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HP split into two

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Joe keane

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Nov 4, 2015, 6:25:02 PM11/4/15
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OK

Michael Black

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Nov 4, 2015, 6:34:45 PM11/4/15
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On Wed, 4 Nov 2015, Joe keane wrote:

> OK
>
>
Isn't it now into four?

In 1999, they got rid of the test equipment, creating Agilent. Seemed sad
that they didn't keep the name with the test equipment, but I guess by
then most people knew the name because of consumer equipment.

HP is now splitting again, the "home computers" and printers in one, and
the rest in another. Though this time both kept the name, sort of.

Michael

Dan Espen

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Nov 4, 2015, 10:59:00 PM11/4/15
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They went through a bunch of stuff after that:

merger with Compaq in 2002
acquisition of EDS in 2008
acquisition of 3Com in 2009
buyout of Palm in 2010
buyout of 3PAR in 2010

A sign of no new ideas inside the company.

They're still profitable, but revenue is declining.
So, the ship has a leak.
They're moving the deck chairs.

--
Dan Espen

philo

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Nov 5, 2015, 6:16:42 AM11/5/15
to
Can't say much good about HP.

I recall when they were known for their excellent test equipment.


One of my friends worked there for many years...he wrote their printer
drivers.

When he hit 60 though they got rid of him.


He told me that HP once made products that no one else could make...and
now they just make products that no one else wants to bother with.

Stephen Wolstenholme

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Nov 5, 2015, 6:45:02 AM11/5/15
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On Thu, 05 Nov 2015 11:28:50 +0000, David Hume
<David...@example.com> wrote:

>philo <ph...@privacy.net> writes:
>
>>
>> He told me that HP once made products that no one else could make...and now
>> they just make products that no one else wants to bother with.
>
>There is the memristor.

Implemented in 1960 to make neural networks. It's only taken 55 years
for HP to notice!

Steve

--
Neural Network Software for Windows http://www.npsnn.com

Osmium

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Nov 5, 2015, 8:37:49 AM11/5/15
to
"philo" wrote:

> I recall when they were known for their excellent test equipment.
>
>
> One of my friends worked there for many years...he wrote their printer
> drivers.
>
> When he hit 60 though they got rid of him.
>
>
> He told me that HP once made products that no one else could make...and
> now they just make products that no one else wants to bother with.

I remember opening up my new HP-35 and seeing the super flexible power cord
and thinking, these are *real* engineers. Soft carrying case, hard carrying
case, nice manual, RPN. It left all the competitors in the dust. ISTR they
had a nice monthly bulletin, their equivalent to the BSTJ. Circa 1976. They
described putting clocks in planes and flying them around the world to see
if Einstein was right.

It's so sad.

gareth

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Nov 5, 2015, 8:50:40 AM11/5/15
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"Osmium" <r124c...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:da14db...@mid.individual.net...
> I remember opening up my new HP-35 and seeing the super flexible power
> cord and thinking, these are *real* engineers. Soft carrying case, hard
> carrying case, nice manual, RPN. It left all the competitors in the dust.
> ISTR they had a nice monthly bulletin, their equivalent to the BSTJ. Circa
> 1976. They described putting clocks in planes and flying them around the
> world to see if Einstein was right.
>
> It's so sad.

Indeed, for now AKA Hewlett Crapard.


Scott Lurndal

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Nov 5, 2015, 9:15:14 AM11/5/15
to
David Hume <David...@example.com> writes:
>philo <ph...@privacy.net> writes:
>
>>
>> He told me that HP once made products that no one else could make...and now
>> they just make products that no one else wants to bother with.
>
>There is the memristor.

Which has been in the labs for well over a decade without ever
finding its way out. Meanwhile, Micron and Intel have demonstrated
Optane last week at Oracle World, and expect to ship DIMMs[*] 1h2016.

Non-volatile, 10x denser than DRAM, 1000x faster than NAND flash

http://www.itworld.com/article/3000877/hardware/intel-offers-more-insight-on-its-3d-memory.html

[*] Yes, non-volatile main memory. Back to the core days with instant-on!

