Proof Positive
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| jimf Apr 26, 2007 10:32 AM EDT |
If this guy can do it, 'anyone' can. Positive proof 'it's so easy a....' ;-) |
| tuxchick Apr 26, 2007 10:55 AM EDT |
Heh, this is a great article. Refreshingly free of empty rants and 'why doesn't it brew my coffee just the way I like'- type diatribes. His adventures with setting a default printer struck a chord- he just kept trying stuff until he got it. I've made cross-platform printing with CUPS something of a specialty, and the dommed thing STILL drives me up a wall on occasion. Though it's worth pointing out that printing on Windows is worse. Yes, you still get drivers with more features on a lot of printers, but installing and configuring them, and setting up network printing, is enough to drive anyone to drink. |
| bigg Apr 26, 2007 11:17 AM EDT |
> you still get drivers with more features on a lot of printers, but installing and configuring them Unless, of course, you happen to be using Vista. Still waiting for a driver so my wife can print. The only way to print from her laptop is to save the file, maybe as pdf, reboot into Linux, and print from there. And the recent Mepis and Ubuntu releases automatically detect and install the printer the first time it's plugged in. |
| Steven_Rosenber Apr 26, 2007 11:50 AM EDT |
I wasn't at all prepared for Debian to be so "mature" and complete as a desktop install. Even today in Distrowatch, I read the line, "if you're advanced in Linux, you can run Debian." I don't see how, as a desktop install, it's any harder than Ubuntu. True, I haven't tried to configure a wireless networking card, but for everything else so far, it's like buttah. I've only been running Linux, in various incarnations, for four months, and while Debian is justifiably a big deal, at this point I think a Linux beginner can do as well with it as they can with Ubuntu. True, it's not a live CD (that's what Ubuntu and Mepis do so well), but the network install was so easy and trouble-free, I really recommend you try it. All the GNOME utilities are there to make configuration easy, and there's even Synaptic. What made me look to Debian was running Xubuntu, and with the vast repositories of Ubuntu, discovering that my favorite image-editing program, mtPaint is NOT anywhere to be found in the Ubuntu universes. So once I downloaded and installed a Debian package, I figured I could just go straight to Debian. So far I'm glad I did. Maybe previous incarnations of Debian haven't been so desktop friendly, but the people who put together 4.0 really know what they are doing. And it won't kill me not to be contemplating a major upgrade every six months. |
| tuxchick Apr 26, 2007 12:03 PM EDT |
"it won't kill me not to be contemplating a major upgrade every six months." Ubuntu broke what I think is Debian's best feature, which is unlimited, reliable upgradeability. I have a couple of debian boxes that have been dist-upgraded several times over the years without ever performaing a reinstallation, and I know I'm not the only one. Trying to do that with any of the buntus is a crapshoot- it might work, or more likely it won't. Ubuntu has a lot of other things going for it, so it's not necessarily a showstopper. But I still prefer Real Debian. :) |
| richo123 Apr 26, 2007 12:11 PM EDT |
> And it won't kill me not to be contemplating a major upgrade every six months. Haha good luck with that resolution! Still with the unstable branch judiciously used you can maybe have your cake and eat it too..... |
| bigg Apr 26, 2007 12:22 PM EDT |
> True, I haven't tried to configure a wireless networking card, but for everything else so far, it's like buttah. Once the driver is installed (pretty easy for most cards, I've done it for three) the network manager will take over, you choose your network, and it connects if it is unprotected or asks for your password if you use WPA. |
| devnet Apr 26, 2007 12:23 PM EDT |
TC, Ubuntu is real Debain Dangit!! *sits in the corner* :) |
| jimf Apr 26, 2007 12:31 PM EDT |
@TC, I've apparently had much less problems with printing in deb based Linux than you have. Between the KDE utility and Cups, I always get the printer(s) to work, although, it sometimes seems like a very dark art. Perhaps it's also because IMO the KDE print utility has (arguably) always been an easier way to do it? I do find the fact that it's easier to get a windows (lpt) printer to work from Linux than it is to make one work on another Linux box both ironic and disheartening. That's an area that really needs work. I have my old brother 630 laser sitting on my old PII W2K. It's always available, even when the local printer(s) won't even turn over. If usb printers would work that way, I'd probably just use the darned thing as a print server. |
| dek Apr 26, 2007 12:48 PM EDT |
TC: Ubuntu broke what I think is Debian's best feature, which is unlimited, reliable upgradeability. Finally you say something about the buntu's I agree with wholeheartedly. I do not like to reinstall every 6 months, yet *buntu's don't provide an easy upgrade path via CD. In my way of thinking, there should be a system check on a live cd that checks if one can upgrade and -- if one can -- presents that as an option. We have a lot of technically astute people who could figure out how this could be done so why hasn't it? I have upgraded Ubuntu from Dapper to Edgy via the Web so I know it can be done. I'd like to see this feature on a live CD though. Don K. |
| jimf Apr 26, 2007 12:56 PM EDT |
> Haha good luck with that resolution! I always said that too, and believe me, I can and do break 'everything'. But, since using Debian I'm finding that I can and do repair things rather than just doing a reinstall, I also see much better QC in testing and even unstable than I ever did in other deb based Distros, so, I'm breaking fewer things. Part of that is that Debian has gotten better, and, I'm sure that part is I've gotten more knowledgeable, but whatever, it just works for me. I'm not looking to reinstall anytime in the foreseeable future. > *sits in the corner* As well you should :D |
