Printing: XP to Linux or Linux to XP

[mpeden]

Do you prefer hanging a printer on a XP box and sharing it or building a minimum PC w/ Linux and using it for a print server?

[lutzweber]

IMHO it depends on how many (spare) boxes and the number of printers you have. On my small network I have one (laser) printers on a Win PC, one other on a Knoppix PC and a third (dot matrix) printer on a OpenBSD file/printer server running samba. For simplicity I would choose some *x*-box for printer server. Good book: Radermacher, Network printing, OReilly 2000

Lutz Weber

[Harry Kuhman]

I would think that I would be much more likely to use one of the old computers that I have laying around and not suitable for running a GUI based system as a print server than waste an x-box on one. Simple math: Old Computer> Just aboutworthless, I would gladly give one or two away to anyone who will make use of them, too little cpu, memory and disk to do much else but be a print server.. X-box> $150 plus the mod to get it running software that will run the print server. Another solution over an X-box: there are plenty of inexpensive (as in cost less than an X-box) network devices that serve as print servers. They are tiny and use lfar less electricity than either an X-box or an old PC, and have some added utility (don't need a screen, administer from a web interface over the network). Get one or offer to give your X-box to someone who will give you one of these.