HP CEO: "Our long-term objective is to make printing a subscription."(arstechnica.com)
arstechnica.com
HP CEO: "Our long-term objective is to make printing a subscription."
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/01/hp-ceo-blocking-third-party-ink-from-printers-fights-viruses/
98 comments
Epson went ahead and embraced these users, and built a line of printers for them. [1]
[1] https://epson.com/ecotank-ink-tank-printers
Haven't used them personally but it seems like a positive step forward.
[1] https://epson.com/ecotank-ink-tank-printers
Haven't used them personally but it seems like a positive step forward.
Something really tickled me about clicking this link and seeing ... Shaq, of all people, grinning with his arms spread to advertise these printers.
Trivia bit: Shaq’s likeness is owned by the same company who owns and licenses the Sports Illustrated brand.
Canon has one of these too. I've been using it for almost a year, and I love it. I print a lot of reading material, and the cost per page is lower than laser. In my opinion the aesthetics are also better.
https://www.usa.canon.com/shop/p/maxify-gx6021?color=Black&t...
https://www.usa.canon.com/shop/p/maxify-gx6021?color=Black&t...
I would like to see crowdfunding of bounties that people could chip into, that are released to hackers who successfully accomplish the task. It would cost nothing to the contributor unless the bounty was claimed, and awarding the bounty would be done by a vote of a quorum of trusted leaders. Examples would be "jailbreak the XYZ phone" or "remove DRM from HP printer model 123xyz", etc.
Congress would shut that down faster than prediction markets and online poker.
build it and host it like pirate bay — I’m sure the knowledge is already out there, we just gotta make it accessible and impossible to take down
That’s why they use regulation and laws in the USA to try and get their way.
Is it illegal in the US to hack your own HP printer? I remember ~20 years ago there was a pretty huge cottage industry in grey market inkjet refills and DRM circumvention
> and DRM circumvention
Which makes it sound like a breach of copyright law.
Which makes it sound like a breach of copyright law.
Individual use gets a lot of privilege in US law (rightly so!) but commercial purposes get the stick. In this it would probably be a cease and desist to the copy business
As a Cuban person, I'm very proud of this... My dad, an engineer, does stuff like this all the time
I had a friend who used syringes to refill the catridges. He'd buy bottles of ink instead.
which is why they likely are already in process to hijack America's IP system and political machine to try a DMCA like enforement.
What is mildly hilarious about their security justification is the only reason the ink cartridges have microcontrollers to do two way communication with the printer, rather than like a barcode or something, is because of HP's attempts to block third party cartridges, so to see HP say "we have it because third party controllers might try do something bad with this" is an interesting piece of circular logic.
You know a publicly traded company lying about its actions is straight up illegal here in Aus. That would be classed as misleading investors. Also HP bricking devices remotely. Straight up illegal. Not sure how weak the consumer protections are in the US but that behavior won't fly down under. ACCC will have something to say without a doubt.
Yeah, throughout the piece I couldn’t help but ask "why do cartridges carry executable code in the first place?"
To help protect against 3rd party cartridges.
They have successfully bootstrapped evil.
20+ years ago I had some visibility into conversations inside Microsoft about converting their software license lines of business into annual subscriptions. The benefits to the business were obvious: revenue patterns would better match up against expenses, and be more predictable. Per-person registration and authentication would cut down on license sharing and piracy. Revenue would probably go up in aggregate.
The question was how to justify this to the customer. Ultimately they had to reinvent their products to make the conversion seem worth it. MS365 solves a lot of pain points in business. For the most common basic use cases, Office online works better than the client software. Features and fixes arrive right away instead of waiting on a version install cycle. Security is Microsoft’s problem now, not mine.
It seems like HP still needs to go on that journey. Subscription printing needs to be way better than printing now. If it were me, I would look at Comcast’s WiFi model, where they leverage everyone’s routers to give everyone WiFi. Imagine being able to easily, instantly, and seamlessly print from any HP printer you happen to be close to. Add in some business partners and it could be compelling. Hit “print” and walk into the nearest CVS to pick it up. Take a page from streaming video services and do partnership deals where it comes as part of another subscription (“Comcast Gig Internet now comes with Print Anywhere included.”)
In this model you would pay for access to printing, and separately pay for the added convenience of print at home if you want it. A local print device becomes an upsell, not a barrier to entry.
