Updates
September 7, 2012: I had forgotten that I had posted this (below, original post). This past week my family gave me an Apple MacBook Pro for a birthday present. Today, I decided to see if I could hook it up with the HP printer we have. I put the computer next to the HP 4450 (or whatever it was) and plugged in the USB cord. I was unable to find the CD driver for the printer. But, then, a dialogue box on the computer screen: do you want software installed so you can use this printer? I couldn't believe it. The Apple computer recognized that a peripheral had been attached; identified; and, asked if I needed software, and when the answer was in the affirmative, it downloaded the software. Done in 20 seconds (or less). And that was it. Compare that to the PC experience below.
Original Post
As you all know, or should know by now, I am Apple Fan Boy #3. I grew up with Apple, never owned a PC, and love Apple computers. I think I have had most models over the years. Whenever I find a new Apple store, I pull out my prayer rug, lay it down in front of the doors, and bow to Steve. And then I go into the store.
And, yes, it is a cult.
This past week I have been setting up HP printers for a local business using PCs. Wow, absolutely incredible. Today was the third time, and it was no easier than the first time.
This is the new HP LaserJetP2055d printer that is absolutely outstanding, but installing the software is absolutely crazy. If these printers were networked, maybe I could understand it, but these are simply connected to a computer with one cord. These are simply dedicated printers to one computer.
With Apple, it is truly "plug and play" and has been since my first Apple computer in 1984. You take the printer out of the box. You plug in the printer cable, plug in the power cord, turn it on and it works. Apple computers come pre-loaded with the most commonly used printer drivers.
So, here's my experience with the HP printer. A couple of things. I follow the directions explicitly. I don't do anything without reading the instructions and watching every step along the way. But the experience has been almost identical all three times. The entire process takes about an hour to get the HP printer installed.
1. Taking the printer out of the box, removing the tape and shaking the laser cartridge, straightforward, easy to follow instructions.
2. Place the CD that comes with the printer into the computer. One has to locate the CD driver on the computer screen (not intuitive on a PC) and then go through three steps to start the download.
3. The download takes forever and then appears to get into a loop because it never completes the process. On the second and third installation, I assumed I was going too fast, so I left the room to do other tasks and came back 30 minutes later to see if the installation was successful. Nope. All three times, the installation never worked with the CD.
4. I then go to the web to find the driver. Two of the three times I found the driver immediately, but the second time for some reason was given the run-around. But you have to be geeky to figure out which driver one wants. I knew it was Windows 7, but I had no idea if I had 32-bit or 64-bit. I clicked on 64 bit.
5. Some time during that process, I got an error message (#26) saying that the installation was unsuccessful (I assume from the CD) and it automatically started searching the net for help. On the second printer, it actually said the computer could not support this printer (not true; all computers are the same in this office; and eventually all three computers and printers were working nicely). So, with all three set-ups, I got that error message -- #26 -- that said the installation would not work.
6. It took only moments to download the driver from the web. However, incredibly, it had to uninstall what was installed from the CD. Sometimes it would be best to know less information. Apple just does stuff in the background without airing all that dirty laundry.
7. I went to print a test document, and the default went to the old printer that had been disconnected. Apple would have recognized that the printer was no longer there and would have automatically gone to the only printer connected. How hard can that be. So I had to click on the new computer.
8. Non-geeks would not have understood the need to go back to the "printers" icon on the computer to set the new printer to default.
9. Somewhere along the line, the computer re-boots. It turns itself off, and then starts again. I have never known an Apple to need re-booting to connect a printer.
10. So, now, it should be ready to go. Everything is on. The computer screen says the document is being printed. Voila. Nothing happens. Nothing prints.
11. Aha, that's right. I vaguely remember what I forgot to do. I have to turn the printer off and then turn it back on. In this case, I had to do that twice.
12. So, yes, as others have noted, the WINTEL computers can do almost everything that an AAPL computer does. It just takes longer -- it took about an hour to get this third printer going -- about the same time it took for the first two printers, an hour each. And with AAPL, it is "plug and play." About 10 seconds. Of course, when I buy a printer for my Apple, I make sure the printer says it is compatible with Apple, which most of them are. But if it's compatible, it generally means the software is already loaded; Apple will recognize the printer, and it will default automatically to the only printer plugged in. It was amazing that even with the old printer disconnected, the WINTEL still defaulted to the old printer. Can it be that hard to write software to tell the printer to ignore printer drivers for printers no longer connected to the computer. From the very beginning, Steve said his computers recognize what gets connected to them. It looks like WINTEL has part of this down, but not all.
13. Oh, one last thing that WINTEL computers will do that AAPLs won't. WINTEL computers download viruses that AAPL users don't worry about. So, if you like installing security patches and firewalls, etc., you will love WINTEL.
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