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Epson customers report Google Cloud Print causing printers to power down

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Re: Epson customers report Google Cloud Print causing printers to power down

#91

Post by tjohns »

lucaspiller wrote: post #79
userbinator wrote: post #40

On first glance Google Cloud Print looks like nothing more than an Internet version of networking printing, a technology which has been around for a long time; so one is naturally a bit surprised that Epson could get something like this wrong, but then I dug a little deeper... https://developers.google.com/cloud-print/docs/devguide ...and the protocol involves HTTPS, OAuth, JSON, and XMPP(!), so rather more complex t…

Wonder why they decided to invent their own protocol? I've used IPP over the internet via an SSH tunnel, it's slow but it works.

IPP's got a few problems, especially when it comes to phones/tablets or other mobile devices:

- IPP requires unique drivers for each printer. Some mobile devices (Chromebooks and iOS, I believe) don't allow installing drivers.

- IPP requires that you're on the same LAN segment, or that you punch a hole through your router. That doesn't work very well when interacting with foreign printers, and punching a hole through a router is too complex for many home users.

- IPP is limited to HTTP Basic/Digest auth, which isn't user friendly or secure. The traffic's also unencrypted. (And SSH isn't user friendly enough for home users.)

(Disclaimer: I work for Google, but not on Cloud Print.)

Re: Epson customers report Google Cloud Print causing printers to power down

#92

Post by ksenzee »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #78
Spooky23 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely. They are no doubt the best printers in your company's facility. Most printers for enterprises are garbage now without a service contract or managed print deal. For personal use, the brother laser devices <$100. Are the best bet. Simple, reliable and most of the things that break are either field replaceable or you can ditch the device.

> For personal use, the brother laser devices Rarely do I fanboy over a piece of electronic device, but this rings so incredibly true. I get thousands of pages out of my Brother laser printer per toner cartridge, it duplexes, the wireless just works . If you absolutely need a printer, get the sub-$100 brother laser printer.

Likewise. Mine is possibly the most reliable piece of hardware I have ever owned. It does exactly what I expect it to do, all the time.

Re: Epson customers report Google Cloud Print causing printers to power down

#93

Post by pasbesoin »

Tempest1981 wrote: post #4

How do you manage to engage an internal Google team on an issue? From the story: "We are working with Epson and internal Google teams to root cause this issue" I've seen many help forum threads go unanswered, after days and pages of postings.

1) Create enough bad publicity (be "important" enough, or lucky enough) to invoke an actual, human response.

2) Make an end-run around the Google support wall-of-silence. As another commenter here mentions, sometimes posts/comments on HN gain attention. Apparently not as much as they used to. But, a month or two after I finally complained in an HN comment about months-long problem with very frequent Nexus 5x camera app crashes on zoom-out, the problem finally, silently went away.

P.S. Yes, I'd used the in-app/Android problem reporting prompt/feature... countless times, including my own optional comment as to exactly what was happening. I eventually gave up on repeatedly taking that extra time and just started canceling out of it, as the error reports seemed to just be disappearing into a black hole of silence and inaction.

Re: Epson customers report Google Cloud Print causing printers to power down

#94

Post by Spooky23 »

agumonkey wrote: post #80
toomuchtodo wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For personal use, the brother laser devices Rarely do I fanboy over a piece of electronic device, but this rings so incredibly true. I get thousands of pages out of my Brother laser printer per toner cartridge, it duplexes, the wireless just works . If you absolutely need a printer, get the sub-$100 brother laser printer.

May I inquiry your Brother printer model ?

I have a 2340DW. I think I paid $90 for it.

It's great... works with AirPrint, Google CloudPrint and standard printer protocols. I think you can even FTP jobs to it.

Re: Epson customers report Google Cloud Print causing printers to power down

#95

Post by drspacemonkey »

BrandonBradley wrote: post #89
jameskegel wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We don't do that here.

Do what? Make jokes?

Comments should add to the discussion. Even humourous comments. Memes don't add anything to a discussion.

Re: Epson customers report Google Cloud Print causing printers to power down

#96

Post by BrandonBradley »

drspacemonkey wrote: post #95
BrandonBradley wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do what? Make jokes?

Comments should add to the discussion. Even humourous comments. Memes don't add anything to a discussion.

That is sometimes how I talk when I make jokes. No memes here. Tough crowd.

Re: Epson customers report Google Cloud Print causing printers to power down

#97

Post by xupybd »

rkangel wrote: post #18
xupybd wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's often connecting to the printer that's the hard part. In my office we have two printers because some pcs can't connect to one but can the other. It's inconsistent as to who can connect to which.

That sounds a lot like issues with network config rather than anything else. Potentially a duplicate IP address somewhere.

Nah it tends to be operating system and printer driver related. It is possible to setup a PC to connect to both. But it's a lot work.
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