I’ve been lucky enough to be on this earth for thirty years. It’s been a learning process and I’ve still got much to work on, but I think it has turned out rather OK.
Here is to another thirty (and hopefully many more)!
Thirty
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Author Archives: Chris
HP Photosmart 7510: Why I will never buy another HP printer
I hate printers.
There isn’t any way to sugar coat it. Printers rarely work for a long period of time, throw up arcane errors, ink costs are insane, and have stupid limitations. Given that printer companies make money only on the ink cartridges, they do the absolute bare minimum to develop a functional printer.
Nearly 5 months ago, I bought a HP Photosmart 7510. The idea was simple: all-in-one printer/scanner with a document feeder that would allow me to go paperless.
First there was a very light but audible hissing noise the printer makes that several Amazon reviewers have since noted.
Then there was the brilliant idea by HP to have icons for a bunch of web site services on the printer itself. This isn’t the touchscreen of your iPhone…very non-responsive and tough to move around. Sorry HP, no one uses the printer touchscreen itself to print from Facebook, Disney, Yahoo, or many other sites.
The final straw was an artificial limit that has been imposed on this printer. In an effort to prevent business users from using a HP consumer printer, you can only use the Automatic Document Feeder for up to 75 scans at full speed. After that, each page after that takes takes several minutes to even begin scanning.
You think that sounds insane? HP admits it themselves on this forum post:
“The behavior that you are seeing in your printer is normal in that product, this printer is merely design to home users where their needs are not as high compared to business users. The unit reduces its speed to prevent overheating the motor in the Automatic-Document-Feeder (ADF). So, there is nothing wrong with that behavior and you can still use it even if the speed of scanning or copying through the ADF reduces. I hope this information is helpful.”
The reduce speed to prevent overheating makes sense at first…except it will do this even if you wait a hour between scans. I’ve tested this myself. There is absolutely no reasonable explanation for this behavior.
Amazon was wonderful. Even though I contacted them 5 months after I bought the printer, they are issuing a full refund. I am instead going to Epson for my new printer. Never again will I go with HP.
The started a simplified home tech life
An new iPad (3) in hand, I am beginning an experiment to simplify my home computing life: go without using my home computer for two weeks and still do all of my needed computing tasks.
The reason is straight forward: as the iPad gets more and more amazing software, there is less and less computing tasks that requires a home computer. I have a smaller amount of time to do my home computer tasks than I used to, thus I need to do them in ways that are easy and efficient.
I am also simplifying my entertainment needs. I am selling my PlayStation 3 as it collects dust and as I realize that I get just as much if not more entertainment playing $0.99 iPad games compared to $60 PS3 games.
What else can I do to simplify my home tech life? That is something I hope to explore in the next few weeks, with a series of blog posts written on my iPad or iPhone (just like this blog post).
Hard work pays off
Hard work pays off, but no time to rest.
A lot has changed in a decade
A lot has changed in a decade. Ten years ago, all four sports teams I follow (Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, and Bruins) were at different points of their history, but shared one common bond: no recent championships. We love our sports in New England, but there was a sort of fear that would come up when there was a glimmer of hope and our teams never failed to make that fear become reality. Things changed quickly though.
What changed this culture of fear was Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. Two fearless individuals who just wanted to win. With a little luck aiding their journey to that first Super Bowl, these two showed New England that it was OK to dream, that something good will happen in the end.
The domino effect happened fairly quickly. The Patriots won three Super Bowls in four years. The Red Sox finally broke through 86 years of disappointment with the most thrilling and unbelievable run I’ve ever witnessed in 2004 and then followed this up in 2007 with another championship. The Celtics, after years of management blunders and bad luck, constructed a new Big Three and won a ring in 2007. The Bruins even got into the act, pulling off an improbable run last year and winning the Stanley Cup.
Now the Patriots are back to the big game and look for that fourth Super Bowl ring in ten years. I cannot wait for tonight. As I learned early in my life, you never know when you will be back to the big game (or even get there). Enjoying this while it lasts is something I will do.