295
all 43 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] roofuskit@lemmy.world 76 points 1 month ago

Anytime a company reduces the functionality of a device through software or firmware they should have to offer to buy back the hardware. The depreciation rate should be set at time of purchase so you know how much you get if they neuter it a year from now.

[-] notabot@lemm.ee 30 points 1 month ago

Why allow depreciation? You wouldn't have bought it with the reduced functionality, and it's going to cost you time and effort to remove it and replace it with something else. Inflation will reduce the value more than enough.

[-] lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 month ago

Yeah, but that means they don't get your money anymore! Think of the ~~profits~~ ~~shareholders~~ children!

[-] mp3@lemmy.ca 41 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Or they could like... just not be dicks and supply firmware updates without the lock-in, instead of having to trade off security to use your device however you want.

[-] original_reader@lemm.ee 38 points 1 month ago

I must buy a printer soon. Thank you for reminding me to avoid HP products.

[-] acosmichippo@lemmy.world 24 points 1 month ago
[-] Bluefruit@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

This is the way. My brother printer is a hl2040, came out sometime in the early 2000s. It still prints. I've replaced the toner cartridge once since my Dad gave it to me back in 2016.

The other day I needed to print something out and this was after I had reinstalled linux.

Just fired right up, instantly recognized. Its one of the best pieces of hardware I own.

[-] original_reader@lemm.ee 6 points 1 month ago

Are "brother" the nice guys at the moment?

[-] acosmichippo@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago

relatively speaking

[-] cm0002@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

Laser printer and probably brother, it's worth the extra up front cost 10 fold

For an old color Dell Laser printer I got from a thrift store years ago I can find 4 color sets of toner for it for $40-60

[-] Ledericas@lemm.ee 4 points 1 month ago

brother is currently enshittifying right now.

[-] cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 month ago

Brother. The end.

[-] cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 23 points 1 month ago

Oh BROTHER, not this again.

On a more serious note, I've been all about brother printers for a few years now and couldn't be happier.

[-] Billythegoat@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

They apparently restricted 3rd party ink now too.

[-] Kbobabob@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

You got a source? Everyone else says it was debunked.

[-] Billythegoat@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Oh didn’t hear it was debunked. Cool to know!

[-] HiTekRedNek@lemm.ee 1 points 1 month ago

I've been rockin my HL3170CDW for many years now. I have absolutely no issues with this printer, and I'll buy nothing else.

[-] ploot 13 points 1 month ago

Even better, the whole HP printer is optional.

[-] MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 month ago

Well, here's the story: The old HP MuFu finally caved in, so dad was going to the local multimedia retailer. I told him to get a Brother Ecotank, since i have to support it. But the store only had HP MuFu, so he got a HP MuFu that is even worse than the old one, despite being a laser printer instead of an inkjet. And the f*cking toner cost a whole 140€.

[-] SplashJackson@lemmy.ca 12 points 1 month ago

"Settles" lol the lawyers got their payout

[-] JackbyDev@programming.dev 2 points 1 month ago

I've never interpreted settling to imply lawyers don't get paid.

[-] SplashJackson@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Lawyers get paid either way, but that's about the most that comes of it. Settling means no legal precedent has been set, so businesses can pull this bullshit again in the future

[-] JackFrostNCola@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago

Bullshittery aside, "HP Inc." Instead of just "HP" Is on the nose and has to be deliberate on the journalists behalf

[-] brandon@lemmy.ml 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

The actual reason is because in 2015 "Hewlett Packard" split into two companies, one called HP, Inc, and one called HP Enterprise. The print and consumer PC business went to HPI, while the server and network hardware went to HPE. So, writing just "HP" could be interpreted as ambiguous.

[-] pinheadednightmare@lemm.ee 11 points 1 month ago

Simple fix here, stop buying the companies that do this. I bought a brother printer and I won’t go back.

[-] devilish666@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

Sometimes I wonder why there's no DIY Paper printer after seeing so...much shit in Printer Company ?
We had advance DIY 3D Printer that can made various objects with various size and materials and yet there's no DIY Paper printer until now

[-] cm0002@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago
[-] devilish666@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Impressive...sadly it produce low quality print, but it's good to see somebody actually made DIY Paper printer

[-] druidjaidan@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

It's not really surprising. The demand for printers has fallen off a cliff due to wide acceptance of digital alternatives. People barely need printers now and as such aren't willing to pay much for them.

This is further exacerbated by the reality that a printer is actually a fairly high precision device and expensive to manufacture.

So you have an expensive to manufacture device that consumers aren't willing to pay much for. So what happens? They adopt a consumable based business with the printers being locked down to force you to buy their overpriced, high margin consumables that have a low absolute price so consumers don't think about it much.

Let's say that we regulate away this lock in. What will happen? Well the price of printers would have to climb to match their actual cost to manufacture. That price would likely turn off consumers from buying them at all. The end result would be the end of the printer business altogether. Maybe not a bad thing as not printing at all is likely a better ecological outcome.

[-] FinnFooted@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago

I have an epson eco tank. No more ink cartridges.

[-] qyron@sopuli.xyz 3 points 1 month ago

What about printing head replacement?

[-] alphabethunter@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

From my experience, those last years. But they are indeed a bit expensive... I have had my eco tank for the last 5 years, only had to replace the b/w printer head after around 4 thousand prints, and I'm almost sure it was my own fault for using expired low-quality ink that I had bought in bulk for super cheap.

[-] qyron@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 month ago

That is a good number

[-] Daedskin@lemm.ee 6 points 1 month ago

As someone who's worked on printer firmware before, it makes me really sad that a company can get away with making a consumer decide between getting access to any of the actually useful changes that engineers — who have no say over ink cartridge policy — put effort towards making the best product they could, or not having said ink cartridge policies forced on them.

[-] BigTrout75@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

HP is like, "enjoy the security vulnerabilities"

[-] lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 month ago
[-] Grass@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 month ago

did the cups vulnerability get fixed?

[-] lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 month ago

IDK, I don't expose that shit to the internet.

[-] singletona@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Still not interested in a fucking printer.

this post was submitted on 21 Mar 2025
295 points (100.0% liked)

Technology

69947 readers
2471 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related news or articles.
  3. Be excellent to each other!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
  10. Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS