Linux vs Windows, number i in a series of 2^n

I am now, at home, a mostly exclusive Linux user. There are now only 2 or 3 things that I boot Windows for. And I’m finding now that for many things, Windows is now a burden and in fact less powerful and (which is more significant) less easy than Linux.

Now I know what you’re thinking: you’re thinking I’m talking about compiling a GTK library, or sorting my email, or bittorrenting, or any one of a hundred other geeky tasks that I do. You’re thinking: he can’t mean something that normal people do, like playing videos, listening to music, browsing the web, etc.

Or like printing pictures from a digital camera…?


gimp_windows_print_dialog


gimp_linux_print_dialog

How do Windows users cope with this? These dialogs are from the same piece of software! Yet Windows is very lacking in control over the printing.

3 comments

  1. Click properties, and you should get most of what's in the Gimp options, possibly more.

    Windows print options are a function of the printer, and the printing software/drivers. The better the printer I buy, the more powerful/numerous my options. I currently have a sweet 1200×1200 B&W laser printer, and it has many options.

    ACDSee image viewer's 4 option screen tabs:

    The Properties button gives me 5 more screens filled with options. Down in “Rendering,” I get resolution, optional gamma correction, and 7 Filter types: Box, Triangle, Bicubic, Bell, B-spline, Lanczos, and Mitchell.
    Optional inches/mm, and a host of thumbnail options for images selected from the viewer, with 9 Page Positions.
    Decent number of options for pagination and header/footer texts, which have PageNum and NumPages text replacement options for lightly automating headers and footers.
    Lots of options here. As well as printing out an image, selected images, or a full folder of images as pages or fully definably spaced and sized thumbnails, captions can be added, which can be hand formatted here with insertable text replacement strings for around 40 common EXIF fields, which include 8 GPS data options.
    Opera's option screen tabs:
    I don't even know what all this is about.
    22 built-in paper sizes, plus customization in inches or millimeters, as well as 20 paper types, and 4 print qualities.
    3 built-in watermarks, or load your own, plus multiple paper resizing options.
    Pagination order corrections, multiple items per sheet, or blow up to posters made of multiple sheets. Also, orientation (a bit out of the way, I admit).
    This brought up a rather odd webpage with a picture of my printer's lights area. By clicking a light, a series of 3 lights would pop up. These were off, on, and a blinking light. You can pick one, and then click a link to see what that setup could mean. Seems a bit of a roundabout way to just look up lights status, but it's functional, at least.

    Opera's option screen tabs with an older inkjet printer selected:
    Selecting an older printer (which actually doesn't function anymore, but remains installed), my options drastically decrease.
    Orientation, page order, pages per sheet.
    A scant 7 types of paper now, though the advanced button pops up options identical to the second image under the Opera options listed earlier.

    (http://livejournal.com/users/greatbiggary)

  2. Click properties, and you should get most of what's in the Gimp options, possibly more.

    No – perhaps I should have mentioned that this printer is networked through a print server?

    Windows print options are a function of the printer, and the printing software/drivers. The better the printer I buy, the more powerful/numerous my options. I currently have a sweet 1200×1200 B&W laser printer, and it has many options.

    I think the drivers are the point here. And I think your “older inkjet” pics are comparable to my situation. So perhaps the answer to my question is: Windows users cope by buying things until they find one that (arbitrarily) has good options?

    (http://livejournal.com/users/elbeno)

  3. I might also add that although the dialogs refer to printing graphics, I find printing text easier from Linux too. KPDF has many print options, and the crucial one for me (which IIRC I couldn't find in acrobat) is the ability to print odd or even page sets. Vital for duplex printing on a single-sided printer.

    (http://livejournal.com/users/elbeno)

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