There is definitely something different about the last StyleWriters (4500, 6500) and their HP equivalents. The HP870cxi (the 6500), an example of which I own, for instance, is not natively recognized by StyleWriter drivers, nor does it appear on the desktop except in a generic printer icon when set up as a desktop printer. In keeping with the general loss of seamlessness in Apple-branded equipment of the time, the HP870cxi is something of a pain to control by comparison with the StyleWriter equivalent, as the HP software is rather clumsily implemented and unintuitive.
StyleWriters were not only re-branded and re-packaged; they were also re-conceived in terms of the MacOS, and accordingly somewhat re-worked. In many cases that re-working included the hardware difference of the Macintosh serial port rather than the old parallel port.
Apple computers were and are mostly a question of design & software/hardware integration. The company has never really done basic engineering of the components used. Thus they have, over the past 30 years or so, bought their CPUs from the likes of Motorola, IBM or Intel, as the spirit of the times moved; they bought their DSP chips from AT&T; they bought their graphics chips from IX Micro or from NVidia or whomever; and they bought their printer engines from Canon or HP or Xerox. Is there any difference at all in these practices?
StyleWriters were not only re-branded and re-packaged; they were also re-conceived in terms of the MacOS, and accordingly somewhat re-worked. In many cases that re-working included the hardware difference of the Macintosh serial port rather than the old parallel port.
Apple computers were and are mostly a question of design & software/hardware integration. The company has never really done basic engineering of the components used. Thus they have, over the past 30 years or so, bought their CPUs from the likes of Motorola, IBM or Intel, as the spirit of the times moved; they bought their DSP chips from AT&T; they bought their graphics chips from IX Micro or from NVidia or whomever; and they bought their printer engines from Canon or HP or Xerox. Is there any difference at all in these practices?