Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!sdd.hp.com!usc!rutgers!rochester!kodak!uupsi!rodan!amichiel
From: amichiel@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Allen J Michielsen)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.postscript
Subject: Re: 7 vits vs. 8 bits (again)
Message-ID: <3803@rodan.acs.syr.edu>
Date: 4 Jul 90 06:14:41 GMT
References: <2414@acorn.co.uk> <1990Jun23.184530.1326@cbnewsl.att.com> <184@heaven.woodside.ca.us> <1363@chinacat.Unicom.COM> <1990Jun27.201333.10418@utzoo.uucp> <3439@adobe.UUCP> <268C0233.50F0@intercon.com> <1990Jul3.173300.6547@zoo.toronto.edu>
Reply-To: amichiel@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Allen J Michielsen)
Organization: Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Lines: 24

In article <1990Jul3.173300.6547@zoo.toronto.edu> henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry
>>The biggest problem with it is that nothing much speaks it except Macintoshen
>>and PCs...
>The biggest problem with it is that it's not available over the RS232 port.
>People would have written software to speak the printer protocol, whatever
>it was, but having to add funny new hardware just to talk to the printer
>was a much bigger obstacle.

  Actually, I see it slightly differently.  The problem is more like 3 tiered.
First, supporting apple/local/talk requires fairly highly timed detailed
protocools.  If it is supported by the/a main processor, the overhead is
signifigant.  If  it is to be downloaded to a xxx/talk onlpy processor,
that adds signifigant complexity to a otherwise almost trivial hardware
serial (basically) interface.  In most worlds, this makes for terribly
expensive boards.  Apple drove the market price for the pc card dowbn to
help support the protocool.  Lastly, as a printer/sharing/LAN it has
severe/major/... limitations.  For a few users or a small network, it
is great.  Fast, easy, simple, cheap...  For a larger network with a
light printing load, else a mixed market basket of printing, it also is
quite good.  Fast-enough, easy, simple-enough, cheap.  HOWEVER, for a
large netowrk (say 30 or more) users and multiple printers, say 3 or more,
it sucks the big wazolla.  It becomes almost a agony to use, and people
line up by the printers waiting for output...
al