Bug#460228: tasksel: please remove hplip from the desktop task
Steve Langasek wrote:
>> Just look at a default etch installation. Two big HP icons, even when
>> you don’t have a pinch of HP hardware. And of course, they start
>> applications that you have no idea what they can do.
>
> Sorry, but I've done a default etch installation and have never seen these.
> Where do they show up in the menu?
In GNOME, they're in Applications->Office and System->Preferences. However,
since they are now in the hplip-gui package, they are not included in default
installations anymore as long as tasksel doesn't use any recommends. They should
be in etch, though.
>> I’m referring to Windows and MacOS X. OK, Windows not a reference when
>> it comes to menu clarity, but it does not install Epson tools when you
>> have a HP printer.
>
> Right, it doesn't install any of these tools because they're all provided
> independently by the vendors. Whether or not Windows is a reference for
> menu clarity, it is definitely *not* a reference for system integration.
The Windows driver doesn't add any menu entries, instead providing the utilities
from the "printer properties" dialog box for relevant printers. It would of
course be nice if CUPS provided something similar, so that there could be a
vendor-neutral interface for cleaning heads and such.
About scanning, I think that maybe the HP driver included in SANE is good
enough. The backend in hplip is only for using the HP I/O daemon, I think.
> Well, first of all, I understand that discover-data doesn't actually do any
> of this extra package installation yet. Second, where the drivers and
> backends are concerned, the point to installing it by default in the desktop
> task is to let Debian work out-of-the-box as a desktop in scenarios where
> installing extra packages is inconvenient. Clearly Debian is a /better/
> proposition where bandwidth is readily available (or you have a full CD set
> on hand), but I think for things like hardware enablement we should strive
> to work out-of-the-box without any need to grab additional packages the
> first time the printer is plugged in.
But even without hplip, you get at least basic support for these HP printers.
The question is whether the extra features provided by hplip is enough to
warrant its inclusion in the standard desktop.
--
Pelle
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