Thursday, March 09, 2006
Bonjour And Printers On Windows
We recently retired our old kitchen computer which was acting as a print server for our HP LaserJet 3300. The 3300 was attached to the network via a JetDirect box. On the, now retired, PC I had installed all the software that came with the printer and print server and then shared out the printer so that other PCs on the network could print to it. When it came to setting up my wifes iBook to use the printer, nothing could be simpler, I told it to look for printers, it found the printer and knew what it make and model it was.
Today, with our new kitchen PC installed, printing from the other PC's in the house stopped working. I thought about installing all the HP software again on the new kitchen PC, but did I really want to bog down the machine as a print server and have a load of useless tray icons kicking around doing nothing. At this point I remembered that Apple released Bonjour (nee Rendezvous) for Windows so I thought I would give it a try.
Well, after the download ( Google for "apple bonjour windows download" to find it) and install, it was like being on a Mac. It found our network printer, it knew what make and model it was, and then setup a default printer. Much quicker than installing all the HP software, and no reboots required. I have installed it on the other PC's in the house, highly recomended.
Today, with our new kitchen PC installed, printing from the other PC's in the house stopped working. I thought about installing all the HP software again on the new kitchen PC, but did I really want to bog down the machine as a print server and have a load of useless tray icons kicking around doing nothing. At this point I remembered that Apple released Bonjour (nee Rendezvous) for Windows so I thought I would give it a try.
Well, after the download ( Google for "apple bonjour windows download" to find it) and install, it was like being on a Mac. It found our network printer, it knew what make and model it was, and then setup a default printer. Much quicker than installing all the HP software, and no reboots required. I have installed it on the other PC's in the house, highly recomended.
