4 ms·

This is one way to look at it. Here's another: I have Ubuntu on a couple of machines at home and still can't get them to talk to my Brother MFC-685CW printer.

by arbuge 13y ago

This is one way to look at it. Here's another: I have Ubuntu on a couple of machines at home and still can't get them to talk to my Brother MFC-685CW printer. I'm a PhD in EECS.

eliben 13y ago
That's a sad reality in hardware that's not standards compliant, so only specific tuned-for-Windows/OSX drivers work. FWIW, there are decent drivers for HP OfficeJet wireless printers, and printing "just works" from Ubuntu.
hobs 13y ago
Here's another: old people are smarter than PHDs. (tongue in cheek)
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- _random_ 13y ago
  It means I have seen people who were smarter than themselves :).
sandyarmstrong 13y ago
In my experience, printer compatibility is worse in Windows 8 than in Linux. I've seen lots of common budget laser printers stop being supported in Vista, 7, and 8. Linux has plenty of compatibility problems (scanners are especially bad, imho), but printing is not typically one of them.
codys 13y ago
Well, hassle Brother to release some Free printer drivers. They are one of the last major holdouts.
- skittles 13y ago
  Brother has deb and rpm packages for that printer.
  - nandhp 13y ago
    And source code for the scanner driver and CUPS-FAX wrapper.
jdefr89 13y ago
Another way to look at it is.. So is my professor and he can't tell the difference between when he is on Windows or on a UNIX machine.. :-\
- _random_ 13y ago
  He teaches OS design, right? :P
ilyanep 13y ago
In my experience, PhDs in EECS are actually worse at day-to-day computer operation than many other people (Source: All my profs who couldn't get their laptops connected to projectors) :P But yeah, your point is valid. I just couldn't resist the urge to poke a little fun.
fit2rule 13y ago
Thats not your fault, its Brothers. Not all printers are going to work in Linux, simply because most printer manufacturers only support Windows.
- _random_ 13y ago
  It's not Brothers fault. Consumer demand decides what gets supported. Don't they typically support MacOS as well?
  - fit2rule 13y ago
    Actually, I've since learned that Brother does indeed support that printer in Linux, and has published .deb and .rpm's for their users. So, I guess its really more that the OP doesn't know what they're doing ..
VMG 13y ago
Printers and scanners are the zit on the face of the modern linux desktop.
- jebblue 13y ago
  Your comment should be downvoted for trolling.

by arbuge 13y ago

This is one way to look at it. Here's another: I have Ubuntu on a couple of machines at home and still can't get them to talk to my Brother MFC-685CW printer. I'm a PhD in EECS.

eliben 13y ago

That's a sad reality in hardware that's not standards compliant, so only specific tuned-for-Windows/OSX drivers work. FWIW, there are decent drivers for HP OfficeJet wireless printers, and printing "just works" from Ubuntu.

hobs 13y ago

Here's another: old people are smarter than PHDs. (tongue in cheek)

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
_random_ 13y ago
It means I have seen people who were smarter than themselves :).

sandyarmstrong 13y ago

In my experience, printer compatibility is worse in Windows 8 than in Linux. I've seen lots of common budget laser printers stop being supported in Vista, 7, and 8. Linux has plenty of compatibility problems (scanners are especially bad, imho), but printing is not typically one of them.

codys 13y ago

Well, hassle Brother to release some Free printer drivers. They are one of the last major holdouts.

skittles 13y ago
Brother has deb and rpm packages for that printer.
- nandhp 13y ago
  And source code for the scanner driver and CUPS-FAX wrapper.

jdefr89 13y ago

Another way to look at it is.. So is my professor and he can't tell the difference between when he is on Windows or on a UNIX machine.. :-\

_random_ 13y ago
He teaches OS design, right? :P

ilyanep 13y ago

In my experience, PhDs in EECS are actually worse at day-to-day computer operation than many other people (Source: All my profs who couldn't get their laptops connected to projectors) :P But yeah, your point is valid. I just couldn't resist the urge to poke a little fun.

fit2rule 13y ago

Thats not your fault, its Brothers. Not all printers are going to work in Linux, simply because most printer manufacturers only support Windows.

_random_ 13y ago
It's not Brothers fault. Consumer demand decides what gets supported. Don't they typically support MacOS as well?
- fit2rule 13y ago
  Actually, I've since learned that Brother does indeed support that printer in Linux, and has published .deb and .rpm's for their users. So, I guess its really more that the OP doesn't know what they're doing ..

VMG 13y ago

Printers and scanners are the zit on the face of the modern linux desktop.

jebblue 13y ago
Your comment should be downvoted for trolling.