Dne, 08. 11. 2010 13:50:36 je Stan Hoeppner napisal(a):
Camaleón put forth on 11/8/2010 2:58 AM: > Yes, I also like ethernet based devices but they are costly and not > affordable for everyone. If someone can afford a $99 HP that's doesn't work, they can sure as heck afford an extra $30-40 for a network laser that does. :)
Definitely so. Ethernet eliminates the driver woes, the "printer sharing" hassle and all that. It's also more OS-agnostic, and when done well, more -plug-and-play than USB printers ever were. I'd actually like my next printer to have *no* USB interface at all. There certainly is a market for ethernet-enabled printers *without* USB ports, which could make those two price ranges converge even more. As it is, many ethernet-enabled printers still come with a USB port. (I'm talking about home- and SOHO-grade printers, I'm not familiar with heavy duty/professional printers.) Vendors could reduce costs and maintenance: no OS-specific USB drivers to write anymore, only one interface to maintain instead of two. For the rare netbook/notebok having no ethernet port, a cheapo USB-to-ethernet converter could be bundled with the printer. Of course, configuration could get tricky for direct computer-to-printer connections, where crossover ethernet cables are required and where there's no router/dhcp to hand out the right IP numbers.
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