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

[James B. H. <jh...@vi...>]

Hi.

I know the fact that I'm not throwing my hand in to help debug the
problem in detail may not be of much use, but let me try to give
a somewhat-hopeful response.

> If I had known that, I would not have spent hundreds of dollars on my
> now-useless 6110.

This is the main point I haven't had time to address.  From what you've
said, I'm intuitively certain that the problems you're having have nothing
to do with hpoj.  Here is my evidence:

a.  Historically, printing (anything, on anything) is one of the hardest
things for most people to set up correctly under linux.

b.  Depending on how you set up the pipeline, there can be anywhere from
2 to 5, maybe 6 separate pieces of software that have to be configured
correctly, with a variety of settings to be checked and glued together
in your particular context.

c.  I have had a 7130 since March.  Every function on it that hpoj IS
intended to support works just fine (and those functionalities that it
never got to are well-documented in list traffic in a number places;
things like copy control from the computer; fax control from the
computer; and a number display- and computer-based setting functions).

d.  The 6110 is in the same family as the 7130.

e.  It took me about 15 minutes to get my 7130 completely functional,
after having a setup for a 1998-vintage OJ 1170C (no card reader, no
fax).  Everything works fine, and has been working fine.

f.  Believe you'd said that your 6110 once was working, and then
wasn't; and that you'd gone through about 3 Debian versions since
then.

As above, I'm sorry (truly) that I just haven't had the time to help
you set up your configuration.  But I'm certain that that's where
the issue lies.  Please don't beat on HP for that - the issue comes
from the reliance, as you indicated earlier, on packaged versions of
stuff.  If one doesn't go past the packaging and expects stuff to
just work, one will surely be disappointed.  (This is a big reason
why I never mess with distributions - just get stuff, understand what
it does, build it myself, set it the way I want it, and go).

With linux, you get visibility and flexibility, as a trade to "everything
works out of the box."  The community is trying hard to provide "out of the
box", but there are extremes that can't (and probably shouldn't) be
reconciled.

NOTE:  I just put XP on my wife's machine, and I can't get a serial mouse
to work.  How lame is that?

> > 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'.
> 
> Please somebody tell me that this isn't true.

If you've only recently driven into linux, then you'll unfortunately have
your eyes opened to this soon.  HP support, via hpoj, hpinkjet, and
other venues, is far and away better than most hardware companies'.

I've been using linux more or less exclusively for 11 years, and this
has been clear since day 1.  This is why there's a Hardware-HOWTO.
Hardware compatibility (more correctly, the presence of drivers for
one's particular set of toys) is always the key, and one must always
dig into the pedigree of "linux support" before making a purchase to
ensure a successful purchase.

11 years ago, no company ever avowed "linux support".  Now a lot do, but
only as an advertising buzzword.  The knowledgable consumer has to work
past this and trust, but verify.

OT, but case in point:  just bought a cable modem (Zoom 5001, PCI).  Right
on the slick sheet:  "Linux Drivers!"  Yeah, ok.  So I see that, buy the
modem, plug it in.  Driver won't compile.  After two days of google, I
came across 3 message threads that, when taken together (but not directly)
lead me to conclude that the modem IS supported by a Conexant driver already
built into the kernel (same chipset).  I simply turn on that driver in
the kernel, and BOOM - bits fly!  I report back to Zoom what I found, and
say "gee, you'd help out many a newbie, and probably generate sales, by
getting rid of your old driver on the site and just saying 'for linux,
turn on option X in the kernel".

Sent this to 3 company offices - no reply.  This should have been a
no-brainer.

So while Zoom confuses, and wasted two days of my time, at least with HP
there are SIGNIFICANT resources devoted.

Also, like I said earlier - I don't think your original post ever made it
to the list (and you said as much in later email to me off-list), so you got
a long lag in getting an answer, since no one saw it back then.

regards,
jbh