[X Newbies] Sharing a printer

[Michael Winter]

On Jan 23, 2004, at 2:48 PM, Charles Martin wrote:

> Look, if the two computers are networked together, just attach the USB 
> printer to one of them and turn on "USB Printer Sharing" in the 
> "Sharing" System Preference.

I agree. If they're close enough to share a printer via USB cable, 
they're close enough for an ethernet cable -no hub or special crossover 
cable needed for your Macs. That'd be the cheapest answer.

> If the two computers are NOT networked together, simply buy a $20 USB 
> hub. Plug the printer and the two computers into it, install the 
> printer's driver on both computer and add the printer to Print Setup 
> on both machines. Done.

AFAIK, you can't have two computers on the same USB bus at the same 
time. USB is not a peer-to-peer protocol and it could get ugly if both 
computers try to take control. Maybe you meant just plugging one 
computer in at a time?

The other option would be the old-fashioned A/B switch. I haven't seen 
any, but I'm guessing they should be available somewhere, but that's 
going to be the most expensive.

-Mike