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HP Is Advertising Its Real, Modern Printers on This Fake, Awkward '80s Computer Show (adweek.com)

Posted by msmash on from the nicely-done dept.

T.L. Stanley, writing for AdWeek: It's a fine line between effective '80s homage and clumsy retro spoof, with the latter usually involving a lot of overplayed visual gags like brick-sized cell phones and VHS tapes. Cue pointing and laughing. This new HP video, dubbed "Computer Show," hits the sweet spot perfectly with its recreation of a Reagan-era public access show about technology, but with a fish-out-of-water spin. The host is stuck in time -- stilted stage manner, goofy haircut and all -- but his guests are current-day tech pioneers. Awkward hilarity ensues. The short film, made by Giant Spoon and Sandwich Video for HP, sets up a print-off between HP's PageWide super-fast model and a dot matrix supplied by an employee of the neighborhood "Kwikopy."

86 comments

  1. How far they have fallen by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Remember when HP could compare their products to the actual competition (from the same era, no less) and come out looking... competitive? They have to compare their printer to a fictional dot matrix (what was that actually, anyway?) in order to make it look like something you'd want to buy?

    I really should have gone into advertising.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    1. Re:How far they have fallen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      fictional dot matrix (what was that actually, anyway?)

      Not fictional. That's an Apple ImageWriter.

    2. Re: How far they have fallen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Matrix printers were a huge improvements over other impact printers, as it allowed printing arbitrary characters (or even graphics!), instead of being limited to the few characters in the set physically engraved in the printer's moving head.

    3. Re:How far they have fallen by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      Not fictional. That's an Apple ImageWriter.

      I thought it looked familiar. But they didn't call it an ImageWriter, did they? I only skimmed the video.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    4. Re:How far they have fallen by sconeu · · Score: 2

      I remember when HP stood for "Built like a tank".

      --
      General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
    5. Re:How far they have fallen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      The brand logos have been removed. The 1983 equipment consists of an ImageWriter attached to an Apple IIe with a Monitor II and a UniDisk 5.25 drive.

    6. Re:How far they have fallen by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      and come out looking... competitive?

      As much as that advert deserves to get shit on, that looks competitive from any angle in any light. I'm interested to see if any competitor has an inkjet that could compare, and I'm willing to bet they don't.

      Still wouldn't buy it though (imagine a clogged head on that thing).

    7. Re:How far they have fallen by Dogtanian · · Score: 4, Funny

      I remember when HP stood for "Built like a tank".

      It was at this point the founders realised that their marketing guy was in fact completely illiterate, and soon after were insisting that "HP" actually stood for "Hewlett Packard", honest.

      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    8. Re:How far they have fallen by Captain+Splendid · · Score: 2

      FWIW, I have a 12 year old HP Laserjet that deserves this accolade. Liked it so much it has a 9 year old brother as well.

      --
      Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
    9. Re:How far they have fallen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Remember when HP could compare their products to the actual competition (from the same era, no less) and come out looking... competitive? They have to compare their printer to a fictional dot matrix (what was that actually, anyway?) in order to make it look like something you'd want to buy?

      Uh, when I started with computing in the seventies, the line printers on the Cyber 175 cranked out 40 lines per _second_ on average if I remember correctly (not in "copy mode" but in continuous operation). And form feeds really let the paper fly (they weren't printing on loose sheets but a continuous stack of pages separated by perforations).

      They were in a sound-proofed room with sound-proofed covers over them and about the size of three washing machines. And when an operator lifted a cover during operation, this was really loud. Outside the sound-proofed room.

      You need a pretty good page printer these days to look competitive against something like that. They were vicious.

    10. Re: How far they have fallen by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      I had a Panasonic KXP1185, IIRC. Something like that. It would emulate Epson or IBM Proprinter II, and it had very high quality for a dot matrix printer. I used it on my Amiga 500 and handed in many a school paper printed with it. Eventually it died the death of a thousand dogs amen and I binned it.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    11. Re:How far they have fallen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In the 70s and 80s, real printing was done by an IBM 3800. 20040 lines per minute. The paper moved through the thing at something like 27MPH. The paper came on enormous rolls.

