On Thu, Oct 20, 2011 at 00:59, Mark LaPierre <marklapier@xxxxxxx> wrote: > Samsung has a unified driver for Linux on their web site. I've used it > for several years with my ML-1740 and many different Fedora releases. I´m not very happy to use binary-only drivers, because at some point they might choose to discontinue them, or those binary drivers might have dependencies that later cannot be fulfilled (say require an older glibc version, older version of CUPS than present in future linux version, etc etc). I´m more saddened about the lack of understanding by consumers in general over the use of more or less OPEN STANDARDS, which in the world of printing is PCL and PostScript. Get a printer with PCL or postscript and any OS, from 8-bit Geos to AmigaOS to ancient Unixes to modern Linux, can work with it. Yet, all that normal users seems to care about is that a given device "has Linux drivers". Well, propietary Linux drivers with closed protocols and languages are not very good either. The device will become a paperweight as soon as the manufacturer decides to kill it by not issuing any more linux driver updates. Samung lasers use Samsung´s propietary SPL (Samsung Page description Language). So there´s no PCL, at all... and yes,Microsoft was behind SPL... oh the surprise (not!). ----------- "SPL - Samsung Printer Language Microsoft and Samsung developed the Samsung Printer Language (SPL). This enabled the windows GDI language to be converted into bitmap while printing. The advantage here helped prevent heavy dependence on the PC memory and processor. The image is rendered during printing process, which greatly reduces the amount of processing power required from the PC." ----------- http://new.undocprint.org/formats/page_description_languages/spl But wait, there´s more: there´s "SPL2" in addition to "SPL". "QPDL - Quick Page Description Language. Also known as Samsung SPL2. Is used by Samsung, Xerox and others" SPL2 aka QPDL (Quick Page Description Language). http://ufpr.dl.sourceforge.net/project/splix/doc/1.0/specs-en.pdf I wonder what was so wrong with PCL and postscript that manufacturers keep re-inventing the wheel?. I don´t see a movement by consumers to clearly ask printer manufacturers to identify the standards used on the box. Is there one?. This sounds like the kind of effort where the FSF should be involved. FC -- "The purpose of computing is insight, not numbers." Richard Hamming - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamming_code -- users mailing list users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
