I just saw a computer do the craziest thing...

[cheapie]

I have a computer off in the corner running Ubuntu Server with an old dot matrix printer plugged into it. Recently, I had to set up printing from another computer running Windows to that printer. Setting that up was essentially a half-hour struggle. Then, I had to set it up to print from Linux Mint. I went into the printer settings, only to find that it had somehow set itself up. It even gave me full access to the settings of the printer itself (Resolution, etc.), which Windows didn't (because I had to tell Windows that it was a LaserJet. Linux picked it up as a "Remote Printer").

[goontron]

Re: I just saw a computer do the craziest thing...

did you know macs displays print servers as an old CRT monitor with a Bsod.. lol

[JoeyJoe]

Re: I just saw a computer do the craziest thing...

It had already scanned the local network for printers by the looks of it. Then either it already had the driver, or it downloaded from the net itself.

I've seen it before.

[tom66]

Re: I just saw a computer do the craziest thing...

I've always found Linux printing to be a breeze. Literally plug the printer in and in 99.8% of cases it installs it in 5 seconds. The other 0.2% are a nightmare though.

[Mrx3750]

Re: I just saw a computer do the craziest thing...

Linux usually has a vast catalog of drivers, and a lot of distros have been made to be as easy to setup as possible. This is to aid people new to the OS, who are used to Windows. The less they need to set up, the more friendly linux seems.

[cheapie]

Re: I just saw a computer do the craziest thing...

did you know macs displays print servers as an old CRT monitor with a Bsod.. lol

I think they do that for any Windows computer.

Then either it already had the driver, or it downloaded from the net itself.

It didn't even need a driver - it was doing something similar to paravirtualization, which it was able to do because the server was running another instance of CUPS.

Linux usually has a vast catalog of drivers, and a lot of distros have been made to be as easy to setup as possible. This is to aid people new to the OS, who are used to Windows. The less they need to set up, the more friendly linux seems.

It was quite surprising when I booted from the liveCD to find that my UPS was detected right away (and as a UPS, not as a battery like in WIndows). My Bluetooth adapter (with a Broadcom(!) chip in it) also worked right away. The only things that didn't "just work" were 3D acceleration and HDMI audio output, both of which were fixed by the installation of fglrx.

[Time2Retire]

Re: I just saw a computer do the craziest thing...

In Linux you can manage your printers from a browser page. This is how I always do it:

http://localhost:631/

If you use the IP address of the computer, you can do it remotely too.

[cheapie]

Re: I just saw a computer do the craziest thing...

In Linux you can manage your printers from a browser page. This is how I always do it:

http://localhost:631/

If you use the IP address of the computer, you can do it remotely too.

That's how I manage them on the print server, because it doesn't have X installed.

[Uniballer]

Re: I just saw a computer do the craziest thing...

I like how easy Ubuntu Linux printer setup has become, too.

When I saw the title, though, I tried to picture what would be truly crazy. I had an image of a computer dragging itself to the bathtub by the power cord and going for a swim

[lti]

Re: I just saw a computer do the craziest thing...

When I saw the title, though, I tried to picture what would be truly crazy. I had an image of a computer dragging itself to the bathtub by the power cord and going for a swim

I was expecting the kind of weird stuff my computer does.