HP Discusses Anti-Counterfeiting Measures

JohnA writes "While searching for drivers for an HP printer that was given to me, I noticed an article on the front page of hp.com that brags about how HP's R&D department was able to insert flaws into their products to 'deter' counterfeiting. I'm so glad we have HP looking out for us..."

Comments

Does anyone make printers well anymore?

[subtillus]

I know my epson printer seems to have been made to break.

I was in the middle of a last minute, graphic heavy term paper when one of the ink heads (or something) blew up and splattered black all over the non-reachable insides of my printer.

Ever since, black comes out splotchy and the residual ink that I haven't cleaned off the paper feeding gears leaves a trail going up the middle of all my output.

Lexmark is no better

[hol]

Lexmark also protects their stuff by inserting chips into toner and ink cartridges and then suing refillers for breaches under the DMCA. In europe the EU body in charge of monopolies is looking into this, so lets hope they beat the stuffing out of them.

Lexmark is definitely the biggest offender (and also has the highest consumable prices in general, in cents per page), but if they can get away with it, why not follow suit?

HP Rant

[IamGarageGuy 2]

Through personal experience I have 2 CDRom burners that I cannot get to run without paying for drivers for XP. This is hardware that was sold - not software. They have stopped supporting hardware unless they are paid (no download). This trend has spread to Umax scanners as well (no updated drivers without paying for CD). This frustration has resulted in a personal boycat of anything HP. It may not be much, but it's all I have.

Patent on RAM upgrades

[swordboy]

Well, as computers become more and more "trusted", we'll start losing things gradually. Here HP have a patent application on RAM upgrades.

[0015] In one embodiment, non-volatile memory unit 103 has stored upon it firmware for managing the configuration of computer system 100. The firmware comprises instructions for limiting the addressable space of volatile memory unit 102. By limiting the addressable space, the memory density of volatile memory unit 102 can be controlled. For example, volatile memory unit 102 is a 512 MB SDRAM memory module (e.g., has a memory density of 512 MB). The firmware can lower the memory density, for example to 256 MB, by limiting the addressable space of volatile memory unit 102. In the present embodiment, processor 101 is only able to access the addressable space as dictated by the firmware. In one embodiment, volatile memory unit 102 is scalable to provide a plurality of memory densities. The plurality of memory densities comprises a first memory density and a second memory density. In one embodiment, the first memory density is less than the second memory density.

[0016] In one embodiment, a system command is performed to upgrade the memory density of volatile memory unit 102 from the first memory density to the second memory density. In one embodiment, volatile memory unit 102 is a scalable memory unit initially programmed to operate at the first memory density.

Sigh...

Why the flap? ALL US bills are counterfiet!

[Ungrounded Lightning]

All of this discussion of anti-counterfeiting misses a significant point: ALL US currency is counterfeit. Has been for decades.

The US once printed "Silver Certificates". These were a promise to hand over, on demand, N dollars (defined as a particular weight of silver) in exchange for the certificates.

In reaction to the banking crisis around the crash of '29 and the depression of the '30s, the government established the Federal Reserve System. Silver Certificates (exchangable for actual money, in the form of a useful and valuable metal) were gradually replaced by Federal Reserve Notes (backed only by the government's threat to use force to require that everyone accept them as payment of debts).

The government can arrange to have as many of these printed as it wishes, injecting them into circulation as loans (in competition with private investors) to lower the interest rate. Sometimes it wishes to print a lot of them. This is the cause of inflation.

So by the definition of money as a valuable commodity or something exchangable for one, US paper currency has been counterfeit since the retirement of the Silver Certificates. B-)