The Internet of Garbage Things

[Veritable Quandry]

Do you think that a company with such tactics would survive?
I highly doubt it.

Ask HP.

 

[Beebo Brink]

Ask HP.

I've spent the last 20 minutes reading about Hewlitt-Packard and I still don't understand your comment. Background hint?

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Unless you never go out in public without a dazzle-camo mask you're just haggling.

It's not the same thing. You can't help or have at best very limited control over what cameras and devices are capturing your face and voice and other data when you leave your house. You're not making agreements with those companies to let them do that, they're taking advantage of legal protections that let them do that without needing to ask you.

You have total control over what products you chose to bring into your own house and what services you choose to sign up to use on the internet. And in the rare cases that you don't, like let's say you're renting an apartment - I'd say the chances are really low that your landlord put a snazzy smart-fridge with a mandatory internet connection requirement in your apartment, landlords tend not to spend money they don't absolutely have to like that.

 

[Veritable Quandry]

Multifunction devices that stop scanning if you use third party ink or fail to replace empty tanks. Firmware updates stop printer from working with third party ink. Misleading and overpriced subscription models. Bricking printers remotely.

 

[Essence Lumin]

I've spent the last 20 minutes reading about Hewlitt-Packard and I still don't understand your comment. Background hint?

Surely a reference to their ink jet printers with their ink cartridges which need replacing whether you need it or not.

 

[Soen Eber]

Surely a reference to their ink jet printers with their ink cartridges which need replacing whether you need it or not.

Oh I remember that. Color printers had multi-color ink cartridges, so if you ran out of ink in one you'd need to replace the entire cartridge. Wasn't there also a mandatory replacement period as well, even if you barely used a cartridge? Every six months or year or something?

 

[Essence Lumin]

Oh I remember that. Color printers had multi-color ink cartridges, so if you ran out of ink in one you'd need to replace the entire cartridge. Wasn't there also a mandatory replacement period as well, even if you barely used a cartridge? Every six months or year or something?

I haven't read anything that they have changed their ways. I will buy hp products but not their printers. I got a brother b/w laserprinter a couple of months ago that seems just fine and I hope will last a decade.

 

[Veritable Quandry]

We went with an Epson because their current line uses ink tanks. No way to confirm if ink is off brand, and you can top up each color individually.

 

[Casey Pelous]

Multifunction devices that stop scanning if you use third party ink or fail to replace empty tanks. Firmware updates stop printer from working with third party ink. Misleading and overpriced subscription models. Bricking printers remotely.

All justified with, "It's for your own good, trust us."

You would think this model would have bought them a nearly instant membership in the Smoking Crater Failed Business Hall of Shame, but it seems it has not.

I guess there's still something to be said for over-the-top chutzpah.

 

[Essence Lumin]

All justified with, "It's for your own good, trust us."

You would think this model would have bought them a nearly instant membership in the Smoking Crater Failed Business Hall of Shame, but it seems it has not.

Their business model is to sell the printers for cheap, maybe even at a loss so they can sell expensive cartridges.

 

[Imnotgoing Sideways]

Current HP printers require an online account or they will simply be non-functional. Also, want to print a purely black&white document but out of yellow ink? Nope, need to top up that yellow or go without your doc. I think a few models will even shut down the scanner if there's an ink tank low.

Also, this is reminding me of an old AS skit I watched long ago.
Smart Pipe | Infomercials | Adult Swim - YouTube

 

[Knutz Scorpio]

Wonder how many people are just throwing out and replacing the whole printer instead of farting around with replacement cartridges, and what the manufacturers think they can do about that.

 

[Casey Pelous]

Wonder how many people are just throwing out and replacing the whole printer instead of farting around with replacement cartridges, and what the manufacturers think they can do about that.

"Starter cartridges" that contain about 12 molecules of ink.

Sometimes I'm appalled at my ability to come up with these evil thoughts.

 

[Soen Eber]

"Starter cartridges" that contain about 12 molecules of ink.

Sometimes I'm appalled at my ability to come up with these evil thoughts.

Um, no. That's actually a thing. Too lazy to source it, though.

 

[Soen Eber]

Do you think that a company with such tactics would survive?
I highly doubt it.

That you can both say that and actually believe it is merely more proof that you should hug your EU representative and thank them for protecting you from evil U.S. tech giants. You live in the sun

I suspect this still works for HP because it's too much hassle for corporations to switch over, and the service contracts keep things stable for them. You can get away with gouging corporations on the small stuff because service interruptions are deadly for them, but only annoyances for the average person

 

[Imnotgoing Sideways]

"Starter cartridges" that contain about 12 molecules of ink.

Sometimes I'm appalled at my ability to come up with these evil thoughts.

HP is doing it. Currently the included ink with each printer is just enough to print about 6 pages... as long as you don't 'accidentally' run a head-clean.

 

[Free]

Product idea: A trashcan that connects to the internet, but whenever your service goes down it takes your trash to the curb and doesn't return until the internet is back up.

 

[Jopsy Pendragon]

After ?3? Inkjet fiascos, one ending when me physically smashing the printer into the ground in utter frustration, I swore never again. I print very rarely, typically airline boarding passes. Having it crap out just when I need it.. requiring cleaning and or fresh $35 ink cartridges every time i need it... I'm grinding my teeth just thinking about it.

I switched to a laser jet printer (HP1006), more expensive, and no color, but i don't care. I used it last night. ( I still prefer to take a red pen to code when I'm refactoring.)

I'm still on my first toner cartridge. No fuss, no problems, the printer just works. Even after 20 years.

 

[CronoCloud Creeggan]

After ?3? Inkjet fiascos, one ending when me physically smashing the printer into the ground in utter frustration,

I switched to a laser jet printer

Laser is the way, they tend to not have the "garbage things" features, that inkjet printers intended for "home" use. tend to have. But they cost more, and color will cost you more than that, and if you want color and scanning/copying...well that will cost you more. And they don't do pictures as well as inkjets, and for some they want to sell more crappy inkjets and scam people on ink.

And still working older lasers like your HP1006 are becoming rarer and people are raising prices on them because they know their value in not sucking like modern inkjets.

The least sucky inkjets are tank printers, which of course, cost more.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Technology Connections (@techconnectify.bsky.social)

My oven is a pretty standard thing but it has this feature called "rapid preheat" where it will run both the broil and the bake elements together until it's within 50° of your target. This feature is approximately 700X more useful and interesting than having it connected to the internet.

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