Re: [H] Why I hate HP Printers (A Story with a sad ending)
Duncan, No, I wasn't looking for a solution, but I have to admit, I really need to re-read before I post, spelling is okay, but some of the words are just wrong. My wife wonders why I inflict this stuff on myself. Hope spring eternal, I believe that somehow, because I'm the one that does it for my company, someone will actually make it work like it says. Besides I get some many stories I vowed that I would not get cranky as I got older, like I've seen happen to so many. Things like this don't help me keep my promise Steve DSinc wrote: Steve, In my 13yrs on this list, your's is the finest example of "printer-HELL!" But, I am certain many of us have juicy stories that fit this send. Great send For whatever the reason, the "nickel and dime us to death marketeers" are still with us. Only sorry that I have no solution for you. Well, other than I now use a Brother 2070N b/w laser printer. I still have an aging Canon S600 ink-jet living in the garage - too lazy to take it apart and try and clean a clogged jet carriage.. :) Best, Duncan Steve Tomporowski wrote: Once upon a time, I had a Lexmark Color Inkjet Printer. It had cost me over $250. It had a single cartridge for black and the three primary colors and each was hideously expensive. I only used it when absolutely necessary and tried to balance to the color use so that each $60 went as far as possible. One day, my son announced that he wanted a good (non-dot matrix) printer for his computer and asked for a laser for his birthday. Not being able to afford one at that time, I researched ink jet printers and found that Canon printers had the cheapest cartridges and, in fact, usually had one for each color. I bought him one and, after use, he was thrilled. The print quality was great, maintenance costs were very low. In fact, it was so good, I gave away the Lexmark and bought myself a Canon S750. This printer faithfully served me for over ten years. I could always rely on the print quality, I could use it a lot, since each cartridge was cheap, It only installed a driver which dutifully informed me of ink levels every time I printed. When I bought a wireless print server, it had no problem and still performed as if it were a dedicated printer. Life was Good. Good things don't last. Late last year, the dear S750 gave up the ghost. After over ten years of service, it didn't seem like a good idea just to fix it. Technology had moved on. There were new things. So I went to the nearby Staples to buy a printer. It seems like a good idea, they had a $30 credit if you bought a printer, all their fliers said so! I was entranced by the HP D5460, it was more compact, had a cute little LCD display to keep you informed and even had slots for camera memory. How could I go wrong? Little did I know at the time. First Staples reneged on the rebate. They happily pointed out that the excruciatingly small print on each flyer meant that the printer had to be of a certain price, bought during a certain phase of the moon, but only on a pluterday. But we all expect rebates to be fantasy. On returning home with the printer, it first informed me that it couldn't load drivers with the printer on the network. It firmly insisted the printer be attached to the computer or it wouldn't install. So twice I had to lug the printer over to two different computers to install drivers. And what an install! 135 Megs later, I had all sorts of applications, including one that announced "Buy supplies from HP!" which couldn't be uninstalled without breaking the printer driver. I dealt with that later, however, installing the drivers this way now broke the print server software, which now had to be reinstalled. I did that and was thrilled that now everything worked! I printed a test page from each computer. Looking good. The next time I printed, nothing happened. After I had printed two pages, the printer sensed that I now needed new cartridges and refused to print unless I went over and pushed the 'Ok' button, acknowledging that I understood that the printer was desperately out of ink! It was then that I noticed a single page stuck into the printer docs that announced that the low ink indication really wasn't a low ink indication, but more of an indication that you should buy new carts and be ready. Such genius. Well, printing seemed to be fine, but I went back to staples to buy ink, figuring just once won't be bad, I can then get more online later. Sticker Shock! Ink was now three times as expensive as the Canon. Even online it was 2X expensive. Needless to say, despite the low ink warning, it did print fine for a long while afterwards. I missed the ability to know what the ink levels were, just in case I was going to print pictures. There seemed to be an application, called the HP Solutions Center, which would tell me the ink levels. I did not install it
Re: [H] Why I hate HP Printers (A Story with a sad ending)
This is the reason we all (IT) go crazy eventually... -Original Message- From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com [mailto:hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Steve Tomporowski Sent: Friday, July 03, 2009 12:32P To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com; spo...@aol.com Subject: [H] Why I hate HP Printers (A Story with a sad ending) They support bi-directional communications to the printer, however, most printer software does not support networking.
