3 ms·

Driverless printing has been "the future" for over a decade now (I remember hearing much about it back in 2006 or so), and a concept for two decades. Microsoft

by taborj 7y ago

Driverless printing has been "the future" for over a decade now (I remember hearing much about it back in 2006 or so), and a concept for two decades. Microsoft first filed the patent back in 1999 [0]. The only thing that's changed is the patent is now expired (as near as I can tell), thus opening the door a bit wider for adoption. But, as with many things, "I'll believe it when I see it." [0] https://patents.google.com/patent/US6952831B1/en https://patents.google.com/patent/US6952831B1/en

pixl97 7y ago
Otherwise known as "why dont my pdf's print right, and why cant I select tray 3?"
dTal 7y ago
Ridiculous that a patent for such a thing should ever have been granted. "Driver" is merely the word we use for "protocol", when the protocol is ad-hoc, non-standard, or badly documented.
- kube-system 7y ago
  On what grounds should that patent not have been granted? Seems like a pretty normal patent to me. Technology doesn't have to be likable, a good design, or even functional to be patented.
  - pawelmurias 7y ago
    On the grounds that laws allowing such patents shouldn't exist.
wlesieutre 7y ago
AirPrint on iOS and macOS does this, no? Not sure if anyone has cloned that in a Windows utility, but a lot of printers support it.
- criddell 7y ago
  Is that driverless or a universal driver? Maybe the distinction doesn't matter...
- amluto 7y ago
  Chrome OS supports “native” printing. I think it’s more or less interoperable with AirPrint. The problem would be mostly solved if Windows added native support and added a giant warning when anyone tries to install a printer driver saying that it’s a terrible idea.
mrighele 7y ago
Isn't "driverless printing" essentially a standard printing protocol + a way to describe the printers capabilities ? If so I would say that driverless printing has been a thing since Postscript was invented (early 80s, if I am not mistaken)?

by taborj 7y ago

pixl97 7y ago

Otherwise known as "why dont my pdf's print right, and why cant I select tray 3?"

dTal 7y ago

Ridiculous that a patent for such a thing should ever have been granted. "Driver" is merely the word we use for "protocol", when the protocol is ad-hoc, non-standard, or badly documented.

kube-system 7y ago
On what grounds should that patent not have been granted? Seems like a pretty normal patent to me. Technology doesn't have to be likable, a good design, or even functional to be patented.
- pawelmurias 7y ago
  On the grounds that laws allowing such patents shouldn't exist.

wlesieutre 7y ago

AirPrint on iOS and macOS does this, no? Not sure if anyone has cloned that in a Windows utility, but a lot of printers support it.

criddell 7y ago
Is that driverless or a universal driver? Maybe the distinction doesn't matter...
amluto 7y ago
Chrome OS supports “native” printing. I think it’s more or less interoperable with AirPrint. The problem would be mostly solved if Windows added native support and added a giant warning when anyone tries to install a printer driver saying that it’s a terrible idea.

mrighele 7y ago

Isn't "driverless printing" essentially a standard printing protocol + a way to describe the printers capabilities ? If so I would say that driverless printing has been a thing since Postscript was invented (early 80s, if I am not mistaken)?