Squeeze knows usb, shame about hp runtime
We have a rather crap hp laser printer, it never worked well with lenny, and in squeeze (which are debian distros) it seems to have got over some of the more weird usb messages it previously generated by the device,
The printer got its reputation as a madam as it could only work only with a reboot of the computer (thats with a newer hplip complied by scratch) seems to have been fixed in Squeeze.
Squeeze came to be installed and the printer also needed redoing after a disastrous upgrade, it told us that i needed to use hp-setup (like i did not know) and so did. I was informed i needed runtime from hp (drm) as expected again to get madam to work. So hp-setup -i is started and ….
The site with the driver on is down. Printer is a useless box again – the crowd roars with laughter at the comic antics, Thanks HP. Its not the software (hplip) but a .run file. Clearly buying any new hp printer with drm to start with is clearly useless at present (hp shareholders be aware that ink\toner sales are down).
Perhaps the ex sap ceo of hp was right when he suggested they become a government software house, You know printers that cant work, and Microsoft windows product pimpage only is no way to make a profit*.
After a month of sitting on desk doing bugger all, i look again in detail, yes theres the drm crap is available elsewhere but its the wrong version we have 3.6, there version is 3.10, yes that means it don’t work and one has to recompile hplip. Come on its humorous now.
I decide to do it, and download the 3.10 with the compatible runtime, and start the complier which then complains i dont have gcc installed, (i do have it) and i guess another month of this rather crap printer doing nothing and i decide to give it rest. Fortunately its not our only printer and i think our last hp laser printer, so if anybody in hp is reading this perhaps completing with sap is the best course.
To upgrade to the next version of hplip might mean no run files, so its a zero sum game.
The danger for hp shareholders is that the reputation of the tools and the hardware goes down in everybodies estimation. I might serve windows users with this driver too. This also affects ink /toner sales, no usage no refills and no money for hp or its shareholders this year.
Its becoming funny, and when things like printers and large businesses become jokes then things become dangerous for them.
In november after a months holiday/vacation on the desk (a printer stayation?) the drm driver finally works, only locally since i then have to adjust a client elsewhere on our network to use the foomatic print device.. More of make work thing than convenient.
To finish that joke: what is a4 sized and does not work ? a hp laser printer.
