[cups] Brother MFC-L8850CDW

[Peter Gantt]

Thanks for the (depressing) info Ruben.

Ruben wrote:

> You cannot just use the ppd file. The .deb files include binary
> blobs/executables (x86) and shell scripts
> (brother_lpdwrapper_mfcl8850cdw) which are called by the ppd file.

Wow, nasty.  Horrific.

If I sacrifice a small print server to be infested with this shitware, can
it then share the printer as a generic printer?  Or will every client
require the proprietary goop?  Whenever I've shared printers in the past,
clients have required the driver for that particular model, rather than
something generic.

> You'll have to install the whole .deb file, both of them. The cups thing
> is only a wrapper around the lpd driver.

> I contacted Brother Belgium. They said they would love to provide free
> drivers, but that Brother Japan imposes they cannot release source for
> the lpd driver. The cups driver is GPL'd software iirc.

Idiots.  Hopefully this thread will warn others off the mistake of buying
from these cowboys.

  cheers, PG.