Re: [hpoj-devel] Is ANYBODY there? (was: i/o error)

[Joe P. <joe...@sn...>]

On Tuesday 30 November 2004 12:03, bbales wrote:

<...>

> I also have a PSC1210.  After several months fighting it, I found a small
> note on the hpoj site that the PSC1210 won't print and scan at the same
> time with hpoj-0.91.  They say you need to load the CVS version.

We all really hope that HP is continuing development, as Cory has told us 
here. Other than his statements however, I have seen no evidence they are 
actually doing that.

There don't seem to have been any updates to the code in CVS for at least 12 
months. hpoj-0.91 was packaged from whatever code was in CVS after the last 
update, so 0.91 *is* the latest CVS. Unfortunately, the hpoj project, at 
least as it used to be, shows all the signs of being dead. Someone from HP 
does still visit the gravesite, though.

>
> So I spent three hours trying to get
> cvs -d:pserver:ano...@cv...:/cvsroot/hpoj co hpoj
> to work.  Never get a prompt back and it eventually times out.
> cvs -d:pserver:ano...@cv...:/cvsroot/hpoj login
> asks for a password, but never get prompt back after newline.

The CVS server isn't responding for me either right now. It's probably just a 
temporary problem.


> My previous post (Nov.24) was never answered.

The former head of the hpoj project spent a lot of time helping those who 
wrote to the list with problems. Though David worked at HP, he was forced to 
work on hpoj almost entirely on his own time. He was given access to HP 
internal information that would have been difficult to impossible for 
outsiders to acquire, but the company itself does not appear to me to have 
spent much time or money on this project. It seemed to be a case of "Let it 
happen, but don't *make* it happen."


> This just isn't any way to get Linux onto the desktop. 

HP gained both good will in the community and the profits from printer sales 
to Linux users, but the company may now feel that since it already has those, 
it doesn't need to invest more. I hope that's not the case.

Most of us can see that HP is heavily dependant on maintaining a good business 
relationship with microsoft. We know that MS does not want Linux to be widely 
used on desktop computers. MS's past behavior, coupled with meaningless 
antitrust enforcement, suggests that we can expect MS to be applying pressure 
on HP to force them not to assist Linux.


> I'll bet it will be 
> easier to switch my wife to windows than to get her printer working.

I share your disappointment with HP, but I would still consider getting 
another HP printer, though a more linux-compatible one, if only because HP's 
meager Linux support is better than its competitors'.

A newly introduced HP model that seems to print and scan well with Linux is 
the Photosmart PSC 2610v (currently available for just under $300 US at 
walmart). I bought one of these recently. It's connected directly to my home 
network through its ethernet port. I used 'ptal-init setup' to configure it 
as a jet direct device, and redhat-config-printer (on Fedora Core 1) to set 
up the queue. It works pretty well over my wired/wireless LAN.

Actually, I'm more pleased with how this printer works with Linux than with 
winxp, which it's supposed to be designed for. I'm having problems with HP's 
driver software on our wireless winxp ThinkPad, and haven't found a 
convenient way to use the printer with win95.

-- 
Joe Piolunek