Thread: N800 too immature?
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JKolstad is offline JKolstad
2007-05-21 , 15:34
Posts: 37 | Thanked: 2 times | Joined on May 2007 @ Wimer, Oregon
#5
Originally Posted by Karel Jansens View Post
Newtons can print, I agree. But!!!! 99% of the Newton printer drivers are bitmapped drivers that do little more than send a bitmap image of the screen to a printer. The result is blocky to extremely blocky.
If it's a printout for yourself, I don't think that's a problem. I agree you're not going to use this to, e.g., print out a resume for a job you actually want, though. :-) For sales receipts (one big potential application), blocky is probably OK. For real estate agents (another biggie)... mmm... probably not.

I had to obtain a PostScript card or my LJ4 and an AppleTalk card (I think nowadays this would require a time machine, the use thereof)
No, no, just eBay!

The biggest hurdle for printing on the N800 is that, as things are now, it cannot be done hardware-wise without at least a networked printer present. I happen to own a bluetooth-to-parallel/USB converter, but these things aren't exactly easy to come by, nor are they cheap.
Well, they're easy to come by on the Internet (e.g., Newegg.Com)... The price is a little steep though, and it is just something of a hassle that would be best avoided.

The only other option would be a fully working USB host-mode for the N800.
This is probably the preferable solution for most people. These days I'd imagine you'd build a modular printing system whereby the rendering process is separate from the "connection" process, so that your, e.g., DeskJet 550 can be accessed via any of USB, WiFi, or Bluetooth.

Of course, we all could buy bluetooth-enabled printers; I haven't really followed the market on those, but something tells me it might be tricky to find a non-gadgetryminded one.
The printers designed to be portable -- specifically, HP's 450 and Canon's ip90 -- both have Bluetooth options. It isn't a particularly common option for "regular" (desktop) printers, however -- WiFi connectivity actually seems more common there. Ethernet connectivity is actually quite common these days in all but the cheapest printers.

---Joel