[Louis Rossmann] Brother turns heel & becomes anti-consumer printer company
-
That sounds like a 15th century printing press with extra steps.
Kind of, but with less wood and a lot more micro plastics. That's how you can tell it's modern.
-
Kind of, but with less wood and a lot more micro plastics. That's how you can tell it's modern.
I used to have wood a lot more often, before microplastics.
-
This kinda shit makes me glad I don't own a printer.
That gives a whole new twist to "you'll own nothing and be happy"
-
That gives a whole new twist to "you'll own nothing and be happy"
Fucking hell that sums up my life surprisingly well actually.
-
This kinda shit makes me glad I don't own a printer.
I've decided that just going to a copy shop a few times a year is less hassle.
-
You sctuallly can’t sell third-party printers legally, because all printers will include an ink fingerprint which can be traced back to that specific printer. So if someone prints a ransom note, the FBI will be knocking on their door by the end of the day.
There’s literally a certification process to be allowed to sell printers, and one of the biggest criteria for that certification is agreeing to maintain that fingerprint database. The issue is that this certification process also ensures there’s a de facto near monopoly on printers, which leads to BS like HP making it increasingly difficult to use affordable ink. They can be blatantly anti-consumer, because they’re protected from any competition.
There’s a reason HP hasn’t already been priced out by some cheap Chinese competitor who is able to undercut the competition. And it’s not because of the difficulty in manufacturing or the price of components. It’s because no other companies are allowed to sell printers.
Inside the US, sure. That just means you don't get the cool FOSS printer.
-
Fucking hell that sums up my life surprisingly well actually.
Welcome to the future
-
Inside the US, sure. That just means you don't get the cool FOSS printer.
You can still build it yourself.
-
This post did not contain any content.
Not sure if I got the update yet, but I'm banning my printer from accessing the internet right now.
-
Welcome to the future
Future for normies: Renting everything
Future for me: Rejecting everything, I will write in cuneiform on clay tablets before I rent a fucking HP printer.
-
This post did not contain any content.
I have a Canon color laser printer which works pretty well and doesn’t pull any of this shit. They’re probably the last one standing now.
-
I no longer have any corporate relationships that aren't either apprehensive, strained, or downright antagonistic.
It's us versus them now and they've give their last shits. It's feeling like every company is a cable company now.
I have VERY few and I cherish them.
Fairphone feels great to me. I think My coffee stuff is the same (Profitec, Eureka Mignon); no app or wifi or anything, fairly available spare parts.
-
Companies were never our friends, but it used to be the case that companies sold products. They sold a product and you got to use it and that was the end of it.
Now instead, thanks largely to the Internet, companies barely care about 'product' at all and instead are all trying to get in on that gravy train of monetised data slurping, subscription models, DRM on every consumable, firmware updates that change the terms on you after the fact, and so on. Every electronic thing in your home is now super hostile to you.
TVs, printers, fridges. These products used to be just products, but now they are trojan horses.
This shift in business model also means a drop in customer service. They used to sell you a product and stand behind it because eventually they wanted you to choose them when you needed a new or different product. Now that they have you roped in via a sort of forced dependency, they don't have to pretend to be nice to you even.
-
You sctuallly can’t sell third-party printers legally, because all printers will include an ink fingerprint which can be traced back to that specific printer. So if someone prints a ransom note, the FBI will be knocking on their door by the end of the day.
There’s literally a certification process to be allowed to sell printers, and one of the biggest criteria for that certification is agreeing to maintain that fingerprint database. The issue is that this certification process also ensures there’s a de facto near monopoly on printers, which leads to BS like HP making it increasingly difficult to use affordable ink. They can be blatantly anti-consumer, because they’re protected from any competition.
There’s a reason HP hasn’t already been priced out by some cheap Chinese competitor who is able to undercut the competition. And it’s not because of the difficulty in manufacturing or the price of components. It’s because no other companies are allowed to sell printers.
You actually can’t sell third-party printers legally, because all printers will include an ink fingerprint which can be traced back to that specific printer.
All color printers.
-
I have VERY few and I cherish them.
Fairphone feels great to me. I think My coffee stuff is the same (Profitec, Eureka Mignon); no app or wifi or anything, fairly available spare parts.
Didn't fairphone start selling Bluetooth headphones after getting rid of the headphone jack
-
Didn't fairphone start selling Bluetooth headphones after getting rid of the headphone jack
Sure did. Repairable ones. I strongly prefer wired headphones and will keep using them as I can, and I ain't buying earbuds.
But I'd rather not let perfect be the enemy of good. I am not giving up a cellphone, so I'd rather have Fairphone trying (ans sometimes fucking it up) than give my money to anyone else in the market.
Them not being perfect in my eyes doesn't qualify as a hostile relationship between their corporation and me.
-
This shift in business model also means a drop in customer service. They used to sell you a product and stand behind it because eventually they wanted you to choose them when you needed a new or different product. Now that they have you roped in via a sort of forced dependency, they don't have to pretend to be nice to you even.
Exactly. The way to make money pre-Internet was "generate repeat business" and the way to do that was to create a product and service the customer was happy with.
The way to make money now is to get the customer trapped, then pump them as hard as possible.
-
I have a Canon color laser printer which works pretty well and doesn’t pull any of this shit. They’re probably the last one standing now.
I used to work for canon as a service tech. They are a wildly scummy company that routinely goes out of their way to fuck over their employees and customers.
-
Are there no good guys left?
I've had an Epson Ecotank for the last couple years and I have no complaints. I just refilled my black ink and it was $11 for 9 oz., which should last me years (but I don't print that often).
-
That gives a whole new twist to "you'll own nothing and be happy"
Honestly, more people should probably do that. If you have a low printing volume, you'll save a lot of money by going to a store to get prints.
Yes, you can argue that you need the convenience of having a printer right there. Just realize you're spending a lot of extra money for that convenience.