    12. Re:How far they have fallen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well there consumer stuff was always crap. and lately I haven't had any problems with the printers I buy from them. Granted I spend over a thousand for the models I need.

    13. Re:How far they have fallen by BitterOak · · Score: 2

      FWIW, I have a 12 year old HP Laserjet that deserves this accolade. Liked it so much it has a 9 year old brother as well.

      I've found Brother printers aren't nearly as well built as HP printers.

      --
      If I can be modded down for being a troll, can I be modded up for being an orc, or a balrog?
    14. Re:How far they have fallen by ncc74656 · · Score: 1

      The brand logos have been removed.

      In one shot, it looks like they didn't obscure the Apple logo on the printer (upper right corner of the front), though it's so small that you wouldn't have been able to tell that's what it was.

      I still have mine from coming up on 32 years ago. It's currently in storage...not sure if it still works, though it did the last time I had it out. It'd almost certainly need a new ribbon, and I think the last of the fanfold paper got chucked a while back. I still have some Apple IIs (and also some Macs now) that can drive it, too. :)

      --
      20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
    15. Re:How far they have fallen by havana9 · · Score: 1

      Here we go.
      Real HP LaserJet Presentation from 1985.
      Same faded videos and odd haircuts of the fake one. I'm not sure why them haven't used an HP '80s laser printer. Maybe because the comparision between a dot matrix printer and al laser wasn't so funny? Or because if you connect a PCL-speaking printer to a machine that acts as a printer server you could print from a cellphone anyway?

    16. Re:How far they have fallen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      sure you did. go back to sleep, you're boring.

    17. Re:How far they have fallen by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      You need a pretty good page printer these days to look competitive against something like that. They were vicious.

      If I'm allowed to print the lines so small that they are illegible without a magnifier, then I can shit all over that with my HPLJ2300 :)

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    18. Re:How far they have fallen by Captain+Splendid · · Score: 1

      A genuine thanks to you for spotting the opportunity and making the joke!

      --
      Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
    19. Re:How far they have fallen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Same here. I've still got a LaserJet 1010 that's fifteen years old or so, survived a pretty high fall when I moved house, and still works just as well as it did when I bought it.
      But as I understand it, HP is no longer considered to be a safe buy in this regard as newer HP printers don't over good value for money, aren't built as sturdily as they used to and you get shit like HP locking you on cartridges. I don't know if they're as bad on toner nowadays as they're on ink, but even if they aren't now, it's coming.

  2. Dot matrix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's an awesome add! I remember how much I hated those old dot matrix printers, always tearing off the tractor holes and not feeding the paper. Plus the noise what ear piercing.

    1. Re:Dot matrix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Seriously, do you ever shop for groceries. Look closely at the device that prints your receipt.

    2. Re:Dot matrix by cant_get_a_good_nick · · Score: 1

      those tend to be thermal printing, so not sure about the supplies issue. special paper.

    3. Re:Dot matrix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh, you can still buy new dot matrix printers. There are still applications where you need the mechanical impact on the paper so inkjets or laser printers can't be used.

      OKI still makes some. They are not cheap though.

    4. Re:Dot matrix by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      Amazon.com -> Electronics -> Printers and Ink -> Dot Matrix

      Prices vary, but $200-500 seems to be the ballpark. This seems typical..

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    5. Re:Dot matrix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not sure I would choose anything but an Okidata nowadays.

    6. Re:Dot matrix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep, multi-part forms. Plus they're really cheap to run. I would actually prefer one, I like the sound also.

    7. Re:Dot matrix by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      My Oki color laser has been a very mixed bag. Granting it's a cheapy. Doesn't feed paper from the tray reliably anymore, have to feed it from the front. If I printed more than 20 pages/year I'd replace it.

