Re: help!

["J. R. Fox" jr_fox@xxxxxxxxxx]

Steve Crutchfield wrote:

> I've heard of WinModems (which rely on a windows device driver to run
> the modem instead of hardware embedded in the modem), but not a
> WinPrinter.

Oh yes, and I guarantee you will find past discussions of this, if you
search the List archives. It is all part of the general dumbing-down of
computing for the masses, and the bottom-line mentality. If you build a
dumb device (that gets whatever it needs from the OS, instead of its own
built-in firmware chips), it will be cheaper to manufacture, and can be
sold at a cheaper price. Of course, it also then becomes another drag on
system performance, since that functionality no longer happens
independently, _at_ the device. But a lot of people won't notice or care,
and the assumption is that everyone uses Win, so it's a non-issue for the
manufacturers.

Jordan