I've always liked CUPS, the Common Unix Printing System that is the standard printing subsystem for Linux... The main gripe I have about it is even though are reams of documentation, it's still hard to dig up answers. But I still like it, and more printer vendors are joining the Linux parade and supporting GPL printer drivers, and even nice software control panels.

The Common UNIX Printing SystemTM, or CUPS, is the software you use to print from applications like the web browser you are using to read this page. It converts the page descriptions produced by your application (put a paragraph here, draw a line there, and so forth) into something your printer can understand and then sends the information to the printer for printing.

Printing in Linux, even in this glorious year 2009--almost 2010--of the new millennium, the 21st century, is still fraught with vexations. I have always liked CUPS, the Common Unix Printing System once you figure out your way around it. But there are still some gaps.

"December 26th 2008: Copyright developed in the age of the printing press, and was designed to fit with the system of centralized copying imposed by the printing press. But the copyright system does not fit well with computer networks, and only draconian punishments can enforce it. This speech will be part of the Freedom in Computer Technology 2008 conference..."

It's the dawn of a new year. From our perch on the frontier of electronic civil liberties, EFF has collected a list of a dozen important trends in law, technology and business that we think will play a significant role in shaping online rights in 2010.

Last week I talked a bit about the bipolar world of printing on Linux: the best of times, the worst of times; the easiest and the hardest; the most reliable and the most annoying. I raised a number of questions such as why do print jobs disappear without a trace, then reappear days later?

Recently I was discussing Linux operating systems with a co-worker. The question came up on how well printers were supported in Linux. As I have a fresh install of Ubuntu 9.04, I thought I would show exactly how well most printers work in Ubuntu.

My employer, Warnbro Community Library in Western Australia, had a problem with wasted paper from printing. Library patrons often sent unnecessary print jobs to the printers, then refused to pay for them, leaving reams of unclaimed paper.

The Linux Foundation last week announced the free availability of the Linux Standard Base Driver Development Kit for print drivers. The DDK provides the tools and resources for printing manufacturers to easily support all Linux distributions with one driver package, greatly reducing the time and effort needed to support Linux, a foundation spokesperson said.