cups install
 

hi! i can continue without problems?

Re: cups install
 

A classic! :)

All the extra 'stuff' it's wanting to install is all the libraries and other supporting bits and pieces which are needed to run CUPS. It's quite a hefty load - I'd think twice before proceeding, but if you really want printing on your N900 then answer "Y".

Re: cups install
 

I had a few troubles installing this. Have a look at the last few posts of the thread titled printing with N900, - it gives quite a few tips.

Post again when you get somewhere or if troubles persist...

Re: cups install
 

remove fakedebconf and mp-fremantle-002-pr is good?

Re: cups install
 

I *think* so (no guarantess - I'm not an expert!) - fakedebconf is being replaced by debconf and a quick google indicates mp-fremantle-002-pr isn't required. (I don't have it installed on my N900 if thats any help).

Re: cups install
 

If there ever is PR1.4, then your system ain't gonna upgrade if you remove mp-fremantle...

Re: cups install
 

Any ideas why it's being prompted to be removed? And why haven't I got it on my system? - is it because I flashed PR1.3 instead of upgrading?

Incidentally - Mr_K - can I ask why you're installing CUPS? Reading the thread linked above it's not a trivial exercise and I wouldn't recommend doing it unless you're prepared to do a bit of head scratching and swearing. - Just my opinion :)

Re: cups install
 

Because there is a conflict and it's a big problem if you go along and let it remove the pr...
After flashing PR1.3 the deb is there... You must've already unistalled it when installing some conflicting stuff...

Re: cups install
 

Have a look at that thread I mentioned, especially pages 22 & 23 where the package in 'testing' is discussed. The OP and pricipal Maemo-CUPS dev, Mase, gave me some tips. If you're not sure about something, specific to the package itself, he (?) would probably respond to that thread.

Re: mp-fremantle-generic-pr: There is no info about this on its package page but from what a power-search reveals, it seems to be a hook for the OS updater to use. However, where core OS updates are concerned, reflashing to new versions should still be possible and back-ups are still required/advised whether OTA or flashed. Is there something I'm missing?
Just has a look through some TMO and bugzilla items for this package. Have a look through bug 11831 to see if that shed any light on the matter. Also, this page should set you at ease.

I have installed the CUPS packages in the Maemo repositories with no notable problems (not running CSSU yet). I have not tested it yet because I need to treat myself to a usb OTG cable. When I do I'll be doing my best to get direct printing from my N900 fully funtional.
- Why? Well, the device is always on so rather than faff around transfering files to another computer, which may need to be started up, why not output directly from the N900 itself, it's not as though it can't be done?

Re: cups install
 

As said, fakedebconf has been replaced - I'm not an expert but I say trust that. As for "mp-fremantle-002"... are you still on PR1.2? Update your firmware already. That's always better than not updating firmware. The longer you wait there more app updates will end up making their way down to you that in some way depends on PR1.3 packages.

Wrong. See this quote below?

The package name changed, as I understand it, between PR1.2 and PR1.3. Also, I wouldn't be too optimistic in the future of a hypothetical PR1.4. Even if it comes, by the time it does so many users will be on CSSU that there will be a rather basic explanation thread for how to put the mp-fremantle-whatever hook packages back in within a day or two.

That said, what I don't like about this is that it SOUNDS like someone is trying to make a forced-upgrade decision for the users with the CUPS thing, by trying to remove the mp-fremantle-002-pr package. Not sure if that would even work, as one would think it'd be better to instead make PR1.3 a dependency, if forced upgrading was your goal... *Shrug*

Now the most important comment, @ demolition: YES. That's exactly my logic. Why, honestly, not print from the N900 when you can? It's infinitely easier, especially if the N900 is already something you use to carry around files, and it cuts out one middle-man whenever you need to print something. Plus it adds to that beautiful bonus of being able to pull out your device and do something that no one would ever think of being doable from a phone.

I just wish someone would make, say, Open/Libre Office ported properly onto the N900, without needing to run it from within a chroot (I'm getting better at compiling, so maybe some day I'll do it, but for now, I'm still unable to compile GIMP to actually run, and in my newb-like guess based on what I read on the project's respective sites, that's easier to do than compiling OpenOffice/LibreOffice). Since as nice as FreOffice is, it doesn't come with easy-to-use printing support, nor all the formatting options one would want on a finalized document.

Re: cups install
 

I have given up on there being a Nokia OS update. Alas, I think we all should.

Removing these items will have no detrimental effect on the day-to-day operation of your device (if someone knows otherwise, please explain why). This is my experience and I have installed CUPS, as mentioned above.

On mine it was -generic-pr, which I guess means pr1.3. Is '002' an initial version of the CSSU? The person who ported CUPS to Maemo mentioned something about ...-pr being something to do with the CSSU. With fakedebconf being called 'fake' implies that it is/was just a place holder (though I didn't check its contents) so replacement with a non-fake debconf didn't concern me as much as the warning about removing a 'critical package'. I think the installer is having a wobbly about removing the ...-pr file, not swapping the ...conf filein the way that windows complains when you turn off microsoft updates!

Removing ...-pr means you will have to update the OS manually and I don't think you will receive any automatic memos. This is a good point:
I do not believe it's an intentional action. My guess is that this is a result of porting a desktop programme/driver/etc to a device running an embedded/OEM OS: there are overlaps and somehow the new software has claimed right-of-way. A way to overcome this might be to integrate printing functionality into the OS itself becauseToo true!
This is a good idea because most of the time printing will be from an office document/file. However, without native support, it prevents all other programmes from accessing the print drivers. I suppose there could be a pic-to-print programme, where if one had a sketch or other non-office doc/file, a screen-shot could be created by the normal method (ctrl+shift+p) and this piece of software would be able to send it to the printer from the images folder. But then it seems a bit cumbersome and restricts output to what fits on the screen and maximum printable pixels to 800 x 400, which is pretty tiny!
I suppose the main downside of native support would be adding a print component/menu to all relevant software. Most items are oss, hence this is more easy to overcome even if a little tiresome for developers.

FAo: Maemo Council: (should any council member peruse this thread)

CUPS or another means of natively printing from the N900, merits consideration for inclusion into Maemo 5 OS updates, such as the CSSU project. Noting the size of these packages (ahem!), it might be more appropriate as an OS extension but this size is likely to be much reduced if there is any commonality of classes, library objects or other functionality.

Lastly, I'd like to repeat my wishful thinking from the other thread: it would be nice to have 'PrintWithIr', which would get around any problems with USB or BT not being natively supported but apparently there are no IR components in CUPS. It would be interesting to know whether print-data could be encoded into a suitable form to be transmitted via IR.