HP's Strange Obsession With WebOS For Printers

ryzvonusef writes "VentureBeat's (typically unnamed) sources identifies Intel and Qualcomm as being involved in talks for acquiring the Palm asset portfolio. However, citing sources intimate with HP's negotiations, it reports that the company wants to be able to license webOS back for use in printers; it wants it so much, in fact, that the issue has become 'a crucial part' of discussions. Maybe there's something about webOS and printers that HP knows and the rest of the world doesn't."

Well, they already have this -

[certain death]

A Printer with an Android tablet built in. http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/12/hp-photosmart-estation-c510-printer-android-tablet-now-on-sale/ [engadget.com] Maybe they want to change from Android to WebOS, or maybe they are just at step 3. - $$$ Profit

I guess they don't have these in America:

[Kagetsuki]

http://www.epson.jp/products/colorio/printer/me/ [epson.jp]
Printers with screens and keyboards and built in software to print photos, greeting cards, calendars, and quite a few other things. WebOS would be perfect for one of these and I'd bet that's exactly what they want to do with it.

Re:We B OS

[jbolden]

Buy ethernet printers rather than sharing USB printers and you won't have that problem. Buy stuff designed for how you want to use it.

Re:We B OS

[alphatel]

The HP Universal is the default for all Ethernet HP printers. Try finding a different driver for anything built after 2009, even the $10,000 color laserjets.

Re:We B OS

[sarhjinian]

This.

The cheaper printers are just that: cheap. They offload most of the rasterization onto the host PC, have no job control features and are generally awful. Ethernet-capable printers usually, but don't always, help, because printer makers are shovelling out some awful crap.

You can still get small print drivers for HP's modern printers. The problem is that those printers are expensive, but then again, so were the "Good ol' days" printers they replaced.

Here's a tip: check to see if the printer supports PJL (not just PCL) and/or PostScript (or a compatible derivative, like Kyocera's KPDL). If it supports PJL and/or PS, you can be guaranteed a) that the drivers will be small, b) that the printer will work pretty well, and c) that you'll pay for the privilege of A and B.

Re:We B OS

[517714]

Windows Update will update generic printer drivers, but if you want the drivers that allow duplex printing, multiple page reduction, high resolution, economy settings, etc. and support the other features available in a typical laser printer then you must install the drivers yourself, and Windows Update does not apply.