Very Computer

I'm trying to set up a laser jet Panasonic kxp6500.  When I try to print
something like a text file.  I geta staircase effect.  And I set up my
printcap using printtool in xwindows.  I also downloaded a magic filter
but I don't know how to set it up.  When I uncompress it all I have is a
file called magic-6_ and their is no documentation on how to set it up.
Can someone help me out.  Do I need a driver for my printer,  What do
I need in order to be able to print something and not get the
staircase effect when I print out a text file.  Thanks.

David

David,
        You need to add a line in your /etc/printcap entry that looks something
like:
                :if=/FullPath/magic-6_:\
and of course replace your full path where required above.  This is all
documented in the Printing-HOWTO, check it out!

Matt

I'm trying to get my printer to print in linux 4.0 for redhat.  I have
a panasonic kxp6500.  And when I try to print a text file I get the
staircase effect.  I downloaded the magic filter but I can't get it to work.
Can someone help me out.  Do I need a driver for my printer.  Thanks.

In article , David says...

Quote:

>I'm trying to get my printer to print in linux 4.0 for redhat.  I have
>a panasonic kxp6500.  And when I try to print a text file I get the
>staircase effect.  I downloaded the magic filter but I can't get it to work.
>Can someone help me out.  Do I need a driver for my printer.  Thanks.

editorial :

I myself think Unix systems are broken fundementaly. Unix is a collection
of disorganized tools and programs and hard to understand configurations
and man pages.  a simple task as printing requires one to spend hours to
configure and do, while on windows even a brain dead person can print
anything on anything without having to be forced to spend hours over
manules and configurations files just to send a file to a printer.

may be the people who work on Linux and unix can go visit Microsoft and
ask them how they made printing (and every thing else) easy to do
on windows?

man pages are the worst on unix, the smart people who write
man pages on Unix has no clue to show some obviuse examples
on how to use the commands, they spend pages and pages
describing every option in detailes, expecting one to spend
a weekend to analyse the command to figure how to use it
once to do one thing, instead of giving the use an example of
how the command can be used, and the if the user decides
they want to learn more, they will read more.

and the unix people wonder why unix never made (after being arounf for
30 years) it and never will beyond its 5-10 % market share, and and why
the whole world is moving to NT and windows.  

Nasser

[Note: Followups set to col.advocacy]

[...]

Quote:>editorial :

Quote:>I myself think Unix systems are broken fundementaly. Unix is a collection
>of disorganized tools and programs and hard to understand configurations
>and man pages.  

Quote:>a simple task as printing requires one to spend hours to
>configure and do, while on windows even a brain dead person can print
>anything on anything without having to be forced to spend hours over
>manules and configurations files just to send a file to a printer.

Quote:>may be the people who work on Linux and unix can go visit Microsoft and
>ask them how they made printing (and every thing else) easy to do
>on windows?

Quote:>man pages are the worst on unix, the smart people who write
>man pages on Unix has no clue to show some obviuse examples
>on how to use the commands, they spend pages and pages
>describing every option in detailes, expecting one to spend
>a weekend to analyse the command to figure how to use it
>once to do one thing, instead of giving the use an example of
>how the command can be used, and the if the user decides
>they want to learn more, they will read more.

Quote:>and the unix people wonder why unix never made (after being arounf for
>30 years) it and never will beyond its 5-10 % market share, and and why
>the whole world is moving to NT and windows.  

Michael
--

**************************************************************************
Satellite Safety Tip #4:
                If you see a bright streak in the sky coming at you, duck.

I wholeheartly sympathize with how difficult printing can be.  I myself
have struggled with a number of issues (in both Linux _and_ MS
whatever).

My two cents:
  Yes, MS things can be easy to setup, but they can be downright
impossible to fix, if your printer is not supported by their standard
distribution.  I have more than once spent hours or days trying to solve
a printing problem, only to discover that there was a bug in the print
driver that I had.  (Sometimes there is a newer driver to
download---sometimes not.) I have also run into problems where there
seems to be no means to accomplish what I want to do, simply because
some part of the system needs modification, and I have no control over
the system.  The things that MS makes simple to do, is usually at the
expense of limiting your choices in what you can do.