Re: [H] Why I hate HP Printers (A Story with a sad ending)
Steve, In my 13yrs on this list, your's is the finest example of "printer-HELL!" But, I am certain many of us have juicy stories that fit this send. Great send For whatever the reason, the "nickel and dime us to death marketeers" are still with us. Only sorry that I have no solution for you. Well, other than I now use a Brother 2070N b/w laser printer. I still have an aging Canon S600 ink-jet living in the garage - too lazy to take it apart and try and clean a clogged jet carriage.. :) Best, Duncan Steve Tomporowski wrote: Once upon a time, I had a Lexmark Color Inkjet Printer. It had cost me over $250. It had a single cartridge for black and the three primary colors and each was hideously expensive. I only used it when absolutely necessary and tried to balance to the color use so that each $60 went as far as possible. One day, my son announced that he wanted a good (non-dot matrix) printer for his computer and asked for a laser for his birthday. Not being able to afford one at that time, I researched ink jet printers and found that Canon printers had the cheapest cartridges and, in fact, usually had one for each color. I bought him one and, after use, he was thrilled. The print quality was great, maintenance costs were very low. In fact, it was so good, I gave away the Lexmark and bought myself a Canon S750. This printer faithfully served me for over ten years. I could always rely on the print quality, I could use it a lot, since each cartridge was cheap, It only installed a driver which dutifully informed me of ink levels every time I printed. When I bought a wireless print server, it had no problem and still performed as if it were a dedicated printer. Life was Good. Good things don't last. Late last year, the dear S750 gave up the ghost. After over ten years of service, it didn't seem like a good idea just to fix it. Technology had moved on. There were new things. So I went to the nearby Staples to buy a printer. It seems like a good idea, they had a $30 credit if you bought a printer, all their fliers said so! I was entranced by the HP D5460, it was more compact, had a cute little LCD display to keep you informed and even had slots for camera memory. How could I go wrong? Little did I know at the time. First Staples reneged on the rebate. They happily pointed out that the excruciatingly small print on each flyer meant that the printer had to be of a certain price, bought during a certain phase of the moon, but only on a pluterday. But we all expect rebates to be fantasy. On returning home with the printer, it first informed me that it couldn't load drivers with the printer on the network. It firmly insisted the printer be attached to the computer or it wouldn't install. So twice I had to lug the printer over to two different computers to install drivers. And what an install! 135 Megs later, I had all sorts of applications, including one that announced "Buy supplies from HP!" which couldn't be uninstalled without breaking the printer driver. I dealt with that later, however, installing the drivers this way now broke the print server software, which now had to be reinstalled. I did that and was thrilled that now everything worked! I printed a test page from each computer. Looking good. The next time I printed, nothing happened. After I had printed two pages, the printer sensed that I now needed new cartridges and refused to print unless I went over and pushed the 'Ok' button, acknowledging that I understood that the printer was desperately out of ink! It was then that I noticed a single page stuck into the printer docs that announced that the low ink indication really wasn't a low ink indication, but more of an indication that you should buy new carts and be ready. Such genius. Well, printing seemed to be fine, but I went back to staples to buy ink, figuring just once won't be bad, I can then get more online later. Sticker Shock! Ink was now three times as expensive as the Canon. Even online it was 2X expensive. Needless to say, despite the low ink warning, it did print fine for a long while afterwards. I missed the ability to know what the ink levels were, just in case I was going to print pictures. There seemed to be an application, called the HP Solutions Center, which would tell me the ink levels. I did not install it at first, because I had experience with 'Solutions Centers' and knew that was the equivalent of 'Abandon hope all ye..." Installed it and watched the noisy HP driver pop-ups which dutifully told me that the print levels were not available at this time. In fact, they never seemed to be available. Further, the Solutions center told me that my printer was not active and will I please turn it on. But it still printed. So I did what I thought that HP providedI call Tech Support. After negotiating 3 voice response systems, I was finally connected to
Re: [H] Why I hate HP Printers (A Story with a sad ending)
Yep, we've all been through it, I think HP has plumbed the depths with their combination of Bad Management (outsourced tech support, lack of communication with said tech support, software that isn't network aware) and Bad Marketing (High cartridge costs, tons of extra software installed whether you want it or not, nor can it be removed--sounds like scumware) and then the narcissism to believe that people actually love this by sending out all kinds of surveys, which, of course, they will ignore, except if they can use them as weapons against their employees. Steve Gary VanderMolen wrote: I'm sure all of us who've had to talk to outsourced (overseas) tech support have similar tales of woe to tell. After similar printer experiences I avoid Lexmark and HP like the plague. I do most printing on a monochrome Brother laser. The color lasers are coming down in price as well, and look more attractive all the time. Gary VanderMolen, MS-MVP (Mail) __ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 4193 (20090626) __ The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. http://www.eset.com __ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 4193 (20090626) __ The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. http://www.eset.com
Re: [H] Why I hate HP Printers (A Story with a sad ending)
I'm sure all of us who've had to talk to outsourced (overseas) tech support have similar tales of woe to tell. After similar printer experiences I avoid Lexmark and HP like the plague. I do most printing on a monochrome Brother laser. The color lasers are coming down in price as well, and look more attractive all the time. Gary VanderMolen, MS-MVP (Mail)
