On Sun, 16 Jan 2000, Mark Newton wrote:
> > > > I recently acquired a SPARCprinter from a university department that
> > > > believed they'd have no further use for it (I hope they were right!).
> > >
> > >I believe they would be :-)  I think Sun EOL'ed SPARCprinters generations
> > >ago;  I can't even recall whether they brought out drivers for the things
> > >for Solaris 2.x...
> > 
> >   ...and therefore it obviously can't print characters on paper anymore. 
> > Better toss it in the trash fast.
> 
>How much do you want to pay for toner cartridges for a far-from-mainstream
>printer which hasn't been sold for over ten years?

  What the hell is mainstream?  I don't run Windows.

  People who run SPARCs at home seldom do things the "mainstream" way.
Personally, I don't use a SPARCprinter, so I can't give you specifics here...but
I do know three or four people who use them every day and don't pay a
fortune for toner cartridges.

  And even if the cartridge is outrageously priced...how many of them do you
think the average home user would go through in a year?  I consider myself to
be a moderate to heavy printer-user.  My printing is divided between an Apple
Laserwriter 16/600PS and a Tektronix Phaser550.  I've had the former for three
years and the latter for one, got them both about half-full.  I've replaced the
toner cartridge in the Laserwriter once, and the Phaser is still 1/4 full.

  Back to SPARCprinters.  There were enough of those things made that toner
cartridges should be around for some time.  Also...I haven't taken a close look
at that engine, but I strongly doubt Sun actually built it.  Meaning some other
vendor most likely had a printer out that uses the same toner cartridges...a
printer which may still be a current item.  Just a possibility...

  der Mouse has gotten a cool new box.  There's a lot to be gained from
learning about it, making it work, and "mastering" it...whether Sun's marketing
department still likes it or not.

  It's nothing personal; I'm not trying to start an argument with you...but I do
try to bring sanity to the "that box is a few years old, my GOD man, get rid of
it before the world explodes!" attitude that the Wintel world has so
graciously created for us whenever I see it crop up.

                -Dave McGuire