The question was how to justify this to the customer. Ultimately they had to reinvent their products to make the conversion seem worth it. MS365 solves a lot of pain points in business. For the most common basic use cases, Office online works better than the client software. Features and fixes arrive right away instead of waiting on a version install cycle. Security is Microsoft’s problem now, not mine.
It seems like HP still needs to go on that journey. Subscription printing needs to be way better than printing now. If it were me, I would look at Comcast’s WiFi model, where they leverage everyone’s routers to give everyone WiFi. Imagine being able to easily, instantly, and seamlessly print from any HP printer you happen to be close to. Add in some business partners and it could be compelling. Hit “print” and walk into the nearest CVS to pick it up. Take a page from streaming video services and do partnership deals where it comes as part of another subscription (“Comcast Gig Internet now comes with Print Anywhere included.”)
In this model you would pay for access to printing, and separately pay for the added convenience of print at home if you want it. A local print device becomes an upsell, not a barrier to entry.
My impression is that printing is not a growing business. There might always be the need to print something but I think the heydays of printing is over.
HP is going to continue to try and squeeze more profit from a diminishing market and users will not benefit from that no matter how they try and creatively package it.
HP is going to continue to try and squeeze more profit from a diminishing market and users will not benefit from that no matter how they try and creatively package it.
I saw some tweet that said something like "20 years ago, we all had printers. Now, nobody does, and we're all doing fine. What the hell were we printing?"
I can think of 4 things I used to print regularly: homework assignments, tickets to events, coupons, MapQuest directions.
All four of them are no longer necessary to print. Homework is now usually either done by hand on notebook paper or uploaded somewhere as a PDF. Tickets and Coupons are now done via QR or bar codes in an app or e-mail. Google Maps and Waze on your phone made printed MapQuest directions obsolete.
Printing will continue to be less and less common. These days, I go to my veteranarian and they offer to e-mail me the results and care instructions for my cat rather than printed 5 pages of crap.
I can think of 4 things I used to print regularly: homework assignments, tickets to events, coupons, MapQuest directions.
All four of them are no longer necessary to print. Homework is now usually either done by hand on notebook paper or uploaded somewhere as a PDF. Tickets and Coupons are now done via QR or bar codes in an app or e-mail. Google Maps and Waze on your phone made printed MapQuest directions obsolete.
Printing will continue to be less and less common. These days, I go to my veteranarian and they offer to e-mail me the results and care instructions for my cat rather than printed 5 pages of crap.
This isn't surprising to anyone who has used an HP printer in the last decade. They're total crap being sold by a company that actively hates its customers.
There a better options. Friends don't let friends by HP printers.
There a better options. Friends don't let friends by HP printers.
I can remember my dad bringing home an old LaserJet (4 maybe?) in the late 90s. The thing lasted me from late middle school through college, and would maybe still work today if i hadn't tossed it after 20 years... these days I need to print something maybe one a year. That thing was a tank though, don't think I ever needed to replace the toner...maybe once. What it didn't real have were "features". It had a parallel port interface. It talked postscript. There were Windows drivers for it, but on linux I just did it old school... dvi2ps (or whatever, yeah, I did my highschool homework in LaTeX, math class at least), then cat the .ps to /dev/lp0. CUPS had a driver, but it wasn't especially reliable so I mostly didn't bother.
It's a damn shame too. The HP laser printers from the 90s and 2000s were absolutely bulletproof.
I see lots of talk about HP and Brother. I wonder what people think about Lexmark laser printers.
I must say this is indeed a fascinating threat vector.
"We have seen that you can embed viruses in the cartridges. Through the cartridge, [the virus can] go to the printer, [and then] from the printer, go to the network."
I don't see any instances of this type of attack in the wild. Also, if you made your cartridge "dumb" then there would be no threat vector any more.... no?
"We have seen that you can embed viruses in the cartridges. Through the cartridge, [the virus can] go to the printer, [and then] from the printer, go to the network."
I don't see any instances of this type of attack in the wild. Also, if you made your cartridge "dumb" then there would be no threat vector any more.... no?
Well - also just don't make printers with gaping security vulnerabilities.
Really, this whole supposed security issue is bunk and hokum. I do appreciate their efforts to give the world more reasons not to buy HP Printers.
Really, this whole supposed security issue is bunk and hokum. I do appreciate their efforts to give the world more reasons not to buy HP Printers.
Right, the cartridge could (should!) be made as dumb as possible. It seems unlikely you'd need it to do more than be an ink container. But regardless, if the printer can be hacked, and the network attacked via the printer, no amount of DRM at the cartridge interface will change the risk. If HP releases a hackable non-DRM printer, it would probably release a hackable DRM printer.
