New Acer Chromebook C710-2055

[Graham]

Originally Posted by ApK

Can't print to my legacy network printer without CloudPrint

Printing to legacy printers via Chrome running on another PC on the network runs really well, and takes only a few seconds to set up. You may even be able to have Chrome running on your NAS, which would save you having to boot up another desktop.

Failing that, a Raspberry Pi makes a good CloudPrint server. On that, or another Linux machine (your NAS?), you can install CUPS and Cloudprint.

Originally Posted by ApK

can't access local NAS shares without an HTML interface

That one caught me by suprise too, but if you're Linux-savvy (which your post suggests that you are) you can open a terminal window on your Chromebook (Ctrl-Alt-T) and log into the NAS using ssh, or use a VNC client. Take a look at ShiftEdit if you want an ftp client.

Originally Posted by ApK

not even sure if we can manage files on our Android smartphones via USB.

This should work as long as the phone mounts as a normal USB drive. It works fine with my Galaxy S, opening up both the internal storage and the sd card in the Chromebook file manager.

Graham

[frahse]

Was this question ever answered?

What makes a printer "cloud ready?"

Does just being a "wireless" printer do the job?

If I have only a Chromebook and a "wireless" printer am I good to go?

[ApK]

Originally Posted by frahse

Was this question ever answered?

What makes a printer "cloud ready?"

Does just being a "wireless" printer do the job?

If I have only a Chromebook and a "wireless" printer am I good to go?

http://www.google.com/cloudprint/learn/printers.html

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Graham

On that, or another Linux machine (your NAS?), you can install CUPS and Cloudprint

I'd be surprised if my already-overburdened NAS device, which I just hacked with a web server to get the Chromebook access to the data, could handle anything else, but I'll look into it. I really don't like having to have another computer running, and while the Rasberry Pi would be fun, I didn't want the Chromebook to be the cause of another hobby.

That one caught me by suprise too, but if you're Linux-savvy (which your post suggests that you are) you can open a terminal window on your Chromebook (Ctrl-Alt-T) and log into the NAS using ssh, or use a VNC client. Take a look at ShiftEdit if you want an ftp client.

I'm not about to send my wife to a command line! :-)

I got an html interface working, so we're set for basic functionality, but I'm still surprised how much the thing shuns any sort of local network technologies.

At least it has an RDP client.

And yet this cheapest of all Chromebooks has a 320GB drive! If not for a linux install, with it's limited local functionality, what on earth do they expect any normal chromebook user to do with all that space?!?

[frahse]

Originally Posted by ApK

http://www.google.com/cloudprint/learn/printers.html

I have not found anything there that answers my question.

You have
a chromebook
an older wireless (not designated cloud) printer

a wireless router that both hook to, or even 2 wireless routers, one for each

What do you do to make cloud printing work?

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by ApK

I'm not about to send my wife to a command line! :-)

In my wife's case that does sound like the subject of a cheap horror movie

[Graham]

Originally Posted by frahse

I have not found anything there that answers my question.

You have
a chromebook
an older wireless (not designated cloud) printer

a wireless router that both hook to, or even 2 wireless routers, one for each

What do you do to make cloud printing work?

You need to have another PC available on the network that is capable of printing to that printer. The simplest way is if the other PC can run Chrome, in which case it's a one-time settings change to link the printer to Chrome. See:

https://support.google.com/cloudprin...r/1686197?rd=1

After that, as long as the PC is also running, your Chromebook will recognise the legacy printer. It's quite forgiving, in that the Chromebook will send the print job even if the PC is off, so you can switch it on later and the queued job will print. (Quite handy if the PC is next to the printer and you're at the other end of the house.)

As I noted above, another way of doing it, but only for the more technically-savvy, is to set up a Linux device as a print server - something that you can leave on all the time, like a Raspberry Pi, or (I assume this is possible) your NAS.

On a final note, having to buy a new printer when changing OS isn't unusual. I had to do this when moving from Win 98 to XP and then again from XP to Windows 7. (The first because Windows Printing System was no longer supported, and the second because Win 7 drivers weren't available.)

Graham

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Graham

On a final note, having to buy a new printer when changing OS isn't unusual.

It would be unusual for me. I don't intend to retire my Laserjet 5 as long as it has breath left in it's chassis.

