Linked by Thom Holwerda on Thu 27th Sep 2007 15:06 UTC, submitted by scott
In a move that's sure to be welcomed by customers of both parties, HP is reported to be working with Apple to allow users of Mac OS X Leopard to instantly receive the the latest versions of HP's printer drivers over Leopard's built-in Software Update mechanism. In seeding Leopard build 9A559 to its developer community last week, Apple listed only two known issues with the software, one of which instructed testers with HP printers connected to their system to perform a custom install of the next-gen operating system and de-select the HP printer drivers in the installer. "The HP printer drivers will be delivered post-install via Software Update", the company told testers. 
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Member since:2005-07-06
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PostScript
while the source may be questionable, it seems that postscript has a bit of license cost attached to it.
and its one complex language to by the looks of it.
in comparison, it seems that what most in-house drivers do is take the data, turn it all into a kind of image, and send said image data to the printer.
Member since:2005-07-06
There is an alternative being promoted by Microsoft - XPS; Xerox has already signed up to it. XPS, unlike OOXML, isn't an unmitigated disaster when it comes to documenting the format and better still the licence is open and shut - its free for anyone to implement at not cost.
Member since:
2005-07-06
if you can do lock-in, you do lock-in, that seems to be the mantra for every industry as far back as the industrial revolution. only when customers, be them other industries that need their parts, or end users, rise up and cry for standards, will they show up. and then only for that single industry.
yes, its a practice thats officially frowned upon by economists as they are monopolistic. but as its a cheap, and effective, way to increase income, it will be done for the foreseeable future...
hell, just like printer brands talk about the need to use same brand ink and similar parts, car brands tells you to use their own car parts. and its a much older industry. but i dont think they ever had, or tried to misuse, a law like the DMCA... [/q]
There is a slight problem with that conclusion; these printer companies gain nothing out of using non-standard protocols; I can understand the ink thing - sell the printer at a loss and make up for it via ink. They gain nothing using proproprietary protocols and raise the cost of producing these printers.
Rather than just using the 'standard' they have to employ programmers to write drivers, then test them etc. etc. What is easier; one hand you have all the bureaucracy and on the other hand, printers being made and all the software already pre-provided on the plaform?