      My old 21 pin Oki color dot matrix from the late 80s was much better.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    8. Re:Dot matrix by Cmdln+Daco · · Score: 1

      It's special paper, but since every cash register, everywhere, uses it, it's cheap and commonly available. Those narrow 'Point of sale' printers are pretty cheap, too.

      That's how things work out when it's technology that, I repeat, is used on every cash register everywhere.

    9. Re:Dot matrix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why do you hate trees? Why?!?!?!?!?!

  3. I don't usually make advertisements by NotInHere · · Score: 1

    but when I do, they become fucking memes!

  4. The real question is by tomxor · · Score: 1

    What printer from 2017 or even >2000 would not outperform a 1980s dot-matrix... HP fail: compare your product to something that no competitor should be worse than by far.

    1. Re: The real question is by Alan+Shutko · · Score: 1

      Or, would an HP printer of today outperform theirs from the 90s?

    2. Re:The real question is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      depends on the metric. 1980s dot matrix printer will outdo pretty much everything in cost-per-page. Those ribbons lasted for -ages-.

    3. Re: The real question is by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Depends on your definition of "perform". When you talk about ink consumption and price, definitely!

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    4. Re:The real question is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Durability.

      When I worked at Okidata, one of the printers fell about 3 1/2 feet onto a concrete floor. The shell was smashed. We replaced it and decided to test it for giggles. It outspec'ed most of the other printers. We couldn't sell it for obvious reasons, but we used it internally in the test department.

      Try that with HP printer today.

    5. Re: The real question is by hambone142 · · Score: 1

      When you talk about reliability, no.

      I've gone through 3 "post Carly" HP printers and they all had mechanical failures.

      I switched to Canon.

    6. Re: The real question is by darkain · · Score: 1

      Still using HP LaserJet 2100's in the office I work in, all manufactured in 1998. As of Windows 10, there are STILL official drivers for these things. On top of that, the drivers are the absolute generic "you can print, and nothing more" drivers with no UI what so ever. They just WORK, with zero bullshit. They've all been upgraded with their optional NICs too so now they are network attached, instead of the shitty USB-to-LPT adapters we had ages ago for these. They are simply bullet proof, never failing.

    7. Re: The real question is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We got rid of our last HP laserjet 4 just 2 or 3 years ago..
      The dam thing was STILL WORKING.... We just got rid of the 'front desk lady' position (actually, she retired, and we did not replace here), so we also got rid of the LJ4 when we got rid of the desk.
      She had it under her desk and used it for addressing envelopes and printing the phone directory and such.
      She printed about 10 pages a day on average... AND IT KEPT WORKING.. FOR 20 years!!
      Its fuser blew about 10 years ago when I first started..
      I was going to replace it, but then the lady says, hey, does this help?
      She opened up a cabinet behind her desk and there was a bunch of dusty boxes.. Several toner carts, a roller replacement kit, and a replacement fuser kit.
      Something like 8 screws and 10 minutes later and she was printing again.
      There was an old dusty printer log in there.. First fuser replacement by ME. NOTHING ELSE.

      Seriously, they really don't make them like that anymore.

    8. Re: The real question is by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      HP Deskjet 800-series printers will outlast them all.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    9. Re:The real question is by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      HP fail: compare your product to something that no competitor should be worse than by far.

      This is like how- in the United Kingdom at least- Duracell are still selling their (alkaline) batteries by comparing them against zinc batteries. (#) I mean, really?

      That might have been valid thirty years ago when alkalines were semi-premium and zinc carbons *were* the competition, but nowadays zincs are relegated to the dirt-cheap-but-underpowered-for-most-real-uses market segment. Alkalines are mainstream and I can get four or six of them for a quid from Poundland.

      How do your batteries compare against those? Twenty percent more capacity for two and a half times the price or something? Doesn't sound so good... but then, neither does relying on comparisons to an archaic technology to make yourselves look better.

      (#) This advert is three years old, but I'm sure I saw a similar one less than a year ago.

