Bloat!

[HopperJF]

Just got a nice new XP system and installing the driver for my super and much loved Canon iP1200 printer, and noticed when I clicked on custom install, the driver alone is 100Mb!

How did something as simple as a printer driver get so big?

I recall drivers being able to fit on a floppy what has changed? They are doing the exact same thing right? Sure, printers are better these days, but what has that got to do with the size of the driver?

Just felt like a bit of a moan :-)

[HopperJF]

Seriously though, this Canon is the best printer I've ever used, from a list which includes Epson, HP and Lexmark...

I'm just curious what is in that 100Mb when all it is really is telling the computer what printer it is.

I still have an Amiga printer disk here for the Citizen ABC printer, 1 floppy! And just a few years ago the driver for the Hewlett Packard 640C came on 3 floppies, which must have made it well under 10Mb in size.

It seems everything is just getting more and more overbloated, it's stupid. But I guess that is a sign of the times, and the Amiga way of doing things - small file size, fast, efficient, is now old-fashioned.