From: John McWilliams on
Robert Coe wrote:
> On Wed, 7 Jul 2010 15:19:29 -0400, "Neil Harrington" <nobody(a)homehere.net>
> wrote:
> :
> : "Bruce" <docnews2011(a)gmail.com> wrote in message
> : news:t8c8361e99j167jvk3hvm7kcupg0vkof0l(a)4ax.com...
> :
> : > (no doubt the resident anti-DSLR troll will be along in a minute with
> : > his usual anti-DSLR rant!)
> :
> : Yep, there he is, right on cue.
>
> The one thing you can say for him is that he isn't lazy.

What's the chance you chaps can stop rattling on about him?

--
lsmft
From: Outing Trolls is FUN! on
On Sat, 10 Jul 2010 00:00:18 -0700, John McWilliams <jpmcw(a)comcast.net>
wrote:

>Robert Coe wrote:
>> On Wed, 7 Jul 2010 15:19:29 -0400, "Neil Harrington" <nobody(a)homehere.net>
>> wrote:
>> :
>> : "Bruce" <docnews2011(a)gmail.com> wrote in message
>> : news:t8c8361e99j167jvk3hvm7kcupg0vkof0l(a)4ax.com...
>> :
>> : > (no doubt the resident anti-DSLR troll will be along in a minute with
>> : > his usual anti-DSLR rant!)
>> :
>> : Yep, there he is, right on cue.
>>
>> The one thing you can say for him is that he isn't lazy.
>
>What's the chance you chaps can stop rattling on about him?

What's the chance that you'll ever convey the least bit useful information
about cameras and photography?

0%

From: Bruce on
On Fri, 09 Jul 2010 21:49:25 -0400, Robert Coe <bob(a)1776.COM> wrote:
>On Wed, 07 Jul 2010 22:12:14 +0100, Bruce <docnews2011(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>: As I have said before, I would value a small sensor digital camera for
>: some macro work on account of its greatly increased depth of field.
>: There is also the value of having a camera that is small in size and
>: light in weight and therefore relatively inconspicuous.
>
>It occurs to me that the relative inconspicuity of P&S cameras took a
>significant hit when they stopped putting proper viewfinders in them.


You have never heard of electronic viewfinders (EVFs)?

Poor you.

From: Robert Coe on
On Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:14:24 -0400, krishnananda
<krishna(a)divine-life.in.invalid> wrote:
: In article <89gu75F852U27(a)mid.individual.net>, ray <ray(a)zianet.com>
: wrote:
:
: > On Tue, 06 Jul 2010 09:27:43 -0400, krishnananda wrote:
: >
: > > In article <i0v17o$pee$1(a)qmul>,
: > > "whisky-dave" <whisky-dave(a)final.front.ear> wrote:
: > >
: > >> "ray" <ray(a)zianet.com> wrote in message
: > >> news:89f1q4F852U22(a)mid.individual.net...
: > >> > On Mon, 05 Jul 2010 21:43:15 +0200, Ofnuts wrote:
: > >> >
: > >> >
: > >> > See other reply. Canon makes things other than cameras - e.g.
: > >> > printers. Until they show a little Linux support, I prefer to ignore
: > >> > all their offerings. I don't expect you or anyone else to be with me
: > >> > - but that is my reason.
: > >>
: > >> I can almost understand your stance, it's similar to some friends I
: > >> have that are vegetarian and refuse to go in to McDonalds .
: > >>
: > >> But I'm curious about one thing is it that Canon OS doesn't support
: > >> Linux or is it that Linux don't support Canon ?
: > >
: > > Perhaps users of FreeBSD, OpenSolaris, NetBSD, and other *server*
: > > operating systems should also boycott Canon, Nikon, and other vendors of
: > > *consumer-level* software?
: > >
: > > For the 5 people using Linux as their desktop OS, well Linux itself was
: > > always roll your own. Don't like Canon? Write your own software.
: >
: > Folk have indeed written software to handle, for example, Canon raw file
: > types. What they can't do is write software for 'winprinters' and other
: > Canon products - at least without proper documentation.
: >
: > No comment on your ignorance about number of Linux users.
:
: Oh, my mistake. The _6_ people who use Linux as a desktop etc. etc.
:
: Canon won't even release their latest RAW file specs to Adobe let alone
: the innards of something called a "WIN-printer". I'll go out on a limb
: and guess that there will never be a Mac driver for a WINprinter and I
: don't care. I don't find it necessary to boycott Canon or whine
: interminably about how everyone picks on my computer's operating system.
:
: Get over it. Their legal department probably had mass apoplexy at the
: thought of all those pissed off Linux users suing Canon over some
: teenager's "open source" software that is supposed to work perfectly on
: all computers and all Canon devices but crashes instead.
:
: Remember, the corollary to free software is the deep-pockets rule of
: lawsuits.

Arguing with a Linux zealot is generally non-productive. Most of them choose
Linux because it's cheap; but rather than admint it, they pretend that it's a
moral, not a financial, issue. They're like Richard Nixon's Silent Majority:
they've achieved a degree of influence by pretending (or genuinely believing)
that there are more of them than there really are. In an earlier age they'd be
among those whining that it's a Crime against Civilization that the entire
Library of Congress hasn't been translated into Esperanto.