| dcparris Apr 26, 2007 2:30 PM EDT |
TC: I'm with you on the Windows printing. That's one thing that has always left me wondering how MS ever got pas the reception desk in any office. CUPS is not intuitive, but even it's simpler than installing a local Windows printer. I and many a technically adept person I know have spent days and even weeks trying to get "plug-n-play" printers to work with Windows. Those same printers seem to magically "just work" with Linux. |
| Steven_Rosenber Apr 26, 2007 2:39 PM EDT |
Try getting a printer to work with Mac OS X ... it's often no better than Windows. For my cheapo HP Laserjet, I was still hunting for drivers. The HP site didn't help me. The only place that did: the comments from users of the printer on Amazon.com. Can you imagine, tech support from Amazon? |
| helios Apr 26, 2007 3:32 PM EDT |
Still with the unstable branch judiciously used you can maybe have your cake and eat it too..... And isn't it the sinful moment...that time when you eye the unchecked repository in the synaptic listing. Yes, checking that little box will taint your virgin white system with the stain of wanton desire and the complete lack of discipline...but oh how you yearn for that delicious temptation. How you burn to cross over into the forbidden pleasures of restricted non-free places. Damned your past dalliance...had you not tasted the ability and unbridled power of what this iniquitous place beckons you... Yes, you are weak, small beads of sweat form on your upper lip as your hand caresses the mouse, coming closer and closer to being fulfilled. It's like you are no longer in control, someone inside you screams for you to stop, to think of those who trust in you, those who count on you but its too late for that and you are overtaken by the complete lust for that you cannot and should not have, the mouse hovers, the finger twitches a hearbeat away from its impious rendezvous with breathless pleasure...... Why do I always have this overpowering desire to smoke right after I install gtk-gnutella...? Haunting addiction that. h |
| Abe Apr 26, 2007 3:46 PM EDT |
Quoting:I and many a technically adept person I know have spent days and even weeks trying to get "plug-n-play" printers to work with Windows. Those same printers seem to magically "just work" with Linux. I have an HP LaserJet 4 ML printer connected on my home network via a Lantronix box. Never had a problem configuring it via lpr on Linux. It only takes couple minutes. Using lpr on XP, which I have to keep to use at work, It never worked. Talking about problems, see for yourselves by visiting these links At Cornell, you need to use this software http://www.cit.cornell.edu/net-print/installwinxp.html Check this forum http://www.hftonline.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4140 Go here to see how what a novice have to go through to troubleshoot this issue. http://www.asante.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1512 And they keep saying Linux is difficult and Windows is user friendly. |
| jdixon Apr 26, 2007 5:01 PM EDT |
Well, being the local Slackware user, the only gripe I have with the article is this: > Slackware looks way too hard to figure out... You really should try a Slackware install before saying that. Don't expect everything to work out of the box the way it did with Debian, but at least give it a try. |
| tuxchick Apr 26, 2007 5:08 PM EDT |
" have an HP LaserJet 4 ML printer connected on my home network via a Lantronix box. Never had a problem configuring it via lpr on Linux." That thing is so old it's hard-coded into the kernel! ;) |
| jimf Apr 26, 2007 5:40 PM EDT |
@helios, Aww... Enough with the drama, just go for it Dude ;-) |
| helios Apr 26, 2007 6:52 PM EDT |
LOL...I am so already long ago tainted, h |
| Steven_Rosenber Apr 26, 2007 8:55 PM EDT |
I love Slax, I like pants, I even like ZenWalk. ... can pure, unadulterated Slackware be that far behind? If only I could figure out how to make the CD(s) to install it. |
| jimf Apr 26, 2007 9:36 PM EDT |
> can pure, unadulterated Slackware be that far behind? It's an aquired taste... Kinda like eating worms. Personally, I'll pass. |
| jdixon Apr 27, 2007 3:26 AM EDT |
> ...can pure, unadulterated Slackware be that far behind? That depends on your definition of behind. :) As far as everything working out of the box goes, yes. As far as speed, stability, and simplicity go; no. Slackware doesn't assume you need you hand held when you configure your system. > If only I could figure out how to make the CD(s) to install it. Do you already have the CD iso's for Slackware 11? If so, just burn install-d1, install-d2, and install-d3. Prepare your installation partitions, set your machine to boot from the CD, insert install-d1, and reboot. The installer will walk you through everything else. To make things simple, just select everything and tell it to do a full install. It should take between 3-4 GB. The Slackware installer still uses lilo. So if you're already set up for grub, you'll want to manually configure grub to boot Slackware rather than installing the boot loader during the install process. If you don't already have the iso's, start here: http://www.slackware.com/getslack/ The directory you'll want is slackware-11.0-iso. Not all of the mirrors seem to have the iso's, so you may have to try multiple mirrors. If you can burn DVD's, get the DVD iso, which has everything on it. Otherwise, get the three CD iso's mentioned above. Added: Of course, since Slackware-11 still installs a 2.4 kernel by default, you may want to wait till the next version comes out. It's supposed to use a 2.6 kernel. Installing a 2.6 kernel in Slackware-11 isn't difficult, but it's an extra couple of steps. |
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