View: Why Are Printers So Tricky?

By | November 24, 2011
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 I’ve written before about how printer manufacturers gouge us by selling us cheap printers but expensive cartridges. But either I’m missing something or these guys won’t stop at anything to make a bit more cash: I noticed for the first time yesterday that, with my HP DeskJet 640c, if I change the settings to print from colour to black (or vice versa) the software will automatically change my Draft output setting to Normal — meaning I’ll use more ink. Where is the justification for that? I can’t think of any, but I bet I’m not the only one who only notices the change after I’ve printed a page or two — if then. Sleazy.
 
Remedy? Bypass the HP printer software entirely using something like FinePrint — it also helps you print more onto less paper. Oh, and refill your cartridges using the wonderful Inke. Then the printer manufacturers end up being the patsies, selling you a cheap printer but not making any money off you with overpriced ink.
 

News: New Windows Is Out. Sort Of

By | November 24, 2011
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 Psst! Wanna buy the latest version of Windows, years before you’re supposed to? Head off to Malaysia’s Johor Bahru, where CDs containing software Microsoft has code named “Longhorn” are on sale for six ringgit ($1.58).
 
Reuters reports that the software is an early version of Longhorn demonstrated and distributed at a conference for Microsoft programmers in Los Angeles in October, according to Microsoft Corporate Attorney Jonathan Selvasegaram.
“It’s not a ready product,” he said from Malaysia. “Even if it works for a while, I think it’s very risky,” to install on a home computer, he said.
 
Actually, this happens all the time. I’ve seen early versions of new Windows products all the way back to Windows 95 dotted around Asia. Most are a nightmare to install, and I’d steer clear of them if I were you.

Update: More On iPods — And Their Batteries

By | November 24, 2011
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 Seems the guys — the Neistat Brothers — who were complaining about not being to replace their iPod batteries without expensive customer support were wrong, and even the guy who hosted their video isn’t happy.
 
As far as I can work out, the brothers posted a soundfile of an Apple customer support guy saying they may as well replace their iPod since it would be prohibitive to replace the battery. They then went around defacing iPod posters.
 
The bottom line: you can replace the batteries, using either an official Apple battery or a third-party one. Anyway, here’s some more discussion at Slashdot and plasticbag.org on the iPod anniversary and the NYT’s piece I mentioned in the previous posting.
 
(Sorry, don’t usually crowd the links into one posting like this, but it seems to make sense this time.)

News: The History of the iPod

By | November 24, 2011
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 Nice story by the New York Times’ Rob Walker on the history of the iPod, two years old this month. I have to say after initial skepticism I’m a convert, whisking it around with me on forays to the jogging track, the pool, and the car.
 
 
There have, however, been rumblings of complaint about the battery: One user says he was given short shrift by Apple when his died after 18 months, being told it would be cheaper for him to buy a new iPod. I’m waiting for a response from Apple on this one.

Update: More On The Dutch Spam Wars

By | November 24, 2011
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 Further to my post about the war between a spammer and three Dutch bloggers, I’ve heard from one of the bloggers, Bas Taart:
I was one of the three bloggers that started the war on CustomerBlast (The spammer), and for the record, I’d like to say that I never went offline due to counterattacks. Customerblast.com however, seems to have seized to exist.
 
I guess we won..
More on this in a future column.