AirPrint for iOS on Mac and Windows MIA (1 Viewer)

[KeithAP]

According to this story http://www.tuaw.com/2010/11/10/rumor-airprint-support-for-mac-and-pcs-canceled/


The ability for an iPad with iOS 4.2 to use a printer connected to a Mac or Windows machine for output is being pulled. An email from Apple to a developer was quoted as saying...

Support for AirPrint on Windows and Mac has been canceled. We will be in contact with you if another opportunity arises in the future.

This marks the second time, that I can think of, that a major feature promised for a product's release, the first time was the infamous AirDisk for Time Machine (now fixed), has been quietly pulled.


I understand that unforeseen things sometimes happen. It seems to me when Apple touts a major feature at an event to promote an upcoming product, if that feature is canceled or fundamentally changed, for whatever reason, Apple should, at the least issue a press release announcing that the feature is no longer part of the product as soon as it is known to them.


In this case, printers that support the feature natively will apparently still work. But very few printers do that.


Am I the only one that thinks this kind of thing reflects rather poorly on Apple. Not only from the standpoint of their inability to bring a promised feature to market, but the apparent willingness to potentially mislead consumers in regards to changed features in a product.


Or maybe I am being too harsh? I doubt anyone bought an iPad solely because they were promised to be able to print wirelessly to a printer connected to a Mac or Windoze box but still, it it just seems like poor form to me.


-Keith

 

[mattCR]

For a lot of people, this is one of those things that should have been a no brainer. But right now, airshare is probably the only reliable way to do this with formatting in tact.


This is a bit of a kludge, considering android supports HTTP Printques and WindowsPhone7 supports LPR/HTTP printques... and both have promised full PictBridge compliance, etc.


(That's a USB cable from device straight to a printer, like an HP, and print) The ability for an iPad to go to a printer to me is a no-brainer. I'm kind of surprised this is being killed. I'd be interested to know what printers work with it now, because if you can find out what software they are running, creating a reliable universal print server shouldn't be impossible.

 

[Sam Posten]

The only thing more difficult than (or stupider/deadlier than) trying to unify printing across OSes is starting a land war in asia.

 

[mattCR]

Originally Posted by Sam Posten /forum/thread/305681/airprint-for-ios-on-mac-and-windows-mia#post_3749207

 

[Craig S]

This story appears to have been much ado about nothing:


http://www.tuaw.com/2010/11/10/steve-jobs-airprint-support-for-mac-and-pcs-not-canceled/


I think Mr. Jobs says it best:

Don't believe everything you read.

 

[Ken Chan]

Not necessarily. The dipshit moron trolling for a response ("vaporware") asked the wrong question:

As a release-day purchaser of an iPad, I was elated when you revealed iOS 4.2 would support AirPrint. Now comes reports AirPrint support has been pulled from 4.2. Between announcements/assurances of the white iPhone, and now the pulling of AirPrint, is Apple going to lose credibility and become known for announcing "vaporware"?

The troll asked about pulling the entire feature, to which Jobs easily responded.