Canon, BTW, is not the only manufacturer that's possessive about its printer
drivers. HP has a universal driver that works with most of their printers, but
I started having trouble making it work with some of the newest models. When I
looked into it, HP told me they had started making their printers have to jump
through more hoops to prove that they were genuine, which they had done by
adding one or two undocumented steps to the installation process. The reason
for all this was that their driver was so general that it worked on several
other manufacturers' printers, and HP thought that put them at a competitive
disadvantage.

Bob
From: Robert Coe on
On Tue, 06 Jul 2010 23:08:21 -0400, krishnananda
<krishna(a)divine-life.in.invalid> wrote:
: In article <89hiahF852U33(a)mid.individual.net>, ray <ray(a)zianet.com>
: wrote:
:
: > On Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:14:24 -0400, krishnananda wrote:
: >
: > > In article <89gu75F852U27(a)mid.individual.net>, ray <ray(a)zianet.com>
: > > wrote:
: > >
: > >> On Tue, 06 Jul 2010 09:27:43 -0400, krishnananda wrote:
: > >>
: > >> > In article <i0v17o$pee$1(a)qmul>,
: > >> > "whisky-dave" <whisky-dave(a)final.front.ear> wrote:
: > >> >
: > >> >> "ray" <ray(a)zianet.com> wrote in message
: > >> >> news:89f1q4F852U22(a)mid.individual.net...
: > >> >> > On Mon, 05 Jul 2010 21:43:15 +0200, Ofnuts wrote:
: > >> >> >
: > >> >> >
: > >> >> > See other reply. Canon makes things other than cameras - e.g.
: > >> >> > printers. Until they show a little Linux support, I prefer to
: > >> >> > ignore all their offerings. I don't expect you or anyone else to
: > >> >> > be with me - but that is my reason.
: > >> >>
: > >> >> I can almost understand your stance, it's similar to some friends I
: > >> >> have that are vegetarian and refuse to go in to McDonalds .
: > >> >>
: > >> >> But I'm curious about one thing is it that Canon OS doesn't support
: > >> >> Linux or is it that Linux don't support Canon ?
: > >> >
: > >> > Perhaps users of FreeBSD, OpenSolaris, NetBSD, and other *server*
: > >> > operating systems should also boycott Canon, Nikon, and other vendors
: > >> > of *consumer-level* software?
: > >> >
: > >> > For the 5 people using Linux as their desktop OS, well Linux itself
: > >> > was always roll your own. Don't like Canon? Write your own software.
: > >>
: > >> Folk have indeed written software to handle, for example, Canon raw
: > >> file types. What they can't do is write software for 'winprinters' and
: > >> other Canon products - at least without proper documentation.
: > >>
: > >> No comment on your ignorance about number of Linux users.
: > >
: > > Oh, my mistake. The _6_ people who use Linux as a desktop etc. etc.
: > >
: > > Canon won't even release their latest RAW file specs to Adobe let alone
: > > the innards of something called a "WIN-printer". I'll go out on a limb
: > > and guess that there will never be a Mac driver for a WINprinter and I
: > > don't care. I don't find it necessary to boycott Canon or whine
: > > interminably about how everyone picks on my computer's operating system.
: > >
: >
: > Not whining at all. Also not trying to convert anyone. I was asked why I
: > eschew Canon and I replied - no more, no less.
: >
: > > Get over it. Their legal department probably had mass apoplexy at the
: > > thought of all those pissed off Linux users suing Canon over some
: > > teenager's "open source" software that is supposed to work perfectly on
: > > all computers and all Canon devices but crashes instead.
: > >
: > > Remember, the corollary to free software is the deep-pockets rule of
: > > lawsuits.
: >
: > I'm not asking that Canon develop Linux drivers - simply allow others to
: > write them. They don't, so I don't.
:
: All kidding and tongue-in-cheek aside (and I _was_ kidding...) it seems
: to me that trying to get Winprinters to print from operating systems
: other than Windows would only be worth it if the printer itself is
: something special.
:
: Like Winmodems of days gone by, Winprinters (technically Graphics Device
: Interface printers) rely on the host OS for all image processing and
: therefore can be manufactured extremely cheaply. If there was something
: like ultra-high resolution or hexachrome printing I could see making the
: effort, but for the el-cheapo printers Canon makes as GDI devices I'd
: rather use a decent printer instead. None of the GDI printers uses a
: proper RIP, certainly not PostScript.
:
: What I don't know is whether you could hook up a Winprinter and then
: print to it under WINE. That is a kluge, of course, but I'd rather use a
: high-end high-resolution printer anyway.
:
: Source: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winprinter#GDI_printers> (just
: because it's on the wiki thing doesn't automatically mean it's wrong...)
:
: Oh, and according to <www.numberof.net> their estimate as of June 2010
: there are approximately 19 million Linux users :-)

What they mean is that there are 19 million people who know that it isn't
spelled "Linix". ;^)

Bob