      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    10. Re: The real question is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Poundland batteries only last a few minutes if you draw real current from them! They are lighter too.

    11. Re: The real question is by narcc · · Score: 1

      Same here. Our 2100TN is still running like new. I don't know that I'd be able to find a newer model as reliable.

      --
      Required reading for internet skeptics
    12. Re: The real question is by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      Poundland batteries only last a few minutes if you draw real current from them! They are lighter too.

      Can't swear that they last as long as Duracells, but I've never had that problem with the various brands I bought there.

      Are you absolutely sure those were alkaline batteries (i.e. the ones I was discussing) and not zinc carbon/chloride (the "dirt-cheap-but-underpowered-for-most-real-uses" type)? They sell both, often in similar packaging.

      The zinc ones are usually, but not always, cheaper (because they're crap) and if you're getting like ten or more for a pound (10+6 free) they're almost certainly not alkalines. Don't be fooled by the "Heavy Duty" label; that came from the fact that zinc chloride cells once offered a noticeable improvement over zinc carbon, but they're still feeble by modern standards.

      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    13. Re:The real question is by Khyber · · Score: 1

      " but nowadays zincs are relegated to the dirt-cheap-but-underpowered-for-most-real-uses"

      Found the electrochemically illiterate! Nickel-Zinc is way freaking useful. 1.6V nominal cell voltage, roughly same Ah capacity as Nickel Metal Hydride in the same form factor.

      Only problem is that it whiskers like mad, making the charge cycle count in the tens. If it were not for that problem, Ni-MH would be DEAD by now.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    14. Re: The real question is by ncc74656 · · Score: 1

      Same here. Our 2100TN is still running like new. I don't know that I'd be able to find a newer model as reliable.

      I've had pretty good luck the past 10 or so years with a LaserJet 1320. Quick, built-in duplexer, built-in PostScript, works with everything. A couple years ago, I was given a JetDirect 175x, so it's now on the LAN. (Had some other network-to-USB adapters before the JetDirect that didn't always work as expected.)

      --
      20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
    15. Re: The real question is by DMFNR · · Score: 1

      They don't weigh a whole pound?

    16. Re:The real question is by tomxor · · Score: 1

      Also just noticed they made it about 5 times larger than the dotmatrix... so not such a win win in specs even against a 30 year old machine.

    17. Re: The real question is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What the heck is a "quid"?

    18. Re:The real question is by kimvette · · Score: 1

      The sad thing is that carbon-zinc cells are still offered for sale - and people still buy them because they're cheap... >_>

      --
      The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
    19. Re:The real question is by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      Found the electrochemically illiterate! Nickel-Zinc is way freaking useful.

      Okay, I probably *am* electrochemically illiterate, but in this case I meant zinc as short for "zinc carbon and/or zinc chloride". Smartass! ;-P

      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    20. Re: The real question is by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      What the heck is a "quid"?

      If it wasn't a decade old and a smug cliche, I'd have given you a "LMGTFY" link...

      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
  5. HP Thanks You by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    HP thanks you for helping to propagate their advertisements.

    1. Re:HP Thanks You by thinkwaitfast · · Score: 0

      adweek.com

      On slashdot?

      I remember when nerds used to shun such things. I guess it wasn't profitable.

  6. so fake by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    An homage about 1980s printers, in which everyone is well groomed and presentable, and nobody looks like Richard Stallman.

    1. Re:so fake by freeze128 · · Score: 1

      The host suggests a contest and exclaims "Let's get it on!"

      NOBODY said that in 1983, unless they were suggesting to have sex.

    2. Re:so fake by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I flinched a little at hearing "cut to the chase" in the first hour of Witcher 3. Cut... what, the physical parchment screenplay? To the chase scene of... a Shakespeare play by bards?

      Game itself seems fine, I guess.

  7. Sponsored by blogagog · · Score: 0

    When you promote advertisements like this, shouldn't you mention that they're sponsored?

