bad thing.
On balance I would rather have access to some of the more complex printers than be stuck with just Apple hardware. I say that even with the knowledge that buying some Windows centric printers is a little bit of a gamble.
There still is some magic left in the world of Apple printing. I am not sure I know how it happened, but I do know what transpired, and it is just one more thing that makes using Macs easier for most of us.
Over a year ago I spent a lot of time trying to figure out if the HP C6180 was the right printer for my mixed environment. In the end I had to make a leap of faith. Based on the number of visits to my posts on the printer, I am not alone. Even some Linux folks were interested.
Since I hated the HP software on both Windows and Macintosh, I finally ended up using the USB connection to my Mac desktop and VueScan for any scanning needs. I only used the C6180 for printing on my Windows machine which used Ethernet and a wireless network to connect to the printer as did my MacBook laptop.
What I found out was that when we would have a power outage (somewhat common while they were running some new hurricane proof lines here on the coast), I could not print from my Windows machines. I even had to reinstall the HP printer once on my new HP Vista Laptop.
While my son, my sometimes computer rescue net, was visiting over Christmas, I mentioned it to him. He quickly suggested that we give both of my main Ethernet printers static IP addresses. He figured out their current IP address and hit them with a web browser which allowed him to configure them.
He then set up my new Zonbu computer so that it would print correctly. Since I do most of printing except legal forms on the Macs, it was a few days before I checked my Windows printing and figured out that I had to tell my new Vista laptop the new static IP address of my printers.
The strange thing is that I did not have to tell my MacBook. It found the printers with no intervention on my part. That is a small thing, but if you are in a hurry to print a document and might have forgotten the IP address of a printer, it is a really big thing.
I rank it with installing software on the Mac which is so wonderfully straight forward compared to the Windows world.
I will always maintain (iPhone & iPod aside) that Apple's true genius when it comes to computers is software not hardware. Still I am not holding my breath for OS X on my HP laptop though it would be a real relief from some of the quirks of Vista.
While I appreciate the suggestion of trying a Vista pre-release service pack, I think I will pass on that.
Happy New Year to everyone.
We have a simple check before buying any printer these days. We just make sure it's bonjour compatible. Once we know that it is, then we'll start checking for compatibility. We run a Windows/Mac office, printing to 3 printers. The Mac's have normally been pretty well perfect. Regardless of how the network is setup, they'll still generally find the printers. Windows on the other hand, does have a tendency to lose the printers occasionally, even if there's been no change at all to the network since the last time they printed.
We also try to avoid using the 3rd party drivers. If Apple has drivers for that printer we'll use them in preference. HP in particular tend to load a lot of extra bits of software not all of which work well.
Posted by: Martin | January 01, 2008 at 05:43 PM
I agree. When it comes to wireless connectivity, OS X beats XP hands down. It's just so stunningly simple. I wouldn't know about Vista since I have yet to try it.
By the way, here's an idea for as future blog entry: how do you think Apple might have looked today if it had bought the BeOS instead of NextStep?
Posted by: Ruhayat | January 02, 2008 at 07:54 AM
It's interesting to think about what OS X would like if Apple had been serious about using NextStep and weeding out the old world hold-over stuff. :)
Posted by: SL | January 22, 2008 at 04:38 PM
I'm having the opposite experience. I have an old HP3650, unsupported over Airport Express. Nevertheless, I do have it hooked up to an Airport Express, and can print to it flawlessly and wirelessly from every Windows XP machine in my house - including Windows XP Home running in a Parallels session in Tiger on my Mac mini.
Alas, Tiger itself is completely incapable of printing to this printer from the mini. It bugs me that it's Redmond, not Cupertino, that can let my Mac talk to the HP over Apple hardware.
Posted by: DB Cooper | January 24, 2008 at 08:20 PM
Apple is not without its pitfalls.
My best one was when I installed Tiger on my Dual G5. Apple's Mail app stopped working. I could get mail but not send it. Apple system engineers were of no help.
The ultimate insult was that Entourage worked. I could send and receive mail using Entourage. Finally Tiger Cache Cleaner saved my rear.
I did have a battle last night. I thought I had my HP Printer working fine, but I had not tried printing to the photo tray.
It took me about 45 minutes of fooling with settings to make it work correctly from my Mac. I'm still not sure I know what I did.
Posted by: ocracokewaves | January 24, 2008 at 10:39 PM