With respect to Linux: I personally use Debian (which is non-commercial,
so I accept the fact that I will have a large overhead in learning to
use it, and that it may not always be distributed in a way that is easy
to setup or use---but then I'm not paying for that kind of support.  (It
has always been surprisingly well done, however. Not to be confused with
perfect:)  If I purchased a commercial version of Linux, I _would_
expect its installation to be easier, and I _would_ expect support to be
available if I had trouble.  Sadly, I have not tried any commercial
version to give any firsthand comment on this, but I suspect the support
and the distributions are good, given the kind of support and quality
that I've found in the free versions.

Another thing to keep in mind is the fact that much of MS Windows ease
of setup is due to the hardware vendors themselves supplying software
drivers which they guarranty to work with the system.  If Linux had that
kind of support from the hardware vendors I don't think we would be
having this discussion.

Lastly, I find great comfort in the fact that any problems I've
encountered _are_ solvable with effort on my part.  I have had _much_
learning to do in order to really start using my Linux system, but then
I am learning to be a system administrator, not just a user.  Scanning
the newsgroups, it seems that sys admin on NT's or any other ocmpanies
products can be challenging.  Personally, I find the challenge very
rewarding, and the knowledge that I get from the experience very
worthwhile.

--
Chris Harris
Linux --- The best things in life are free!

Quote:> ...
> editorial :
> ...

By the way, I have had more problems printing from Windows and/or Novell
than I care to think about. At least after reading the man pages about
printing and configuring everything I have (generally) never had to go
back and delete drivers, reinstall drivers, turn on/off fast printing to
port, expand/not expand tabs, delete/recreate print queues, wonder why
it all worked until that last software install, etc. etc. ad naseum.

I'll admit that UN*X is a complex beast with many parts, but like with
any good tool the learning curve was WELL worth it!

Eli

Quote:

> With respect to Linux: I personally use Debian (which is non-commercial,
> so I accept the fact that I will have a large overhead in learning to
> use it, and that it may not always be distributed in a way that is easy
> to setup or use---but then I'm not paying for that kind of support.  (It
> has always been surprisingly well done, however. Not to be confused with
> perfect:)  If I purchased a commercial version of Linux, I _would_
> expect its installation to be easier, and I _would_ expect support to be
> available if I had trouble.  Sadly, I have not tried any commercial
> version to give any firsthand comment on this, but I suspect the support
> and the distributions are good, given the kind of support and quality
> that I've found in the free versions.

Quote:> Another thing to keep in mind is the fact that much of MS Windows ease
> of setup is due to the hardware vendors themselves supplying software
> drivers which they guarranty to work with the system.  If Linux had that
> kind of support from the hardware vendors I don't think we would be
> having this discussion.

Quote:> Lastly, I find great comfort in the fact that any problems I've
> encountered _are_ solvable with effort on my part.  I have had _much_
> learning to do in order to really start using my Linux system, but then
> I am learning to be a system administrator, not just a user.  Scanning
> the newsgroups, it seems that sys admin on NT's or any other ocmpanies
> products can be challenging.  Personally, I find the challenge very
> rewarding, and the knowledge that I get from the experience very
> worthwhile.

Quote:> --
> Chris Harris
> Linux --- The best things in life are free!

Quote:>    I wholeheartely agree, without a degree of control and flexibility, the
>simple answer is "you can't do that" or "it doesn't work" and get on
>with something else.

Also, sometimes, reducing the amount of options avaliables is not
a bad thing. sometimes, I dont NOT want to see 500 flags and options
to my request to print a file or open a document. keep it simple, as
simple as possible, and not any simpler, will always be the best soltions
as many problems.

Quote:>    My linux system is largely built with downloads from the net, this
>means at times something will not compile and I have to hunt down and
>alter a path here and there, edit a source and include a header file
>etc., it's part of the journey. When I get stuck, help is usually
>excellent, far speedier than from most software companies.

99% of the people in the world, do not want to do this, or do not have the
time to do this, they rather go to the corner store, buy a shrink wrapped
windows application (that might not be as powerfull as your Unix one), and
stick it in the CDROM and use it.  plus, many people do not even know
what to compile a file means, just as a starter.

the bottom line is this: Unix is not a family oriented operating system,
but is a programmer's operating system, this is fine for us programmers,
but we can't expect the rest of the world to want to use it also.

Windows is a family oriented operating system, it might be less powerfull,
and less flexible, but who cares, it is easier to use for the most
common tasks, common people do, and the general population, which is
99.9% of them are NOT programmers, that is what  they want.

Nasser

        Keep your fingers away from it!

in your words:

Microsoft is ..

Quote:> expecting one to spend
> a weekend to analyse the command to figure how to use it
> once to do one thing, instead of giving the use an example of
> how the command can be used, and the if the user decides
> they want to learn more, they will read more.
> Nasser

Don't take it soooo seriously, just kidding..