  8. Damn! What a fast printer for an inkjet! by cruff · · Score: 1

    Did you watch the video? That is a speedy printer when you can hit the entire width of the page with ink.

  9. That's actually clever by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    HP wants to remind us of when they were actually innovative and relevant and hope that we think it's still the case.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  10. Re:Damn! What a fast printer for an inkjet! by Opportunist · · Score: 2

    And you only have to replace the cartridge after the whole page is printed!

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  11. A Story about an Ad by alvinrod · · Score: 1

    Isn't a story about an ad still just an ad?

    The only way this could be more sad is if someone isn't getting paid for it.

  12. It's ok... by The-Ixian · · Score: 1

    The '80sness is fun and the attention to detail in that regard was pretty good... but the jokes were pretty forced (you can't script awkward).

    Still... I'd take this type of commercial any day over standard television advertising.

    --
    My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
  13. Computer Chronicles by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Looks like a poor imitation of the excellent "Computer Chronicles."

    1. Re:Computer Chronicles by Guspaz · · Score: 2

      It's obviously a sendup of the '80s version of The Computer Chronicles. Their set is a close match for layout (including the table shape), their segments are the same, and even the rainbow-coloured title card from the 80s they used.

      And yes, the Computer Chronicles was excellent: it didn't run uninterrupted for 19 years without good reason. It was ultimately the Internet that killed it, not lack of quality.

      For anyone who would like to see for themselves, most of the 19 year run of the show is available on The Internet Archive:

      https://archive.org/details/co...

      Watching early episodes involving the introduction of things like the CD-ROM or the 486 is really fun.

    2. Re:Computer Chronicles by miller701 · · Score: 1

      Required viewing in my house every Saturday morning. Stewart Chiefet, Tim Barajin, occasionally Gary Kildall.

    3. Re:Computer Chronicles by Feneric · · Score: 1

      I think it's a sponsored episode of "The Computer Show", a deliberate sendup of "The Computer Chronicles". There were two previous episodes made of this: https://www.youtube.com/channe...

  14. As for the ink by Kevoco · · Score: 2

    it will cost something like $100 per ounce and anything from a third party will reliably foul up the entire works.

    PS: I'm assuming this is the MEMJet technology which was touted a while back and then seemed to disappear.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6Z7RqRH3QQ

    1. Re:As for the ink by guruevi · · Score: 1

      Given it's an inkjet with 42k nozzles, I highly doubt the heads would be replaceable therefore any clogging from the ink (whether it's dried out or cheap after-market) would utterly destroy the printer. Actually looking at their website, it seems that the only way to get any repairs is to get a service contract.

      --
      Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
    2. Re:As for the ink by Guspaz · · Score: 2

      The low-end ones (they start at $380) have a single long bar of printheads that isn't replaceable, but the higher-end ones use replaceable printhead modules. All of them have both the normal printhead cleaning routines, and they have optical sensors to detect individual clogged nozzles. A clogged nozzle is dealt with in a variety of ways depending on where it's located and which type it is. The individual printheads are staggered and overlap a bit, and a clogged nozzle in the overlap area is just replaced by the overlapping one. A clogged black nozzle that isn't overlapped is replaced on a per-nozzle basis by colour nozzles, and if that isn't available, then it just relies on the fact at at 1200dpi, the dots spread enough to overlap anyhow and a single missing nozzle won't really show up on the page (you'd need two or more adjacent clogged nozzles to produce a visible streak).

      It's important to note that these are all business and professional printers, though. They're designed for high volume where nozzles clogged from lack of use isn't a problem.

    3. Re:As for the ink by Stonent1 · · Score: 1

      Tektronix/Xerox already did the fixed nozzle printers in the 1990s with the Phaser series, however they sprayed pigmented wax instead of ink. The heads were about $1000 to replace but the printers were several times that in cost.

  15. Dot matrix by rfengr · · Score: 1

    I actually wish there was a modern dot matrix printer. Being able to print only a few lines, then tear off a short length of paper, would be nice. How about a non-inkjet color printer that doesn't cost an arm and a leg in supplies?

