djb@cbosgd.UUCP (David J. Bryant) (12/01/83)
I ran into this company about a year and a half ago. As I recall, a co-worker of mine came by with a glossy ad for their 28 page-per-minute laser printer. It didn't say much about software and font support, but the technical features and price were amazing. I called up General Optronics hoping to arrange a demo and was politely told that they sold only to OEM's and not directly to end users. After some checking around they informed me that my nearest OEM was Quality Micro Systems in Mobile, Ala. I called QMS and found out that they were in the process of evaluating the General Optronics device and trying to work out a controller that could handle translate QMS's QUIC printer command language into General Optronics commands. After a couple of months, I got the word from QMS that they had given up on the General Optronics unit because it was unreliable and flaky. I never got a more technical explanation, so I can't vouch for those reasons. Nevertheless, QMS quickly started telling me about their Xerox 2700-based Lasergrafix 1200 (which several groups here have purchase - but that's another story). Since then I haven't heard much from General Optronics, although their name has been occasionally brought up during anecdotal conversations with QMS. Based on what I remember of their earlier ads, I am not surprised to hear about their latest product. Interesting that I have heard nothing from them in the past year and a half. Perhaps someone else out there will have more info that can fill in the gap. Dave Bryant Bell Labs Columbus, OH (614) 860-4516 (cbosg!djb)