Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Linux is still not ready for the show

  1. When I tried to set up a printer on the Linux operating system that I'd recently installed on my laptop, the print service (CUPS) would display the message "Starting Printing" and then die silently.
    A bit of Google research showed that, somehow, I'd installed a stackless version of the Python language and it had become the default version. The print service, which relies on Python, tried to use the stackless version and failed. The solution is, of course, to rename the stackless version of Python so that the regular version is the default version and all is happiness in the kingdom. It just needed the following command:

    sudo mv  /usr/local/bin/python  /usr/local/bin/spython

    3. After fiddling with Windows Printing via SAMBA, the service needed to connect to a printer that's connected to a Windows system, I learned that there are no supported Linux print drivers for our printer. One forum writer called the printer a 'paperweight'. I might be able to get the printer to work in an emulator, but I've had enough fun for this morning.
I must also note that printer vendors, including Dell, Canon, and Epson, don't provide Linux print drivers, at least for the home office printers that I've checked. There's a circular problem here - few Linux systems in the home office, so no printer offerings, meaning that there will be few Linux systems in the home office.
Posted by Karl Hakkarainen at 7:54 AM

2 comments:

kozmcrae said...

In general, more printers work with Linux than not. Lexmark is doing all that it can to make Linux a failure. I don't think it's possible to get a Lexmark printer working in Linux. On the opposite end is HP. They work with Linux just fine. I've had good luck with Samsung too. The major difference with using Linux is that you have to do your homework. People are spoiled with the Microsoft monopoly. If you compare the number of devices that do work with Linux to its meager desktop penetration, it's truly amazing.

4:43 PM
Karl Hakkarainen said...

Good points. It's particularly encouraging about HP.
What's discouraging, however, and what helps to keep Linux as a niche desktop player, is that I can't get a printer that I already own to work with Linux. My case, I suspect, is common - I switched an aging laptop to Linux and now want to use it in my current configuration.
Also, Consumer Reports rated several Canon printers as their best picks for a home-office. None, apparently, support Linux.

3:56 AM

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