New printer and Linux

I finally got a new laser printer. Staples had a sale on with an 'instant' rebate and a mail-in rebate. There were two things that also influenced my decision on purchasing the machine:

1. Replacement cartridge is about $80;
2. It actually mentioned on the packaging that it is Linux compatible.

The printer itself is a Samsung 2010. It has both parallel and USB connections. I went with USB when I connected it into the computer. It was a breeze installing and configuring. I used Mandrakes control center, picked the hardware tab, clicked on set up printer. It detected the type of machine without a problem. The only thing I had to do was define the model of the printer. It didn't have the exact model so I went through the list looking for the model number closest to mine and tried them. The ML-1750 didn't work correctly, but, the 1710 worked perfectly. I didn't have to insert an install CD or reboot the machine, Linux recognized the printer and in about five minutes I was done and printing again.

The test pages came out very quickly and the graphics were great. I then set up Samba to share the printer throughout the house for myself and the family. That took all of 30 seconds to do.

One little feature on the printer I like is the off/on button. Most manufacturers think leaving this out and trumpeting 'sleep mode' is great. Personally if I am not using the printer I want it off and not in sleep mode. Sleep mode still uses hydro and I am paying for that.

Last note, Staples has an online site where you can fill in for the rebate. I did that this morning and I will see how that process goes. It beats filling in a paper form and then use a stamp to get money back. There is also a web site so you can monitor the status of the rebate. More on how this worked later on.