Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!umich!samsung!usc!apple!daveo From: daveo@Apple.COM (David M. O'Rourke) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc Subject: Re: Windows/Mac flame war fuel Message-ID: <42650@apple.Apple.COM> Date: 5 Jul 90 06:48:39 GMT References: <8974@goofy.Apple.COM> <2988@gmdzi.UUCP> Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA Lines: 40 strobl@gmdzi.UUCP (Wolfgang Strobl) writes: >This either implies that the printer driver can query the printer about >the resources (memory, fonts, resolution, paper size, ...) it has >available - which is not possible on monodirectional links -, or it >restricts the printer driver to worst case asumptions. Since a print driver is written for a specific printer instead of a set of printers there is no such limitation. When you select a specific print driver, you're specifing that I want to print to that printer, therefore the print driver can use all the capabilities that that printer offers... In addition most printers on the Mac are connected through the serial port provided with the Mac. Therefore it is a rare printer indeed that you don't have bi-directional communications. To successfully connect up a printer to the Mac generally requires the printer to have a level of "intelligence" that PC printers can not have since they could be controlled by the bus directly. In addition, even with Windows, the PC DOS is still primarily a character based OS, and graphics are the extra mile that you don't necessarily have to provide. For simple character based printers you don't need a bi-directional link cause it's just a stream of characters, one size fits all. The Mac's *only* print mode is graphics, therefore by simply requiring graphics at the most primative level means that the basic Mac printer has to have a high level of functionality than a basic DOS printer. There aren't too many graphics printers availible today that can't be queried as to their capabilities... Any one who has configured a DOS printer, verses a Macintosh will tell you that this is one of the few area where the Mac has a clear advantage. And even though MS provides many print drivers, there are still a lot of big DOS software houses that role their own print drivers, and with that you are back to square one of what a pain it is to configure a printer on a DOS machine. On the Macintosh there is *ONE* way to select a printer, period. And you don't even have to modify your config.sys file to do it ;-) -- daveo@apple.com David M. O'Rourke _______________________________________________________________________________ I do not speak for Apple in *ANY* official capacity.