I'll pay the subscription provided HP pays me, in turn, to rent the desk space that the printer lives on in my home office.
don't forget average cloud rates for power, egress and ingress Internet data
If Brother Laser Printers didn't exist I'd be more worried. I don't know what people that need color printing do anymore.
My Brother color laser printer is great, but it does not print photos as well as an ink jet. Instead of maintaining an ink jet printer, now I just print them at Walgreens or CVS.
I bought a Brother color laser printer. Love it.
It can't print photos well (at least I assume, I haven't tried) but I'm generally not doing that at home anyway. For printng a large amount of simple flyers it's cheaper and faster than an inkjet and perfectly passable. I sometimes print labels and other things that are fine as long as I use laser media.
It has no problem accepting third party toner cartridges I buy on Amazon. Works great over Wi-Fi from pretty much all my devices.
Never buying HP again, even if it weren't for this.
It can't print photos well (at least I assume, I haven't tried) but I'm generally not doing that at home anyway. For printng a large amount of simple flyers it's cheaper and faster than an inkjet and perfectly passable. I sometimes print labels and other things that are fine as long as I use laser media.
It has no problem accepting third party toner cartridges I buy on Amazon. Works great over Wi-Fi from pretty much all my devices.
Never buying HP again, even if it weren't for this.
Yeah, same. It's been a great choice.
Brother has color lasers FWIW. If you're talking about photo printing IMO you go up to the professional class of printer or you just send out your printing to a photo printing establishment and let them deal with the mess.
Brother (and Oki) LED Laser printers exist in color version as well.
They use an Epson.
I suggest they buy Brother color laser printers.
Recently moved my mechanic to a Brother B&W laser, their HP SOHO laser was hot garbage. Never expected to see that with HP's laser line.
my brother laser printer is such a piece of shit. so is my epson inkjet. all printers are hot garbage.
> my brother laser printer is such a piece of shit.
Mine has been going for nearly a decade with no issues to report and almost no one has anything bad to say about them, so I'm curious what issues you had?
Mine has been going for nearly a decade with no issues to report and almost no one has anything bad to say about them, so I'm curious what issues you had?
One day it just stopped working on the network. Tried to use it direct via usb and that didn’t work either. Tried to factory reset it and that didn’t work either. It’s just a brick now.
It was great when it worked, though. Got two years out of it.
It was great when it worked, though. Got two years out of it.
At a guess he didn't buy it a decade ago...
I wish for at least one of the competitors to take notes and ultimately consider a response: "Our long-term objective is to make HP irrelevant by creating a product devoid of idiocies they have been committing"
Next up: HP exits paper printing business after demand falls to all time low.
The greatest tragedies in branding history are that you can no longer buy an HP oscilloscope, or an IBM PC.
The greatest tragedies in branding history are that you can no longer buy an HP oscilloscope, or an IBM PC.
I'm the tech guy in my family and their extended circle of friends. Whenever one of them asks me "What printer should I buy?" I tell them two things:
1. Buy laser rather than inkjet unless you're printing photographs every day.
2. Brand doesn't matter as long as it's not HP.
1. Buy laser rather than inkjet unless you're printing photographs every day.
2. Brand doesn't matter as long as it's not HP.
Not sure 2. really matters any more. Even the last few "safe" brands, like Brother, have gone down the tubes.
The question I'd really be asking is, do you actually need a printer? If it's once a month a less... any of the Office stores will do printing at about 10-15 cents a page for B&W, probably a bit more for color. They'll also have a ton more choices of things like paper/card stock. Many of things things you "needed" to print a decade ago are now often electronic tickets - I'm thinking things like confirmations, flight confirmations, that sort of thing.
The question I'd really be asking is, do you actually need a printer? If it's once a month a less... any of the Office stores will do printing at about 10-15 cents a page for B&W, probably a bit more for color. They'll also have a ton more choices of things like paper/card stock. Many of things things you "needed" to print a decade ago are now often electronic tickets - I'm thinking things like confirmations, flight confirmations, that sort of thing.
In the end owning a printer is only worth it because getting to an office supply store is such a pain when I need to print something.
Same.
It's a 5-15 minute drive for me to get to the print shop. It's near food options that I eat at somewhat regularly, so I could just tack it on to a trip to dinner, but still...
I'd rather spend the $150 once and never need to go to the print shop ever, though I did need to recently to send a fax because the DMV is still living in the 90s.
