[lug] Local printers not supported

[Jeffrey Haemer]

Michael,

I've had mixed luck with the desktop-specific printer wizards, but much
better luck wiith the stock CUPS GUI.  The "wizards" are talking to, CUPS,
anyway, but they're after-market products. The CUPS GUI is done by the folks
who also did CUPS, so it seems to have fewer problems.

Point your browser at http://localhost:631 and poke around.  You may learn
more and have better luck.

Unlike older systems, the browser-based CUPS GUI is arguably a saner
interface to use than its CLI, because a CUPS server *is* a web server.  The
IPP protocol it uses is, approximately, HTTP.  (And the CUPS config file
looks remarkably like an Apache config file.)  On a CUPS-based system, CLI
clients, even though they're called things like "lpr"  and "lpstat" are
actually using web protocols to talk to the server.

Analogously, I've had better luck with network printers than with USB
printers.  Even when they're the same printer.  For example, when I was in a
time crunch and my tediously configured USB printer, at home, was failing in
annoying and mysterious ways, I looked at the back, saw an ethernet port,
plugged the sucker directly into the network and -- WHAMMO! -- it just
worked.

Play to its strengths. :-)

On Tue, Aug 4, 2009 at 11:04 PM, Michael Hirsch <mdhirsch at gmail.com> wrote:

> I'm trying to help my Dad with a problem.  He's using KDE 3.5.x and
> his USB printer stopped working.  He can see the printer with "lsusb"
> so it would appear that USB works, but when he tries to add the
> printer with the KDE Add Printer Wizard, the choice "Local printer
> (parallel, serial, USB)" is deactivated.  He can't press the radio
> button to enable it.  The other radio buttons are all active except
> for "Serial Fax/Modem printer".
>
> What can deactivate that button.  It happens on both his and my Mom's
> systems, but they are running the same software, so that doesn't
> narrow things down, much.
>
> My machine is running the same software, too, and it is enabled for
> me.  I can't figure out what he could be missing to turn off local
> printer support.
>
> His OS is Ubuntu Jaunty with the semi-official KDE 3.5 installed.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Michael
> _______________________________________________
> Web Page:  http://lug.boulder.co.us
> Mailing List: http://lists.lug.boulder.co.us/mailman/listinfo/lug
> Join us on IRC: lug.boulder.co.us port=6667 channel=#hackingsociety
>



-- 
Jeffrey Haemer <jeffrey.haemer at gmail.com>
720-837-8908 [cell], 303-997-1219 [Google voice], @goyishekop [twitter]
http://seejeffrun.blogspot.com [blog],
http://www.youtube.com/user/goyishekop [vlog]
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.lug.boulder.co.us/pipermail/lug/attachments/20090804/5c214942/attachment.html>