Standardizing the Cloud Printer for Tablets and smartphones - Molly Wood rants about the broken printer

Tenet insanabile multos scribendi cacoethes

(The incurable itch of writing possess many)

Juvenal, Satire, VII

In my previous ditty entitled “Windows 8 Tablets and Cloud Printing - Tifa Spells Out Microsoft's Super 8 Advantage”, I complained of the lack of suitable Cloud Printers, despite the crush of Tablets now on the market. However, in my haste to castigate the Printer design community, I failed to make a solid contribution as to what I would like to see in such a Printer.

This is of greatest importance to me, as despite my love for all things Apple, I am still a WinTel man. My anticipation for a Windows 8 OS Tablet, which is rumoured to be heavily floating on the Cloud as predicted in my blog article entitled “Microsoft's Mango Update and Windows 8 - License to Kill in the Real World”, has me genuinely excited for the first time for the coming of a Tablet, as to be honest, I have had it with hearing Apple rumours ad nauseam.

That and I have secret plans to get me a Google Chromebook or an Asus Eee Transformer Tablet for the Christmas of 2011AD as described in my blog article entitled “Asus Transformer vs Apple iPad 2 - X-Men First Class for Ludacris' Numba' One Spot”.

Despite Microsoft’s lack of innovation by way of porting Windows Phone 7 to a PC, possibly to make the screen touch-centric, predictions of its success by CNET News Contributor Harry McCracken in the article “Will Windows 8 Take the Touchscreen PC Mainstream”, published September 18 2011 by Harry McCracken, CNET News – Challengers, are spot on and on track for 2012AD, just in time for the London Olympics 2012 slated to begin on July 27^th 2012AD.

The roaring success of the Apple iPad notwithstanding, Apple is yet to make its presence felt in the Corporate world the way that Microsoft and RIM have with their Enterprise ready Microsoft Office Suite and RIM Blackberry, which I can now safely call smartphones now sporting 1.2GHz Processors and QNX OS by 2012AD as stated in my blog article entitled “RIM Blackberry steps up to 1.2GHz and Faster Browser - QNX and Qualcomm Voyage of the Dawn Treader”.

So the Corporate world and the Business community, already used to Microsoft and RIM products, remained largely untouched by Apple’s Machiavellian dominance of the Tablet and Ultrathin form factor Laptop market with the Apple MacBook Air. Much as the amped up  sub-US$999 Ultrabooks that are an Intel sponsored improvement on the Laptop will help to avoid the ELE (Extinction Level Event) that has wiped the Netbook off the face of the planet earth, ironically made popular by Asus, the demise of the PC in this the “Post-PC era” may be postponed.

This as it is my opinion that the  conversion of the PC to a smaller Raspberry Pi USB Mini PC form factor will allow the PC to survive as stated in my blog article entitled “Raspberry Pi US$25 computer coming in November 2011AD - Post PC Survival and PC Revolution for the Masses”.

Thus 2012AD may be the Year of not only Microsoft and RIM but Intel as well, also fighting fit with new Vertical Array Processors, or Iso-Linear Processors for smartphones and Tablets to come online by 2013AD as stated in my blog article entitled “IBM and 3M to develope adhesive for Iso-Linear Processor - Rihanna's Umbrella for Intel's SuperComputer on a Chip”.

So where is the plethora of options for Cloud Printers from Printer manufacturers I was hoping I could choose from to go with my Google Chromebook or Asus Eee Transformer? The Printer and printing support by companies such as HP, Epson and Canon has been central to the success of the WinTel (Windows and Intel) Alliance in the Corporate world, with most of the Newspaper, Publishing and Broadcasting world devolving towards Apple thanks to its software and hardware rock solid stability and cutting edge GUI (Graphics User Interface).

So the time has come for standards for Printing for Tablets and smarphones, the common factor that unites the Corporate World for both Mac and WinTel users in this “Post-PC era”. Here are my suggestions for the perfect Cloud Printer, CNET News Molly Wood Rants about a broken printer Style:

Physical Attributes

1.      The parallel port on all Printers needs to disappear - forever.

2.      Printer should have a maximum footprint of 15” by 15” (38.1cm by 38.1cm), with specific parameter classes set for smaller Printers and weigh no more than five pounds (5 lb)

3.      A class of Printers need to be designed not to use ink but instead use specially treated paper and print in much the same way a photograph is developed

4.      Laser Printers or Inkjet Printers should be designed so that you can buy the ink and not the cartridge and refill the cartridge which would be a part of the Printer, much as you refill an empty vehicle’s gas tank

5.      There should be a Universal Power Adapter standard for all Printers based around the USB port much as exists for mobile smartphones and as I had suggested for Ultrabooks as per as stated in my blog article entitled “Apple MacBook Airs and Intel UltraBooks cometh – Time for a Common Standard on Power Adaptors”.

Connectivity

1.      Ethernet, USB and Thunderbolt should be Wired Standards for connectivity available for  Home and Office Network Printing

2.      Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n) and Bluetooth should be Wireless Standards for connectivity available for  Home and Office Network Printing

3.      Printers should have Cloud Printing facility as a standard with an assigned email address to which users can email documents for printing should the Cloud Printing facility designed for the Printer fail

Functionality

1.      Minimum time to print a printed page should be reduced to below three seconds (3) seconds and five (5) seconds for an image

2.      Common OS for Printers, preferably Open Source, be it Google Android or Apple iOS to enable integration of the Printer into a gadget maker’s ecosystem

3.      Printers should have Lithium-Ion Batteries standard in their design so as to make them be able to continue printing during a power outage

4.      Printers should have onboard memory with the ability to print from media storage device directly from the Printer

5.      Printers should have Cloud Storage to store printed documents offline

6.      The photographic quality print should be made standard on all Printers, thus erasing the distinction between Printers for photography printing and regular Printers

7.      Touch screen GUI (Graphic User Interface) needs to be incorporated into the Printer design with full-fledged editing akin to a smartphone

With these basic guidelines, it is my hope that Printer manufacturers can develop and agree on a common standard for all up and coming Cloud Printers, with special technology being their only distinction. Even better, the Raspberry Pi Foundation can make an Open Source Cloud Printer shell and shake up the PC Industry all over again. Printer manufacturers, pray that Apple does not get wind of this and decide to make an Apple iPrinter….

In the process, standardization of Cloud Printing, a new frontier in printing, would help to make Printers more ready for the coming of Windows 8 OS tablets, which are sure to require loads of printing, so I am just making sure I tell you what I like, Vybz Kartel Rampin’ Shop style. A solution to CNET News Molly Wood Rant about a broken printer, specifically Cloud Printing, is in the works.

Up next on my radar….standardization of Cloud Photography and Cloud Video Digital Cameras with a live streaming option…..