Printing Options
I have a fully functional, high-quality monochrome laser printer. There is nothing wrong with it, except that it needs a parallel connector and none of my computers have one. (None of the computers still running, at any rate.) To print I have to borrow Jeremy's work laptop and copy the access the files over the network disc, etc., which is highly unsatisfactory.
I have attempted to set up a home server to handle printing (also shared files and stuff) but this suffered hardware failure and I could never gather the emotional strength required to fix it.
I have attempted using a dedicated print server -- a match-box sized box of tricks that has Ethernet at one end and a parallel port at the other -- but the software has failed to the job, and I can't fix it.
My options now are --
-- throw away a perfectly fine, working, high-quality printer, and buy a new one that has USB;
-- do without a printer and rely on my local print shop's promise that they handle PDFs;
-- buy a barebones miniature server and install Ubuntu server one it.
The first of these is probably the sensible option -- a high-quality monochrome laser probabluy consts a couple of hundred pounds at most. On the other hand, I have found that a miniature Linux box is about £185 + VAT (fanless Mini-ITX motherboard + case + 256 MB DIMM + 2 GB compact flash pretending to be a disc). And it is the more attractive solution from the point of view of flexibility, And emotionally I just do not want to walk away from my first-ever laser printer (I guess this is the fallacy of sunk costs). Sigh.
Update (15 August). I have purchased (1) a parallel-to-USB cable from Belkin, and (2) a USB hub. By rearranging the Airport Extreme and the network disc, I can plug both printers in to the hub and the hub in to the Airport and it acts as a print server. This leaves the hub dnagling in mid-air between the shelf with the server on and the tables with the printers on. But it works: I can print over the network from my PowerBook no matter where in the house it is.
I have attempted to set up a home server to handle printing (also shared files and stuff) but this suffered hardware failure and I could never gather the emotional strength required to fix it.
I have attempted using a dedicated print server -- a match-box sized box of tricks that has Ethernet at one end and a parallel port at the other -- but the software has failed to the job, and I can't fix it.
My options now are --
-- throw away a perfectly fine, working, high-quality printer, and buy a new one that has USB;
-- do without a printer and rely on my local print shop's promise that they handle PDFs;
-- buy a barebones miniature server and install Ubuntu server one it.
The first of these is probably the sensible option -- a high-quality monochrome laser probabluy consts a couple of hundred pounds at most. On the other hand, I have found that a miniature Linux box is about £185 + VAT (fanless Mini-ITX motherboard + case + 256 MB DIMM + 2 GB compact flash pretending to be a disc). And it is the more attractive solution from the point of view of flexibility, And emotionally I just do not want to walk away from my first-ever laser printer (I guess this is the fallacy of sunk costs). Sigh.
Update (15 August). I have purchased (1) a parallel-to-USB cable from Belkin, and (2) a USB hub. By rearranging the Airport Extreme and the network disc, I can plug both printers in to the hub and the hub in to the Airport and it acts as a print server. This leaves the hub dnagling in mid-air between the shelf with the server on and the tables with the printers on. But it works: I can print over the network from my PowerBook no matter where in the house it is.