Nothing Is as Great as It Sounds on the Surface
However, Plug and Play doesn’t always work.
After all, hardware vendors are writing their device drivers and
installation routines to support several different versions of
Microsoft Windows and millions of possible PC hardware
configurations. When Plug and Play doesn’t function as expected,
it can be a major headache to get working properly.
When
Plug and Play works, it truly can be a beautiful thing, saving you
countless hours of initial installation and configuration
frustration. But when it doesn’t, you’ll know why it’s rightly
earned the less desirable, satirical nickname of plug and pray.
Doing Your Homework with Plug and Play
Often the best way to avoid these configuration
hassles is to check thoroughly for operating system and hardware
testing results on the vendor’s Web site; examine posted results
on the Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility List (HCL); and most
importantly, visit Web sites that conduct independent product
reviews.
The Bottom Line
Modems and printers are very popular and
important peripheral devices for most small businesses. However,
both can cause seemingly endless installation, configuration and
ongoing support headaches.
If not carefully planned, both modems and
printers can rapidly consume a big chunk of your overall technology
budget.
In this chapter, we surveyed a variety of easy to apply modem and
printer cost-saving techniques you can put to work right away. In
addition, we looked at some related cost-control techniques you can
apply to other common peripherals and handheld devices.
Plug and Play Action Items
Do you know which of your PCs are running
operating systems that support Plug and Play?
Before you purchase a new PC hardware
peripheral device, even one promising Plug and Play with a certain
operating system, how do you double check compatibility promises?
For example, are you able to verify
operating system compatibility on the Microsoft Windows Hardware
Compatibility List (HCL)?
Have any of the major trade magazines or
Web sites reviewed the product and validated the vendor's claim of
Plug and Play compatibility under specific operating systems?
Does the peripheral give you the option to bypass Plug and Play
configuration and manually configure the device if you run into
difficulty?
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