Side note...my smartphone is...well...a phone, in addition to being a computer. Why the hell can't smartphones send faxes?
It's a 5-15 minute drive for me to get to the print shop. It's near food options that I eat at somewhat regularly, so I could just tack it on to a trip to dinner, but still...
I'd rather spend the $150 once and never need to go to the print shop ever, though I did need to recently to send a fax because the DMV is still living in the 90s.
Side note...my smartphone is...well...a phone, in addition to being a computer. Why the hell can't smartphones send faxes?
Scan with random app, send with any of the various pdf-to-fax services?
As for the why... faxes operate over the legacy network using an acoustically coupled modem.
As for the why... faxes operate over the legacy network using an acoustically coupled modem.
Software modems used to be common and how many people connected to the internet. They didn't work as well as hardware modems but they did work. there is no reason a modern smartphone which has a much more powerful CPU couldn't do a software fax (smartphones also have a GPU which is possibly even better for this type of processing). IIRC the fax protocol is pretty dumb/simple so it seems like it shouldn't even be difficult - though I don't need a fax often enough to bother to try.
My point is the fax protocol is analog. How do you do analog over 4G/5G? Any solution is going to involve some sort of central server.
It would work the exact same way I can call an analog phone line from my phone.
At some point, yes, the digital signal from my phone gets converted to an analog signal to be sent over traditional telephone wires. My phone just has to produce the right noise for a receiving fax machine to understand it once the noise is converted to an analog signal.
At some point, yes, the digital signal from my phone gets converted to an analog signal to be sent over traditional telephone wires. My phone just has to produce the right noise for a receiving fax machine to understand it once the noise is converted to an analog signal.
> Scan with random app, send with any of the various pdf-to-fax services?
Looked into it...so many of them want you to subscribe or have a stupid pricing scheme.
> As for the why... faxes operate over the legacy network using an acoustically coupled modem.
There's nothing special about a fax connection. It's just a telephone line (which my phone has). The "modem" part could easily be done in software. All it has to do is synthesize the right noise on the line.
Looked into it...so many of them want you to subscribe or have a stupid pricing scheme.
> As for the why... faxes operate over the legacy network using an acoustically coupled modem.
There's nothing special about a fax connection. It's just a telephone line (which my phone has). The "modem" part could easily be done in software. All it has to do is synthesize the right noise on the line.
The issue is that the typical compression used on cellular voice calls completely destroys the modem signal you've just synthesized.
The silliest thing about HP's claim that your network might get hacked due to an invalid printing cartridge is that, if that's the case, then the fault is with the printer. And no amount of DRM will change the likelihood that a malicious device inserted into the printer could hack it. And anyway, this could be easily remedied by making the interchangeable part of the ink refill completely mechanical, with no embedded IC or electronics at all.
It does seem like this claim is admissible in court if your network is hacked - HP knew there was a vulnerability and didn't fix it, thus they should pay for all the costs from this hack on our network.
Genuinely baffled at the business strategy of taking a relatively low cost commodity product, and attempting to turn it into a higher-cost (in the long term) subscription.
Like, I get it in the spreadsheet sense that more money and recurring revenue is good for HP. But how exactly is this supposed to play out in the marketplace?
Are there any examples of other companies successfully executing a similar strategy?
Like, I get it in the spreadsheet sense that more money and recurring revenue is good for HP. But how exactly is this supposed to play out in the marketplace?
Are there any examples of other companies successfully executing a similar strategy?
I think this is a case of wishful spreadsheet thinking. The numbers go up in Excel, must be good!
Subscriptions can be cheaper for the business overall, and that savings passed on to customers. Because there is a subscription their incentive is to use less ink for the same thing, and make printers that last for a long time, both of which long term reduce costs.
Note that I said can above. Just because things can be cheaper doesn't mean the costs will be passed on. Just because the costs can be cheaper doesn't mean you will find that savings.
Note that I said can above. Just because things can be cheaper doesn't mean the costs will be passed on. Just because the costs can be cheaper doesn't mean you will find that savings.
Yeah I tried that. They got confused about what cartridges I had and what I'd paid for. Ended up paying monthly with no cartridges in my machine. Cancelled.
They gotta do a whole lot better to make that a reality.
They gotta do a whole lot better to make that a reality.
Great… We can’t even buy printers from HP anymore. What is the best other brand to switch to?
Brother.