Ahem A Rivet's Shot

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Nov 5, 2015, 9:30:02 AM11/5/15
to
On Thu, 5 Nov 2015 05:16:40 -0600
philo <ph...@privacy.net> wrote:

> Can't say much good about HP.
>
> I recall when they were known for their excellent test equipment.

For a short while they were known for their equally excellent
printers, quite a few from that era are still in use. For many years
afterwards they traded on the reputation they no longer deserved. It is a
pity, there is a market for excellence at a price but the market for cheap
crud is so much more profitable.

--
Steve O'Hara-Smith | Directable Mirror Arrays
C:>WIN | A better way to focus the sun
The computer obeys and wins. | licences available see
You lose and Bill collects. | http://www.sohara.org/

Michael Black

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Nov 5, 2015, 12:58:44 PM11/5/15
to
On Thu, 5 Nov 2015, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:

> On Thu, 5 Nov 2015 05:16:40 -0600
> philo <ph...@privacy.net> wrote:
>
>> Can't say much good about HP.
>>
>> I recall when they were known for their excellent test equipment.
>
> For a short while they were known for their equally excellent
> printers, quite a few from that era are still in use. For many years
> afterwards they traded on the reputation they no longer deserved. It is a
> pity, there is a market for excellence at a price but the market for cheap
> crud is so much more profitable.
>
I have an HP-410B VTVM, still works fine and very useful since it can
properly measure RF voltages. I wouldn't use it most of the time, but
it's really good to have around.

And I do have an HP-4P laser printer, bought about a decade ago at a
Rotary Club garage sale for $15, has always worked fine.

Michael

gareth

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Nov 5, 2015, 1:44:53 PM11/5/15
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"Michael Black" <et...@ncf.ca> wrote in message
news:alpine.LNX.2.02.1...@darkstar.example.org...
>>
> I have an HP-410B VTVM, still works fine and very useful since it can
> properly measure RF voltages. I wouldn't use it most of the time, but
> it's really good to have around.

One thing that I regret giving away 30 years ago, because I did not
understand what it was, was a very high impedance HP voltmeter
that had the rotating butterfly to transfer a minimal amount of charge from
the
input onto the measuring circuit.



Bob Eager

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Nov 5, 2015, 4:16:34 PM11/5/15
to
On Thu, 05 Nov 2015 14:08:06 +0000, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:

> On Thu, 5 Nov 2015 05:16:40 -0600 philo <ph...@privacy.net> wrote:
>
>> Can't say much good about HP.
>>
>> I recall when they were known for their excellent test equipment.
>
> For a short while they were known for their equally excellent
> printers, quite a few from that era are still in use.

I just serviced my 1993 LaserJet 4M+. Still plodding along. In fact I use
two of them, and have half a dozen spares!

--
Using UNIX since v6 (1975)...

Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

Andrew Swallow

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Nov 5, 2015, 4:18:00 PM11/5/15
to
On 05/11/2015 14:08, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
> On Thu, 5 Nov 2015 05:16:40 -0600
> philo <ph...@privacy.net> wrote:
>
>> Can't say much good about HP.
>>
>> I recall when they were known for their excellent test equipment.
>
> For a short while they were known for their equally excellent
> printers, quite a few from that era are still in use. For many years
> afterwards they traded on the reputation they no longer deserved. It is a
> pity, there is a market for excellence at a price but the market for cheap
> crud is so much more profitable.
>
Profitable until people twig and buy the cheaper rival. Crud is easy to
rival.

Roberto Waltman

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Nov 5, 2015, 8:47:41 PM11/5/15
to
Osmium wrote:

> ... ISTR they
>had a nice monthly bulletin, their equivalent to the BSTJ. Circa 1976.

The "HP Journal"
Here: http://www.hpl.hp.com/hpjournal/pdfs/IssuePDFs/hpjindex.html

R.W.