  16. rofl by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    fucking nostalgia.... ok it wasn't bad lol...

    1. Re:rofl by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I know just what you mean. Things have really gone downhill. Face it, nostalgia just isn't what it used to be.

  17. Re:Oldschool by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

    Dumbest content on slashdot. Carly fiorina would be rolling in her grave. Lulz, FP. See oldschool

    If Carly really were rolling in her grave, HP would be the great company it once was and there would still be Republicans in California today.

  18. Hilarity? I think not. by gosand · · Score: 1

    Interesting idea that could have been 1/4 the length. I still don't get the premise, faster and better quality than a dot matrix? Clearly. Wireless? Not new. The print head and speed was impressive. But knowing how printer manufacturers screw you on things like ink, I can only imagine how many different cartridges are in that behemoth. For me, printer manufacturers have a long long way to go to rebuild trust in them and their products.

    --

    My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.

  19. Now this by s.petry · · Score: 2

    is Funny! :)

    --

    -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

  20. Seriously? by thomn8r · · Score: 1

    That guy is way too old to have one of those stupid eyebrow piercing things...

  21. Re: Damn! What a fast printer for an inkjet! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Only $99 per cartridge too!

  22. Bad parody of computer chronicals by Billly+Gates · · Score: 1

    If you all want a good laugh you can google them on YouTube? Eric Schmidt is on the one about the new 386 saying how Sun is going to switch to that architecture while showing off News

    --
    http://saveie6.com/
    1. Re:Bad parody of computer chronicals by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Eric Schmidt is on the one about the new 386 saying how Sun is going to switch to that architecture while showing off News

      They tried! But they sucked at making PCs.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  23. Misty Water-Colored Memories... Slashdot Oldtimers by BigBlockMopar · · Score: 1

    Great printer, those old Panasonics. Fast, clean, quiet, durable. Also loved the Epson MX-80 and the Okidata ML320.

    I had a DEC LA-36 teletype (nb. not a TeleType) attached to my TI-99/4A back in the day... its 7 pin printhead lacked true descenders, so the print matched the text on the TI-99/4A's screen!

    By the time I got to the Amiga 1000 and 500, I had a hand-me-down HP LaserJet I. What a tank. A Canon photocopier with HP's modifications, and doubled as a great ozone generator. The printer was connected to the Amiga by a 300 or 1200 baud RS-232 link. Annoyingly, I couldn't print anything from the BBSes while I was online - the Amiga's single serial port was needed for the modem. :)

    Nowadays, there's a Unix mainframe in my right front pocket. And I can wirelessly print to a Samsung color laser printer that's 10x faster and 1/4 the weight. Don't even get me started on that Chromecast thing that's smaller than a videocassette and faster than a drive to Blockbuster.

    But I do miss the quality of the old stuff. The old HP LaserJet just happened to be the very first (shared with the Apple LaserWriter) of its kind. Cost-reduction was not a goal; quality was. And it showed.

    I miss HP.

    Nice to meet another Slashdot old-timer...

    --
    Fire and Meat. Yummy.
  24. Re:Oldschool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    BBC did this years ago, and was actually funny:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/lookaroundyou/

  25. Actually Nice Printers by SamHill · · Score: 1

    I have two of the Pagewide printers at work, and one at home (after watching the first one at work for a year, and needing to replace our ~16-year-old LaserJet 4000). They are very fast (although not as fast as some color copier/printers), fairly cheap, and seem to hold up reasonably well (so far; they came out about four years ago). Print quality is also quite good on decent paperâ"I spent quite a while evaluating that before deciding to keep it. And the color was better (truer to onscreen) than our color LaserJet. The only thing I find disappointing about them is that they only do letter/legal size paper. I'd really like one that could do tabloid with the same technology (but the only option there seems to be color lasers that are no faster than the 15+-year-old one we have, or the aforementioned copier/printers).