Why yes, I'd love to rent your printer and be spied on!

[Red Squirrel]

I hope at least Brother doesn't do this crap. A lot of people are loyal to that brand because they make no BS printers that actually work, hope they stick to that way of doing things.

Worse case scenario though, depending on how they implement this stuff it might be as simple as just swapping out the circuit board/electronics with an open source custom one. But if these companies get nasty they might add electronics in every motor and pot them so that even the protocol between the PCB and motors/print head etc is closed. But if they don't do this, then it's just the thing of driving stepper motors and stuff.

I can see this whole subscription thing take off though, especially with companies. Lot of companies prefer to rent/lease stuff for tax reasons, instead of owning so they will be all over this. I can see it where these printers tie in with O365 and such and integrates super easily into cloud environments. My company is actually moving to cloud for pretty much everything, we don't even have a home drive anymore, they are moving from dealing with individual files that sit on a PC and want everything in cloud. I sorta see the appeal from a management and liability perspective, but I sure wouldn't want to do that for my personal stuff! I like to own things and be in full control.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

I thought I read in the comments of the article that Brother was also requiring their own ink as replacements but I didn't think that was right. I own a canon, and I haven't actually had to print anything from it in almost a year so I'm just assuming we can use generic cartridges as replacement if we need to.

 

[sdifox]

I thought I read in the comments of the article that Brother was also requiring their own ink as replacements but I didn't think that was right. I own a canon, and I haven't actually had to print anything from it in almost a year so I'm just assuming we can use generic cartridges as replacement if we need to.

Brother toners and cartridges could have chip, depends on the model I guess.

 

[nakedfrog]

So sadly, this trend will continue as there will be enough people that buy into it. But even if not enough people buy into it, once all the manufacturers get on board it's going to be forced anyway. Kinda like smart TVs. If you want a non smart TV, good luck. Pickings are very slim. I think fridges are going to be the next item to get affected by this trend.

Smart TVs are completely different--all you have to do is NOT use the smart features and not put it on your network, then there's no significant difference. You could maybe argue that if they offered dumb TVs they'd be slightly cheaper, but when you consider factors of scale and them having to have a different manufacturing process set up for a very niche market (most people want a smart TV, and for those who don't, just don't use the smart features, duh) it might not be the case.

 

[biostud]

Brother toners and cartridges could have chip, depends on the model I guess.

My Brother laser runs on generic cartridges.

 

[sdifox]

My Brother laser runs on generic cartridges.

So does mine, but I have seen ones with chip. At least it doesn't look like very high security ones.

Brother TN760 Compatible Black Toner Cartridge High Yield - With Chip - Moustache® at InkJetSuperStore

www.inkjetsuperstore.ca

 

[MrSquished]

As an avid photographer and former pro, I remember when Lightroom and Photoshop went to a subscription model, a ton of us consumers and self-employed pros were pissed off. I held onto my owned copy of Lightroom Classic for a while after but eventually there were new features I could use, so I subscribed. And then they eventually got rid of the option to buy a program like Lightroom outright. The ONLY way to get it is via subscription. Fucking consumers choosing this shit!

 

[MinervaLaw]

So does mine, but I have seen ones with chip. At least it doesn't look like very high security ones.

Brother TN760 Compatible Black Toner Cartridge High Yield - With Chip - Moustache® at InkJetSuperStore

www.inkjetsuperstore.ca

mine also runs without a chip and I buy generic from Amazon (as long as they are highly rated without a bunch of fake reviews, which are fairly easy to notice.

Someone mentioned going back to Dot Matrix and I laughed because all i could think about was Spaceballs. If you are too young or uneducated to know the reference, I'm sorry, but really, you're sorry

 

[nakedfrog]

 

[Muse]

Yeah, but no.
I'll stick to Brother.

Same here. I was HP in the 90's but the next printer I bought (still have) is a Brother. Still laser B&W.

I do as little as I can by subscription.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

HP = Horrible Product

Company has been trash ever since Carly Fiorina

 

[manly]

As an avid photographer and former pro, I remember when Lightroom and Photoshop went to a subscription model, a ton of us consumers and self-employed pros were pissed off. I held onto my owned copy of Lightroom Classic for a while after but eventually there were new features I could use, so I subscribed. And then they eventually got rid of the option to buy a program like Lightroom outright. The ONLY way to get it is via subscription. Fucking consumers choosing this shit!