Stan Barr

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Nov 6, 2015, 3:02:07 AM11/6/15
to
On 5 Nov 2015 21:16:32 GMT, Bob Eager <news...@eager.cx> wrote:
> On Thu, 05 Nov 2015 14:08:06 +0000, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 5 Nov 2015 05:16:40 -0600 philo <ph...@privacy.net> wrote:
>>
>>> Can't say much good about HP.
>>>
>>> I recall when they were known for their excellent test equipment.
>>
>> For a short while they were known for their equally excellent
>> printers, quite a few from that era are still in use.
>
> I just serviced my 1993 LaserJet 4M+. Still plodding along. In fact I use
> two of them, and have half a dozen spares!
>

I use a 4050 bought, well used, to replace a 4M whose fuser unit had
died. A new (used) Laserjet was cheaper than a replacement fuser!
Fine printer, not the quickest but I can wait :-)

--
Stan Barr pla...@bluesomatic.org

Bob Eager

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Nov 6, 2015, 4:20:50 AM11/6/15
to
Fuser lamps are cheap although a pain to fit!

That's how I acquired my first one; it was fine (28000 pages on the
clock) but it had been moved and the fuser lamp filament had failed. It
was just a few dollars for a new lamp, and about 90 minutes working out
how to dismantle the fuser and replace the lamp.

Stephen Wolstenholme

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Nov 6, 2015, 4:53:53 AM11/6/15
to
On 6 Nov 2015 09:20:48 GMT, Bob Eager <news...@eager.cx> wrote:


>
>Fuser lamps are cheap although a pain to fit!
>
>That's how I acquired my first one; it was fine (28000 pages on the
>clock) but it had been moved and the fuser lamp filament had failed. It
>was just a few dollars for a new lamp, and about 90 minutes working out
>how to dismantle the fuser and replace the lamp.

It gets easy once you have done a few times.

Steve. (ex maintenance engineer)

Ahem A Rivet's Shot

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Nov 6, 2015, 5:30:01 AM11/6/15
to
Yes but sadly there's a big profit spike available if you have a
name for quality and suddenly appear in the middle of the low cost market
with stuff that looks good even if it's really crud. If you're really
clever you fork off the business and sell it just before people start to
catch on.

Bob Eager

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Nov 6, 2015, 6:58:29 AM11/6/15
to
On Fri, 06 Nov 2015 09:53:47 +0000, Stephen Wolstenholme wrote:

> On 6 Nov 2015 09:20:48 GMT, Bob Eager <news...@eager.cx> wrote:
>
>
>
>>Fuser lamps are cheap although a pain to fit!
>>
>>That's how I acquired my first one; it was fine (28000 pages on the
>>clock) but it had been moved and the fuser lamp filament had failed. It
>>was just a few dollars for a new lamp, and about 90 minutes working out
>>how to dismantle the fuser and replace the lamp.
>
> It gets easy once you have done a few times.
>
> Steve. (ex maintenance engineer)

Oh yes, the next couple of times were much better. But I had the service
manual by then.

Stan Barr

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Nov 6, 2015, 10:19:27 AM11/6/15
to
On 6 Nov 2015 11:58:28 GMT, Bob Eager <news...@eager.cx> wrote:
> On Fri, 06 Nov 2015 09:53:47 +0000, Stephen Wolstenholme wrote:
>
>> On 6 Nov 2015 09:20:48 GMT, Bob Eager <news...@eager.cx> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>>Fuser lamps are cheap although a pain to fit!
>>>
>>>That's how I acquired my first one; it was fine (28000 pages on the
>>>clock) but it had been moved and the fuser lamp filament had failed. It
>>>was just a few dollars for a new lamp, and about 90 minutes working out
>>>how to dismantle the fuser and replace the lamp.
>>
>> It gets easy once you have done a few times.
>>
>> Steve. (ex maintenance engineer)
>
> Oh yes, the next couple of times were much better. But I had the service
> manual by then.

I didn't have a manual :-( I got my 4050 real cheap with a spare
toner cartridge from a firm downgrading to something more modern!

--
Stan Barr pla...@bluesomatic.org
(Playing with unix since SVR3, 1989...a relative newby!)