[H] Why I hate HP Printers (A Story with a sad ending)
Once upon a time, I had a Lexmark Color Inkjet Printer. It had cost me over $250. It had a single cartridge for black and the three primary colors and each was hideously expensive. I only used it when absolutely necessary and tried to balance to the color use so that each $60 went as far as possible. One day, my son announced that he wanted a good (non-dot matrix) printer for his computer and asked for a laser for his birthday. Not being able to afford one at that time, I researched ink jet printers and found that Canon printers had the cheapest cartridges and, in fact, usually had one for each color. I bought him one and, after use, he was thrilled. The print quality was great, maintenance costs were very low. In fact, it was so good, I gave away the Lexmark and bought myself a Canon S750. This printer faithfully served me for over ten years. I could always rely on the print quality, I could use it a lot, since each cartridge was cheap, It only installed a driver which dutifully informed me of ink levels every time I printed. When I bought a wireless print server, it had no problem and still performed as if it were a dedicated printer. Life was Good. Good things don't last. Late last year, the dear S750 gave up the ghost. After over ten years of service, it didn't seem like a good idea just to fix it. Technology had moved on. There were new things. So I went to the nearby Staples to buy a printer. It seems like a good idea, they had a $30 credit if you bought a printer, all their fliers said so! I was entranced by the HP D5460, it was more compact, had a cute little LCD display to keep you informed and even had slots for camera memory. How could I go wrong? Little did I know at the time. First Staples reneged on the rebate. They happily pointed out that the excruciatingly small print on each flyer meant that the printer had to be of a certain price, bought during a certain phase of the moon, but only on a pluterday. But we all expect rebates to be fantasy. On returning home with the printer, it first informed me that it couldn't load drivers with the printer on the network. It firmly insisted the printer be attached to the computer or it wouldn't install. So twice I had to lug the printer over to two different computers to install drivers. And what an install! 135 Megs later, I had all sorts of applications, including one that announced "Buy supplies from HP!" which couldn't be uninstalled without breaking the printer driver. I dealt with that later, however, installing the drivers this way now broke the print server software, which now had to be reinstalled. I did that and was thrilled that now everything worked! I printed a test page from each computer. Looking good. The next time I printed, nothing happened. After I had printed two pages, the printer sensed that I now needed new cartridges and refused to print unless I went over and pushed the 'Ok' button, acknowledging that I understood that the printer was desperately out of ink! It was then that I noticed a single page stuck into the printer docs that announced that the low ink indication really wasn't a low ink indication, but more of an indication that you should buy new carts and be ready. Such genius. Well, printing seemed to be fine, but I went back to staples to buy ink, figuring just once won't be bad, I can then get more online later. Sticker Shock! Ink was now three times as expensive as the Canon. Even online it was 2X expensive. Needless to say, despite the low ink warning, it did print fine for a long while afterwards. I missed the ability to know what the ink levels were, just in case I was going to print pictures. There seemed to be an application, called the HP Solutions Center, which would tell me the ink levels. I did not install it at first, because I had experience with 'Solutions Centers' and knew that was the equivalent of 'Abandon hope all ye..." Installed it and watched the noisy HP driver pop-ups which dutifully told me that the print levels were not available at this time. In fact, they never seemed to be available. Further, the Solutions center told me that my printer was not active and will I please turn it on. But it still printed. So I did what I thought that HP providedI call Tech Support. After negotiating 3 voice response systems, I was finally connected to Arripta at the 7-Eleven, opps, I mean India. She would be very happy to help me and would I like her to fix it by remotely accessing my computer? Sure, what the hell. After much entry of information, name, assisting tech and the 10 digit case number which I would eventually memorize (8026646878, yes it will haunt me), the application, which happened to be VNC, hung as starting session. This was because I was trying to use Firefox and could I please use IE. That didn't improve the situation, in fact, it continued to look identical. The
Re: [H] Recommendations for a sticky notes program?
I think evernote would fit the bill. On Fri, Jul 3, 2009 at 3:24 PM, Brian Weeden wrote: > I used to use Stickies (http://www.zhornsoftware.co.uk/stickies/) but > found > it was a pain to sync them between my main PC and my travel laptop. I'm > now > using Cynapse SyncNotes (http://www.syncnotes.com/WebView/Default.aspx) > and > they are ok but for some reason stopped syncing across my 2 machines, even > after reinstall. > > My requirements: > > - easily add new sticky notes > - change font and formatting > - toggle display on desktop without deleting notes > - sync between multiple machines > > I've tried playing with the new sticky notes feature for Windows 7 and they > are an improvement over Vista but not what I need. > > Suggestions? > > --- > Brian > -- Best Regards, Zulfiqar Naushad
[H] Recommendations for a sticky notes program?
I used to use Stickies (http://www.zhornsoftware.co.uk/stickies/) but found it was a pain to sync them between my main PC and my travel laptop. I'm now using Cynapse SyncNotes (http://www.syncnotes.com/WebView/Default.aspx) and they are ok but for some reason stopped syncing across my 2 machines, even after reinstall. My requirements: - easily add new sticky notes - change font and formatting - toggle display on desktop without deleting notes - sync between multiple machines I've tried playing with the new sticky notes feature for Windows 7 and they are an improvement over Vista but not what I need. Suggestions? --- Brian
