Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!ucscb.ucsc.edu!alexr
From: alexr@ucscb.ucsc.edu (Alexander M. Rosenberg)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: Rumor -> Loss of Mac's 20% advantage over Windows 3.0
Message-ID: <8918@goofy.Apple.COM>
Date: 28 Jun 90 20:08:48 GMT
Sender: usenet@Apple.COM
Organization: Hacker's Anonymous
Lines: 32
References:<40218215MES@MSU> <42382@apple.Apple.COM> <2932@gmdzi.UUCP>

In article <2932@gmdzi.UUCP> strobl@gmdzi.UUCP (Wolfgang Strobl) writes:
> Huh? Windows has a standard printer interface (to the programmer / 
application
> / user) and comes with one or two disks full of printer drivers. The 
hardware
> compatibility list I got with my copy of Windows 3 specifies 169 
different
> printers (some built by your company:-). 
> Windows does not force you to buy one of a few "standard" printers. 
That's
> fine for me, the user.

To correct you, Microsoft's marketing department says that they support 
"169 printers" (I actually heard around 140.). They actually ship only a few drivers, and most of those printers were designed to be compatibile with one another.(i.e. HP LaserJet emulation). So they have a PostScript driver, a LaserJet driver, an Epson MX-80 (and the billions of other printers that use the same escape sequences), and so forth.

Apple supplies drivers for every printer they make, and you will note that 
one of those is a PostScript driver, that for the most part, can drive 
every color/B&W/whatever version of PostScript printer you may have. 
Third-party products are available to support parallel printers, and 
printers such as the HP LaserJet compatibles. Please note how easy it is 
to install a printer driver on the Macintosh. You will also note the 
LaserWriter and LaserWriter IISC drivers support background printing. Try 
doing that under Windows.

Windows is all "we can look like them."  I say, "Where's the beef?"

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