OT - Quick Tech rant

[16251]

My wireless printer stop recognizing my router. I easily found the original documentation and CDs, but as usual I was out of practice trying to get it to work. Also, when I got to last step and it was wrong, there was no back button. Then I had to re-initialize printer. I do not have temperament for IT. After many give ups I tried again after lunch and finally got it fixed.

[Stokely]

I work in IT but don't have any patience with devices like OS drivers and particularly printers (I work with databases). I have yet to encounter a home printer that hasn't been a royal pain in one way or another. Thankfully the need to print is rapidly going away and I for one won't miss it in the slightest. My wife's business still keeps a lot of paperwork but only because she hasn't made the (large) effort to scan everything in. More and more companies, even those that need to keep records for years, are going paperless.

[mauriziodececco]

As an IT guy, I must tell you a secret that we usually to try to keep within ourself: have ever asked yourself why IT do not work, it is buggy, user unfriendly, and in general, carefully avoid to make people autonomous ?

 

It is very simple: if IT was like that, perfect, easy to use, without any specific competences, without bugs, *WE* wouldn't have a job anymore. No way

 

Maurizio

[o0Ampy0o]

Congrats on getting it to work. While it can be and has been significantly reduced there will always be a use/need for printing documentation. I prefer having a printer at home over going to something like a FedEX Office. Nowadays you get so much for so little cost in a printer. Although the thing may or may not be flimsy chances are it is comparatively packed with features. If people buy into the idea that printing things on paper is obsolete, especially if someone like a Steve Jobs wants to guide the world to their vision of the future (i.e. the elimination of CD/DVD drives to name one example), soon we will not have the option.

[o0Ampy0o]

As an IT guy, I must tell you a secret that we usually to try to keep within ourself: have ever asked yourself why IT do not work, it is buggy, user unfriendly, and in general, carefully avoid to make people autonomous ?

 

It is very simple: if IT was like that, perfect, easy to use, without any specific competences, without bugs, *WE* wouldn't have a job anymore. No way

 

Maurizio

There are fields where various positions have been padded by design over the years, particularly in real estate.

[16251]

Congrats on getting it to work. While it can be and has been significantly reduced there will always be a use/need for printing documentation. I prefer having a printer at home over going to something like a FedEX Office. Nowadays you get so much for so little cost in a printer. Although the thing may or may not be flimsy chances are it is comparatively packed with features. If people buy into the idea that printing things on paper is obsolete, especially if someone like a Steve Jobs wants to guide the world to their vision of the future (i.e. the elimination of CD/DVD drives to name one example), soon we will not have the option.

 

Thanks.

 

I like having a laser printer. (I did the color thing, when it first came out but got tired of wasting ink just cleaning the nozzles.) I got some great pdfs music books, etc., and it prints on both sides. For gigs there's my iPad.

[Docbop]

That was no IT problem that was just typical end USER impatience and/or "computers are suppose to be smart why can't they fix themselves" type issue. The good thing is after taking a break the user calmed down and was able to resolve the issue.

[The Real MC]

After three decades of Windows then moving to Mac, I have found installations to be simpler and more durable on Macs. One of the reasons I gave up on Windows was that it would stop recognizing peripherals for no reason. One by one, gradually. IE if it is a USB peripheral, it would work on my laptop but not on my tower therefore it wasn't the peripheral that was broken. I have yet to lose a peripheral on my Macs.

[ProfD]

I like having a laser printer. (I did the color thing, when it first came out but got tired of wasting ink just cleaning the nozzles.)

I use my printer 1 or 2 times a year and whenever I do, it wants new ink cartridges. So, I end up paying $30 to print less than 10 sheets.

 

Either I should buy a laser printer or offer Kinko's printer services.

[Delaware Dave]

PEBKAC ... deal with it every day.

 

[Stokely]

I like having a laser printer. (I did the color thing, when it first came out but got tired of wasting ink just cleaning the nozzles.)

I use my printer 1 or 2 times a year and whenever I do, it wants new ink cartridges. So, I end up paying $30 to print less than 10 sheets.

 

Either I should buy a laser printer or offer Kinko's printer services.

 

As I said above, I'm a printer-hater (and they hate me right back) but we went laser for the wife's business a while back. Just black and white. It's much easier than dealing with the ink-jets that either run out if you use them, or run dry if you don't use them enough You do have to get new toner and/or a drum, we get the generic toner online and it's reasonable, and lasts a while.

 

I still can't connect to it from a couple of my home computers, and one of them sort of works but makes me re-install the printer every single time. I personally haven't printed anything in a couple years and as I said I'm hoping my wife goes paperless for no other reason than a huge savings in space and clutter.

[MoodyBluesKeys]

I still do a considerable amount of printing (still run a small business). Found the best solution: I buy older HP Business Workgroup Laser Printers. Before they started updating firmware remotely and controlling them. All printers are TCP/IP connected on my network. Can print to any of them from any computer (and a couple from my IOS devices). Works with PC, MacOS, and Linux. Do have HP Color LaserJet also.

 

All printers have the drum inside the toner cartridge. Usually last for many thousands of pages. The mono ones are duplex. Way cheaper than ink jets. P2055dn, when one dies, I find another on eBay. Use only genuine HP cartridges, but obtain them the same way, still sealed (businesses will get rid of printers, then find that they have numerous spare cartridges, and wholesale them off).

 

All of them are also postscript compatible, as well as the HP PCL language. Close to universal support.