It is interesting to note that HP is very quick to ask the user to upgrade his or her operating system after 4 or 5 years of use. Meanwhile, HP is selling OfficeJet equipment right now - the 8600 series - that, per the history of PCL document, is using the PCL3 driver language that was originally developed 29 years ago in 1984.
The previous OfficeJet series 7300, that I tried to connect to at my relative's house with the PCL5 and PCL6 UPD, was in production when Vista was being produced. So we have a Vista compatible machine, the 7310, a user - myself - who has Vista32 on his laptop, and a driver, the PCL5 or PCL6 UPD, that HP would have us believe is compatible with multiple pieces of equipment. In HP's very own document, it is stated that each succeeding version of the PCL lanquage will recognize previous versions.
Re: the currently offered equipment, the OfficeJet 8600 seems like a nice piece of equipment, with hardware scanning resolution of 4800x4800. It's just that darn driver package again that limits it's functionality in an office. To get PCL5/6 connectivity, I can go up to a LaserJet Pro 200 MFP which is nearly double the cost of the 8600, but then why does the hardware scanning resolution drop off to 1200x1200? What if I want to scan in old family photos? And what about the cost of consumables with the color LaserJet vs the OfficeJet?
HP really has us in a pickle.