        Martin Schulz

Quote:>By the way, I have had more problems printing from Windows and/or Novell
>than I care to think about.

Quote:>At least after reading the man pages about
>printing and configuring everything I have (generally) never had to go
>back and delete drivers, reinstall drivers, turn on/off fast printing to
>port, expand/not expand tabs, delete/recreate print queues, wonder why
>it all worked until that last software install, etc. etc. ad naseum.

man pages? you mean those cryptic documenations that most do not have
even one bother to have one example of how to use the command?

or untilties on Unix that failes without telling you where the error
was, or even if it failed?  please, do try to make me beleive that
unix is easier to use than windows. Admit that Unix is harder to use, and
lets talk about how we can make it easier, instead of pretending the
problem does not exist.

Quote:>I'll admit that UN*X is a complex beast with many parts, but like with
>any good tool the learning curve was WELL worth it!

Quote:

>Eli

Greetings,

This is just a comment on PRINTING by a guy who's been
using linux a bit less than a year...(but who is an
engineer and author undeneath).

I've seen many mails on printing issues.  I even wrote
a mini-howto on 'printing your resume' simply because
the unix tools are so powerful (difficult to grasp). And I
wanted a SIMPLE way to do it without spending years getting to know
Xwindows.

The problem is that of desiring to use simple, non-Xwin
utilities.  The 'filters' available are excrutiatingly long
and complicated.  For most folk, the right options in the 'gs'
command can suffice, and a print accomplished in a simgle
command (utility) line.

In general, we want to print:
man pages
text files (default)
ps files

The solution is simple.  In much less than the amount of
time spent explaining, and haggling over what is correct, a simple
print script could be supplied with any Linux distribution.
This print script would allow the user to print any of the 3 files
mentioned above, and allow him to select one of the 3 standard
pc ports (and default to lpt1) !!  The command would be 'print'.

The printer types selected would be:
text (default)
Epson dot
HPCL
PS

This script could be used by a good 95% of users,
have gs as a core, and be a great template for users to
customize.  It would also be fairly simple and educational..
MUCH better than reading the gs and groff man pages.

I'd write it, but I haven't done anything really 'meaningful'
with scripts, nor do I understand the underpinnings of the
lpr/lpd system.

Finally, while there are little systems, big systems,
multi-networked systems,  whats wrong with making something
a little easier for those who Want to become more involved
with Linux?

Any college student with nothing to do this summer can
really make a name for himself if he/she chooses to
contribute and have their name immemorialized as
"written by:"........

While I now know enough to get around a bit with groff, gs
a few pipes, filters, and re-direction, * I * would certainly
  *use* such a program joyously!!

with high regards to all linux users,

wally...... reply to newgroup only.

Quote:>the bottom line is this: Unix is not a family oriented operating system,
>but is a programmer's operating system, this is fine for us programmers,
>but we can't expect the rest of the world to want to use it also.

>Windows is a family oriented operating system, it might be less powerfull,
>and less flexible, but who cares, it is easier to use for the most
>common tasks, common people do, and the general population, which is
>99.9% of them are NOT programmers, that is what  they want.

BTW, my 8-year-old loves the games that came with the release.

Dennis

Of all the operating systems that I've had experience with (VMS, Un*x,
MS-DOS, Windows, Windows 95, OS/400, SSP, and MacOS, and a few others),
the MacOS wins as being the most "family-oriented".  When people ask
me about which computer/OS to buy (and many do), I ask them how they
buy a car: Do they like to tinker under the hood, or do they bring it
to a garage?  If they're the kind of person that just wants to get
somewhere without worrying about *how* the thing does the job, then
I recommend a Mac.  Now that doesn't mean that I think the Mac is
the end-all and be-all, it is just the only system that works well
for joe average end-user.  If something doesn't work, it's brought
to a service center.  With Windows & Family, Unix, etc., you *have*
*to* know something about how it works to be able to sit down and
use it, UNLESS you buy the computer pre-configured, and have a
service center that will hold your hand when you need it.

For that matter, even Mac users need gurus to help solve the
occasional problems.  Let's face it folks, a computer is an
extremely sophisticated tool, and like an automobile, when it
works, life is good, but sometimes things don't work, and you
either have to spend the money to call in a mechanic, or you
have to grit your teeth and fix it yourself!

Just my $0.02

-Jym Williams Z.