Thus it was written in the epistle of Ken Alverson,
> It allows them to make a cheaper printer by not needing nearly as much
> circuitry inside of it.  By making a cheaper computer, they are gaining
> customers who for the most part want cheaper printers.  Customers happy,
> prices reduced, that's called good business.  If you are a customer who
> doesn't want a brainless printer then buy one, don't make up a conspiracy
> about the people selling the other kind.  That's like saying I don't want a
> Saturn, I'd rather have a VW.  What should I do?  Buy the VW or tell people
> outside the Saturn lot that the cars are full of poisonous lead and haven't
> been approved by the inspectors?
>
> Ken
>
> >: Who are you kidding ... HP is part of the Microsoft cartell.
> >: Did you know that HP devices are designed in a way such that they only
> work
> >: for Windows? I was seriously considering buying an officejet for myself,
> when I
> >: learned that it wouldn't work with Linux and never will, and not with any
> >: other operating system.
>

Ken,
  Truly said.  Moreover, I don't buy the conclusion.  I would like someone to
explain to me how it is *possible* to create a printer which will only work
with Windows.  As far as I'm concerned, that can't be a design issue--it has
to be a documentation issue.  Any printer takes bits.  It doesn't care where
they come from, it doesn't care who created them.  If I send it the right
bits from Linux, the information coming down the wire will be absolutely
indistinguishable from stuff sent from Windows.  The only way I know of to
create a "Windows only" printer is to build the printer and then release the
specs only to Micro$oft.
  So my answer is--if this officejet issue really bothers you, buy one.  Hack
the bits.  Figure out what's going on and then write code to make Linux send
the right info at the right time.  Post it in prominent places on the Net and
enjoy the excitement.

Ted
--
Ted Ashton ([log in to unmask]), Info Serv, Southern Adventist University
          ==========================================================
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the
source of all true art and science.
                                        -- Einstein, Albert (1879-1955)