I got a Laser Brother multifunction center recently and whilst it wasn't the absolute cheapest option, it seems you get what you pay for. I could connect it to wifi on first attempt, and everything just worked on first attempt. It's incredible to have printing & scanning that "just works."
I got a Laser Brother multifunction center recently and whilst it wasn't the absolute cheapest option, it seems you get what you pay for. I could connect it to wifi on first attempt, and everything just worked on first attempt. It's incredible to have printing & scanning that "just works."
Brother printers are low-cost, no-nonsense, and last forever. I've got one that's 18 years old and has printed tens of thousands of pages. I got a new one a few years ago only to get wifi printing. But the older one continues to work on my desktop PC just fine.
I use an Epson ECOTank printer. Refills come in a bottle. No DRM. Very low price ink compared to the alternatives. I previously used Brother printers which are also pretty good, they didn't use cart DRM either last time I used them.
They both have their flaws, but nothing approaching the BS that HP pulls.
They both have their flaws, but nothing approaching the BS that HP pulls.
Any issues with ink getting clogged? I was hearing such cases for ecotank variants. My use-case is infrequent printing
I have an EcoTank and print infrequently, clogging has never been an issue. I once didn't print in half a year and it didn't clog.
Printing quality goes down after not printing for a long time, but the automated "cleaning" (or whatever it's called) program solves that in a minute
Printing quality goes down after not printing for a long time, but the automated "cleaning" (or whatever it's called) program solves that in a minute
Thank you for the reply
I've never had a clog with my color one. The shop my wife works at (which I get occasionally called on to do tech support for) chose the B&W model for their invoice printing and they've been using it heavily for about three years now with no problems.
Thanks, will consider it then.
I have an ECOTank and haven't had troubles with clogs. The Windows driver has been a bit buggy, but Mac has been solid.
Thanks
If we ever end up needing large format color print capability in-house again, it'll be an Epson ink tank printer. Currently we just take stuff to the local print shop if it's bigger than legal size.
Clearly. They've already had that model indirectly with ink cartridges, which is why they DRM so aggressively (or, PRM? I don't know, it's software enforced but it's enforcing on hardware).
I can't phantom why, through. Printing is nowhere near as ubiquitous as it used to be and many private people don't need to upgrade their printer often, so you're just making your new products worse than your competing old products on the used marketplace.
I'd shift the marketing to encourage better, high fidelity printing that requires special ink or guzzles through existing ink even faster. Make money off of the ability to print your own high fidelity photos on glossy paper (that HP also sells). Printing office docs is more or less a solved problem for everyday folk so it's way too late to rent-seek.
I can't phantom why, through. Printing is nowhere near as ubiquitous as it used to be and many private people don't need to upgrade their printer often, so you're just making your new products worse than your competing old products on the used marketplace.
I'd shift the marketing to encourage better, high fidelity printing that requires special ink or guzzles through existing ink even faster. Make money off of the ability to print your own high fidelity photos on glossy paper (that HP also sells). Printing office docs is more or less a solved problem for everyday folk so it's way too late to rent-seek.
My printer is like my checkbook at this point. It's something I drag out once every year or two when I have some archaic process, usually involving returning something by mail, that I'm stuck in. I hope it's going to become all the more rare and I wish there was some very basic, compact, and long lived emergency printer I could buy.
Otoh, I worked in an office with a high volume printer / copier, and I definitely see the value in paying for some managed subscription instead of actually owning the machine, unless they really make it absurdly expensive. Just like cloud, it's easier for lots of companies to not have to own and maintain physical infrastructure.
Otoh, I worked in an office with a high volume printer / copier, and I definitely see the value in paying for some managed subscription instead of actually owning the machine, unless they really make it absurdly expensive. Just like cloud, it's easier for lots of companies to not have to own and maintain physical infrastructure.
I guess there must be some new topics in the mba handbook because every "hardware" company is now shifting into subscription model.
From cheap WiFi webcam to high-end cars, they finally found out that constant revenue is better for them than one lump sump, especially now that technology has reached a point where you don't need to change your hardware every 3 years.
And for a business, recurrent small fee are easier to manage than large fees that are often limited by amortization.
The "price per page" has long been a efficient business model in the professional copier world.
From cheap WiFi webcam to high-end cars, they finally found out that constant revenue is better for them than one lump sump, especially now that technology has reached a point where you don't need to change your hardware every 3 years.
And for a business, recurrent small fee are easier to manage than large fees that are often limited by amortization.
The "price per page" has long been a efficient business model in the professional copier world.