Consumers aren't exactly choosing subscription-ware. It's being imposed, and so eventually consumers accept it and move on.

Unless it's a situation like Broadcom actively blowing up VMware, forcing a bunch of business customers to jump ship (this works only when there are viable alternatives, even if the switching costs are high). Lightroom doesn't have any meaningful competition that I'm aware of, and at least some of the PS+LR subscription deals out there are "affordable."

 

[MrSquished]

Consumers aren't exactly choosing subscription-ware. It's being imposed, and so eventually consumers accept it and move on.

Unless it's a situation like Broadcom actively blowing up VMware, forcing a bunch of business customers to jump ship (this works only when there are viable alternatives, even if the switching costs are high). Lightroom doesn't have any meaningful competition that I'm aware of, and at least some of the PS+LR subscription deals out there are "affordable."

I was being cheeky about it being a consumer choice, as @Red Squirrel blames subscription pricing on consumers. Which is bonkers.

 

[dullard]

Just in time for Tax Season. Can't wait for companies to have and share "a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free right to use, copy, store, transmit, modify, create derivative works" from my tax forms that I print.

 

[Captante]

My Brother laser runs on generic cartridges.

Same here ..... in fact I'm STILL on the original toner! (and it's been nearly a decade!)

 

[biostud]

Same here ..... in fact I'm STILL on the original toner! (and it's been nearly a decade!)

So you're not about to change to HP?

 

[manly]

HP just can't let X and Meta be the worst companies in tech, without a fight.

HP Deliberately Adds 15 Minutes Waiting Time For Telephone Support Calls - Slashdot

HP will impose a minimum 15-minute wait time for consumer PC and printer support calls in five European countries, seeking to push customers toward digital channels, according to internal documents seen by The Register. The policy, implemented February 18, affects retail customers in Britain...

it.slashdot.org

 

[Red Squirrel]

HP used to actually be a decent company. They've really devolved into POS assholes. Their printers used to be solid, and they made lot of other solid gear like test equipment etc.

But lot of companies are doing this crap. They know they are too big to fail. What I've noticed too is lot of companies now replacing support with AI bots. You can't even talk to a real person.

 

[brianmanahan]

HP used to actually be a decent company. They've really devolved into POS assholes. Their printers used to be solid, and they made lot of other solid gear like test equipment etc.

yep, my deskjet 550c and 1600c were such workhorses

 

[lxskllr]

Their calculators were world class. There was no competition. I'd love to have a 48gx made to modern standards.

 

[biostud]

Their calculators were world class. There was no competition. I'd love to have a 48gx made to modern standards.

So a 48gx AI?

 

[lxskllr]

So a 48gx AI?

Schrödinger's calculator, where it's simutaneously right and wrong, and you have to perform a calculation to collapse the waveform and see what you get.

I was thinking a better display, faster processor, and gobs of memory and removable storage :^D Oh, and USB C to replace the ridiculous cable that breaks the pins off the board if you push it home, and gives very little feedback to the correct postition. It looks loose when it's inserted correctly. I have no idea how that made it out of testing.

 

[mikeymikec]

Good job, HP

HP realizes that mandatory 15-minute support call wait times isn’t good support

HP rescinds European support call strategy due to “feedback.”…

arstechnica.com

 

[spacejamz]

I remember a few years ago, they made a change where you had to create an HP account to view your scanned images when you used their scanning software (which I was using for an HP All in One machine).

Glad I was able to find some generic scanning app that lets me still let me use the scanner without the HP account BS...

Just found this on reditt:

https://www.reddit.com/r/assholedesign/comments/wbv1hx/hp_at_it_again_have_to_create_an_account_to_scan

best comment of the discussion:

go to this path:

%LocalAppData%\Packages\AD2F1837.HPPrinterControl_v10z8vjag6ke6\LocalState\HPPrinterControlSettings.xml

Search for "GrandfatheredInLegacyUser"

Change "False" to "True",
SettingValue False /SettingValue -> SettingValue True /SettingValue
maybe restart your PC

enjoy scanning without hp stealing your data

 

[dainthomas]

Their calculators were world class. There was no competition. I'd love to have a 48gx made to modern standards.

Still have my 48g from college bumping around in a drawer somewhere. My friend who programmed Snake on his used the IR beaming thing to send it to mine.

That thing really got me through some insane physics courses.