I thought Bill Lear's question yesterday was very interesting. Given his background, I'm surprised he did not relate his question to software. For example, Microsoft makes it difficult to run its programs on Linux.
On Thu, Jan 16, 2003 at 09:04:47PM -0600, Bill Lear wrote: > I'm curious what the technical name for this sort of barrier to > economic efficiency is. Has anyone ever cataloged this sort of > thing? I'd be very interested if so ... > > > Bill > > > Printer industry seeks to keep lock on cartridge profit > > By Dawn C. Chmielewski > > Mercury News > > > > Your printer and ink cartridges are sharing secrets that keep you > > shelling out outrageous prices for refills. > > > > Lexmark admits it designed its new generation of laser printers to > > work only with Lexmark toner cartridges, not cheaper no-name > > refills. And it's making a federal case out of it. > > > > Lexmark is suing a maker of generic toner cartridges, claiming it > > illegally cracked the ``secret handshake'' that links cartridge with > > printer. Without the secret code, no document will print. > > > > Static Control Components, a generic cartridge maker in North > > Carolina, developed a microchip that speaks the same language. That, > > according to Lexmark, violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, > > which makes it a federal crime to circumvent a technological lock that > > protects copyrighted works -- like, say, a printer program. > > > > This blatant anti-consumer behavior on Lexmark's part helps explain > > why we continue to pay Tiffany prices for a product that costs about > > $3 to make. And we don't even get the chic powder-blue box to make us > > feel special about the purchase. > > > > Lexmark is just one of a number of big-name printer companies that > > uses chip technology as a padlock to keep exclusive hold on the > > lucrative market for printer supplies, which Gartner Dataquest says > > accounts for 53 percent of Lexmark's revenue. > > > > The nation's leading maker of printers, Hewlett-Packard, and another > > big printer-maker, Epson, use smart chip technology in their ink > > cartridges to serve as electronic dipsticks, informing the printer how > > much ink is left. > > > > When the ink is gone, the printer stops working until the consumer > > replaces it with a new cartridge -- with a new chip. Refills won't > > work. > > > -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