>The "price per page" has long been a efficient business model in the professional copier world.
This is true, but I'm not sure it's can be adapted for home use.
Every price per page agreement I'm familiar with involved leasing a machine and carrying a service contract. Both of those agreements make sense when we're dealing with something with a price tag of a new car that is a critical part of a business, but not so much when it costs a few hundred dollars and prints nothing more urgent than Amazon return labels.
This is true, but I'm not sure it's can be adapted for home use.
Every price per page agreement I'm familiar with involved leasing a machine and carrying a service contract. Both of those agreements make sense when we're dealing with something with a price tag of a new car that is a critical part of a business, but not so much when it costs a few hundred dollars and prints nothing more urgent than Amazon return labels.
I remember buy an HP printer going to the store to buy ink refills and leaving with a brand new printer because it came with ink and was on sale cheaper than ink refills
Save the planet lol
Save the planet lol
FYI, you're not saving money.
Printers come with "starter" cartridges that contain only a fraction of the ink of a full cartridge.
Printers come with "starter" cartridges that contain only a fraction of the ink of a full cartridge.
I actually looked up the specs on the number of pages printed from the starter vs standard cartridges and because the printers sold badly (expensive ink) the discount made the cost per page printed cheaper with the marked down printers vs full priced ink.
I did not pay more.
I did not pay more.
[dupe]
More discussion yesterday: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39105752
And earlier
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39114728
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39092789
More discussion yesterday: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39105752
And earlier
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39114728
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39092789
This is why I spent so much effort trying to procure a Brother printer that for my needs a while back; most printing brands are selling you subscriptions, overpriced resources, and/or some form of lock-in. Every year it gets worse too, so this headline comes as no surprise.
I'm incredibly happy with my MFC-L3770CDW and I'm so glad I spent the effort tracking it down.
I'm incredibly happy with my MFC-L3770CDW and I'm so glad I spent the effort tracking it down.
The beatings of our customers will continue until their attitude towards us improves. HP I'll buy from ebay, 1990's era or so. Indestructible and good value for the money.
HP Laptops: crap. HP Inkjet printers: too expensive for actual use, stop working when you need them. If they still make other stuff I'm unaware of it, I see the HP brand as a negative signal.
Boeing has been mentioned often on HN as an example of how management can destroy a very good company. I think HP is actually a much better example, they were the brand to emulate and now anything they do is what you really want to stay away from.
HP Laptops: crap. HP Inkjet printers: too expensive for actual use, stop working when you need them. If they still make other stuff I'm unaware of it, I see the HP brand as a negative signal.
Boeing has been mentioned often on HN as an example of how management can destroy a very good company. I think HP is actually a much better example, they were the brand to emulate and now anything they do is what you really want to stay away from.
YMMV, but have had pretty good experiences with HP developer and gaming laptops.
Their business-focused monitors are also good. (Though, the grumpy part of me thinks that perhaps it's worth avoiding everything they make because their printer scheme is so evil.)
their hardware is great. The software is horrible. Drivers, their apps, firmware all suck. Also their support is also poor but I suppose on par with Lenovo
Next they'll make some deal with paper makers, to water mark blank paper in a way that only licensed paper can be used in their printer.
I'm afraid we're already there.
https://doctorow.medium.com/oh-great-theres-drm-in-printer-p...
https://doctorow.medium.com/oh-great-theres-drm-in-printer-p...
[time warp]
The "HP Way" is dead -- but not my printer!
Been using my HP LaserJet 2100 for over 30 years.
Once they find a way to blank out sheets of paper after they're printed out, the company is going to explode.
I already have a "printing subscription". It's called Kinkos.
why.do.people.still.purchase.hp.printers
HP has been the household name for printing for like 30 years. It's going to take a VERY long time for them to lose that status.
Think about how many people still idolize Bose when you can get better quality sound for the same price or even cheaper.
Think about how many people still idolize Bose when you can get better quality sound for the same price or even cheaper.
My LaserJet 4 will never submit!
How ironic! My short- and long-term objective is to avoid HP printers at all cost.
Obligatory plug for Brother printers without any of this nonsense.
Obligatory plug for Brother printers without any of this nonsense.
It was a delight to see dozens of hacked HP printers with tubes directly going into containers of ink doing all the printing.
The printers had small custom circuit boards attached and were mostly dismantled up to the very core of the machine. As far as I could see it all worked very well and print quality was also good at a low price (even for local standards).
HP doesn’t stand a chance against humans who are determined to solve a problem.