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Google Kills Cloud Print

support.google.com

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Re: Google Kills Cloud Print

#72

Post by pgeorgi »

m712 wrote: post #64

Whatever happened to good old CUPS? Why did they have to introduce so many layers including Google's servers between the user and the printer?

> Whatever happened to good old CUPS? Why did they have to introduce so many layers including Google's servers between the user and the printer?

As the support document states, as far as Chrome OS goes, the removal was made possible precisely because its CUPS support became good enough to supplant Cloud Print.

Re: Google Kills Cloud Print

#73

Post by geofft »

m712 wrote: post #64

Whatever happened to good old CUPS? Why did they have to introduce so many layers including Google's servers between the user and the printer?

CUPS is exactly what Google is switching Chrome OS to, as a replacement for Cloud Print.

But the reason to have Google's (or someone's) servers involved is so that you don't need to be on the same network (e.g., you can print to your home printer, behind a firewall/NAT, while you're at a coffeeshop, also behind a firewall/NAT).

Re: Google Kills Cloud Print

#75

Post by ripdog »

>It's enterprise-ready

Hahahahahaha oh man they actually wrote that.

Sorry for the useless comment, but I just wonder how many companies got conned into basing their printing infrastructure on yet another Google experiment.

I don't think it really matters, of course. Android phones have a full set of manufacturer-specific printing drivers which work fine over the local network, and geofft noted upthread that ChromeOS has CUPS now. Internet printing is gone now, I suppose, but who used that?!

Re: Google Kills Cloud Print

#76

Post by gravypod »

This would be a great time for someone to implement a version of this that's paid and has other SaaS features (print-to-mailed-letter, etc). I bet if you streamlined it you could get some customers pretty easily.

Re: Google Kills Cloud Print

#77

Post by oaiey »

pgeorgi wrote: post #72
m712 wrote: post #64

Whatever happened to good old CUPS? Why did they have to introduce so many layers including Google's servers between the user and the printer?

> Whatever happened to good old CUPS? Why did they have to introduce so many layers including Google's servers between the user and the printer? As the support document states, as far as Chrome OS goes, the removal was made possible precisely because its CUPS support became good enough to supplant Cloud Print.

I am really curious how they will make CUPS printer management on Chrome OS happen. I guess they bet on wide support on printers supporting some protocol native.

Re: Google Kills Cloud Print

#78

Post by geofft »

ben_jones wrote: post #65

> We recommend that over the next year, you identify an alternative solution and execute a migration strategy. Something enterprise customers love hearing. Ooof imagine being assigned to sunsetting the service and explaining to what enterprise customers it still has.

Are there paying enterprise customers of Cloud Print? Even today, https://www.google.com/cloudprint/ has a "(beta)" in the logo.

Enterprise customers need to figure out that if you're paying $0 for something, you get $0 in support.... if you want something that works, either pay someone enough money to support it, or find an open option and pay your employees enough money to support it in-house.

Re: Google Kills Cloud Print

#79

Post by ilamont »

Google Cloud Print was a disaster. I could get it to work properly maybe 20% of the time, even with Android devices using the app and Chromebooks. A favorite bug involved a simple print job from one of my kid's Chromebook causing a Brother printer to "print" a blank piece of paper for every sheet remaining in the main tray.

By comparison, AirPrint just worked, quickly recognizing new printers from new devices and running jobs pretty much flawlessly.

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