But it SHOULD be unacceptable for everyone. Bad enough we're compelled to dispose of cell phones every few years, we don't need printers joining in the disposable mindset.

We're supposed to me moving toward open standards, one of the benefits being long-term reusability. Remember winmodems? I don't miss that idea.

ApK

[ApK]

Originally Posted by frahse

I have not found anything there that answers my question.

You have
a chromebook
an older wireless (not designated cloud) printer

a wireless router that both hook to, or even 2 wireless routers, one for each

What do you do to make cloud printing work?

The direct answer to you question was "no, just "wireless" is not necessarily enough, you need a Google CloudPrint-enabled printer from the list on that page, or you need to print through another Google CloudPrint-enabled device, as described on that page."

Google CloudPrint needs to see a printer registered to the CloudPrint service out on the Internet, not just something on your local network.

I hope a direct local printing solution will eventually appear. Maybe I should write something...oh wait, there's that "I don't want another hobby" thing.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by ApK

It would be unusual for me. I don't intend to retire my Laserjet 5 as long as it has breath left in it's chassis.

Good luck. It was a LaserJet that I had to replace when I moved to Windows 7 from XP.

Originally Posted by ApK

But it SHOULD be unacceptable for everyone. Bad enough we're compelled to dispose of cell phones every few years, we don't need printers joining in the disposable mindset.

I agree completely with that.

To be fair to Google, they have provided the above methods for printing to legacy printers.

Graham

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Graham

Good luck. It was a LaserJet that I had to replace when I moved to Windows 7 from XP.

Which one? Old Laserjet drivers are still available via Windows Update at least through Windows 7, and I've never had a problem setting a standard IP port connection to it's JetDirect board.

I agree completely with that.

To be fair to Google, they have provided the above methods for printing to legacy printers.

Might I PM you for help with getting that Cloudprint service running on my NAS?

My Linux expertise is mostly limited to knowing which way the slashes go and knowing how to use man. And Google.

[JD Gumby]

Originally Posted by ApK

But it SHOULD be unacceptable for everyone. Bad enough we're compelled to dispose of cell phones every few years, we don't need printers joining in the disposable mindset.

They joined that mindset years ago. It'd actually be cheaper for me to buy a new $35 printer to print off a couple of hundred pages than it would be to pay the $45 it'd cost for a new cartridge to print off the same amount. :/

[Graham]

Originally Posted by ApK

Which one? Old Laserjet drivers are still available via Windows Update at least through Windows 7, and I've never had a problem setting a standard IP port connection to it's JetDirect board.

LaserJet 1010. There's no Windows 7 driver. I was able to get it to print when connected directly via USB, but not reliably across the network, and advanced features like two sided-printing wouldn't work at all.

Originally Posted by ApK

Might I PM you for help with getting that Cloudprint service running on my NAS?

I can help with getting it going on a Pi. I've not tackled getting it running on a NAS yet, so we might be at the same level of competence. But yes, feel free to PM me if you want to try to take it forward. My own NAS is a QNAP Turbo.

Graham

[ApK]

Originally Posted by JD Gumby

They joined that mindset years ago. It'd actually be cheaper for me to buy a new $35 printer to print off a couple of hundred pages than it would be to pay the $45 it'd cost for a new cartridge to print off the same amount. :/

It was about that time that I changed my opinion on refilled cartridges. That's all I use now. I'm sad that Staples just changed their ink recycling rewards program to now require you to buy at least some ink from them....

ApK

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by ApK

I'd be surprised if my already-overburdened NAS device, which I just hacked with a web server to get the Chromebook access to the data, could handle anything else, but I'll look into it. I really don't like having to have another computer running, and while the Rasberry Pi would be fun, I didn't want the Chromebook to be the cause of another hobby.



I'm not about to send my wife to a command line! :-)

I got an html interface working, so we're set for basic functionality, but I'm still surprised how much the thing shuns any sort of local network technologies.

At least it has an RDP client.

And yet this cheapest of all Chromebooks has a 320GB drive! If not for a linux install, with it's limited local functionality, what on earth do they expect any normal chromebook user to do with all that space?!?

Maybe they couldn't find a reasonable quantity of smaller drives.