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EFF Calls On HP To Disable Printer Ink Self-Destruct Sequence (arstechnica.com)
HP should apologize to customers and restore the ability of printers to use third-party ink cartridges, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) said in a letter to the company's CEO yesterday. From an ArsTechnica report:HP has been sabotaging OfficeJet Pro printers with firmware that prevents use of non-HP ink cartridges and even HP cartridges that have been refilled, forcing customers to buy more expensive ink directly from HP. The self-destruct mechanism informs customers that their ink cartridges are "damaged" and must be replaced. "The software update that prevented the use of third-party ink was reportedly distributed in March, but this anti-feature itself wasn't activated until September," EFF Special Advisor Cory Doctorow wrote in a letter to HP Inc. CEO Dion Weisler. "That means that HP knew, for at least six months, that some of its customers were buying your products because they believed they were compatible with any manufacturer's ink, while you had already planted a countdown timer in their property that would take this feature away. Your customers will have replaced their existing printers, or made purchasing recommendations to friends who trusted them on this basis. They are now left with a less useful printer -- and possibly a stockpile of useless third-party ink cartridges."
Just don't buy HP
This is probably actually illegal. Sony had to pay a settlement for disabling Linux on the PS3; HP is doing the same, so has at least a civil suit. Uniquely, however, HP has proven that their product is compatible with third-party ink, and has taken action to specifically to lock-out competition. That's probably an instance of Tying, and HP has sufficient market power to show that Tying is anti-competitive.
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The only surprise here is that anyone would still recommend HP printers.
I ran into this issue when the firmware auto updated and then all of the ink cartridges that I used to refill suddenly stopped working. There are a few hacks that involve putting tiny pieces of tape over the copper sensors of the ink cartridge, but it's not easily done. I ended up turning my HP printer into just a scanner and purchased a brother black/white laser printer off Amazon for $39. I've printed hundreds of documents and it's still running strong. My HP printer would print around 10 documents before running out of ink.
Go laser and never look back, black and white preferable unless you really need to print photos or something. We use Walgreens online for photos so don't really mind. What HP doesn't understand is they are shooting themselves in the foot over the longterm just to make short term profits.
This promotes the notion that you should never install updates. That's a really bad lesson.
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
Well, HPE, and not for much longer (going out on my terms)... anyway - we used to get ink for free, before the split last November, but honestly, I stopped using my HP printer about a year before that. The scanner functionality didn't work right over the network and after getting a Dell (the horror) color laser, there was no reason to print on an inkjet anyway. Now I have an All-in-one that prints great color and scans, all over the network - even does AirPrint and an app to print over Android devices, too.
Regardless of my feeling toward Meg Whitman and destruction of HP, I'd still recommend never buying HP Inkjets - same as I recommend not buying Epson (had those for years, then they put in a self-destruct after 3000 prints that just printed garbage on your media, dumb and expensive to the user).
The tactics of these companies are reprehensible, and should not be supported by anybody. It's not like HP cares about its customers any more, anyway. It's all about stock prices so they can sell it all off to hedge funds (and devalue the middle class' pension funds to line their own pockets) just before it finally collapses.
I remember the olden days when HP made good printers. Expensive, but good. They'd last 10+ years with virtually no trouble. Their network connectivity was flawless and reliable. Their mechanical design was indestructible. The print quality was top notch.
And then they started building "consumer" inkjet printers. And then they started marketing those low-grade printers to small offices. And then they jacked up the prices of ink. And now they're pulling this DMCA bullcrap. This is what "hell in a handbasket" looks like, and this is how legitimate businesses go to it.
What once was done by being a competitive provider of goods and services has now been replaced with marketing and lobbying. Corporations, take heed: hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, but even that doesn't hold a candle to nerd rage. Do. Not. Piss. Off. The. Nerds. Or. They. Will. Put. You. Out. Of. Business. And. Use. Way. Too. Many. Single. Word. Sentence. Fragments.
I got fed up with HP's crappy business practices, an bought a new Epson Ecotank 2550 printer instead. No more cartridges to buy, just ink bottles ... and those last forever, it seems. The printer was more expensive yes, but now the family is back to printing without worrying about the cost of ink. Ah, and also, no more "dried up ink cartridges because it's been a while we printed" problem.
This strikes me as a contravention of anti-fraud and/or anti-trust laws, and should be the subject of criminal charges filed by various States and Federal attorneys. Sure, it's about Electronic Freedoms, and I'm glad the EFF is weighing in - but dammit, they shouldn't have to do so. Legal authorities should be doing their jobs.
'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
This is why I keep a transparent-background PNG file with my signature around. Easily inserted into a LyX document and no one on the other end of the fax call can tell the difference.
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
If it floats, flies, fucks, or prints, it's cheaper to rent it.
I find I print more often after switching away from inkjet to laser. The problem with inkjet was I'd print so seldom that the cartridges would get clogged and that just made me want to use it even less. Why fiddle around for an hour trying to get a good photo print when the Walmart down the street is faster and doesn't go through $5 in ink each time? I had a geriatric (Centronics-50 SCSI; that's how old) Kodak dye sub printer that was less trouble.
I picked up a used business-class HP B/W laser all-in-one for $25 and the damn thing goes like a champ.
For color, I have a Brother laser. I'll sacrifice print quality for reliability any day.
In a world of the blind, the one-eyed man is king--and the two-eyed man is a heretic.
Welcome to the decade where business tell YOU what you can and cant do with hardware you pay for. Dont expect Congress to help either, they are all millionaires who have stock in all these companies and those companies line their political campaign pockets as well. They are royalty we are their modern day peasants/slaves..because very few have the balls to say no.
Jack of all trades,master of none