Charlie Gibbs

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Nov 6, 2015, 12:21:05 PM11/6/15
to
On 2015-11-06, Ahem A Rivet's Shot <ste...@eircom.net> wrote:

> On Thu, 5 Nov 2015 21:19:14 +0000
> Andrew Swallow <am.sw...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>
>> On 05/11/2015 14:08, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
>>
>>> On Thu, 5 Nov 2015 05:16:40 -0600
>>> philo <ph...@privacy.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Can't say much good about HP.
>>>>
>>>> I recall when they were known for their excellent test equipment.
>>>
>>> For a short while they were known for their equally excellent
>>> printers, quite a few from that era are still in use. For many years
>>> afterwards they traded on the reputation they no longer deserved. It is
>>> a pity, there is a market for excellence at a price but the market for
>>> cheap crud is so much more profitable.
>>
>> Profitable until people twig and buy the cheaper rival. Crud is easy to
>> rival.
>
> Yes but sadly there's a big profit spike available if you have a
> name for quality and suddenly appear in the middle of the low cost market
> with stuff that looks good even if it's really crud. If you're really
> clever you fork off the business and sell it just before people start to
> catch on.

That sounds like the most concise history of HP that I've heard.
Do you have a book coming out?

--
/~\ cgi...@kltpzyxm.invalid (Charlie Gibbs)
\ / I'm really at ac.dekanfrus if you read it the right way.
X Top-posted messages will probably be ignored. See RFC1855.
/ \ HTML will DEFINITELY be ignored. Join the ASCII ribbon campaign!

Quadibloc

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Nov 6, 2015, 12:40:52 PM11/6/15
to
On Thursday, November 5, 2015 at 4:45:02 AM UTC-7, Stephen Wolstenholme wrote:
> On Thu, 05 Nov 2015 11:28:50 +0000, David Hume
> <David...@example.com> wrote:

> >There is the memristor.

> Implemented in 1960 to make neural networks. It's only taken 55 years
> for HP to notice!

They still seem to have beaten everyone else!

John Savard

Bob Eager

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Nov 6, 2015, 2:30:15 PM11/6/15
to
My last two 4Ms (I have several) cost me £7 the pair on eBay. And they
were 15 mins drive away.

Both took less than 20 mins to fix. Again, victims of 'downgrading'.

Michael Black

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Nov 6, 2015, 3:52:30 PM11/6/15
to
I paid $15 Canadian for my 4P about a decade ago, the only thing wrong
that I could tell was the cover on the side where the memory upgrade goes
was missing. And it might have simply fallen off on the way home.

It had a low page count when I got it, under 10,000 and maybe closer to
5,000. But the cartridge was a generic replacement. SInce the cartridge
didn't last long, but the page count suggested it should have, I think
they swapped cartridges before dumping it on the Rotary Club where I
bought it.

I should have bought another back when they were kind of plentiful at that
price. I keep seeing laser printers on the sidewalk, the kind that now
cost under a hundred new, and I assume they work but the cartridge
emptied. But I also assume they may not be as sturdy as the 4P.

Michael

Bob Eager

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Nov 6, 2015, 6:02:11 PM11/6/15
to
On Fri, 06 Nov 2015 15:54:43 -0500, Michael Black wrote:

> I paid $15 Canadian for my 4P about a decade ago, the only thing wrong
> that I could tell was the cover on the side where the memory upgrade
> goes was missing. And it might have simply fallen off on the way home.
>
> It had a low page count when I got it, under 10,000 and maybe closer to
> 5,000. But the cartridge was a generic replacement. SInce the
> cartridge didn't last long, but the page count suggested it should have,
> I think they swapped cartridges before dumping it on the Rotary Club
> where I bought it.

I got a 2600n on Freecycle. It was only about a mile from where I live.
OK, it doesn't talk PCL or PostScript, but it seemed worth it.

Got it home and (as the lady said) it printed monochrome OK but with a
heavy magenta cast. The transfer belt was a mess. After some dismantling
to check things, I figured out what was wrong.

- the error message on the panel was simply complaining that the black
toner cartridge was non-HP. Ignore.
- I had a look at the cartridge status on its built in web server. Total
pages ever printed - just over 4000. All colour cartridges empty.
Conclusion: it was running on the original colour cartridges, and the
black one had been changed (for a non HP one) just once.
- the magenta cast was from the waste toner hopper, which on those HP
models is inside the toner cartridges and was obviously overflowing.

I got some bargain genuine HP cartridges. One cleaning cycle and all good
as new. With 4000 pages on the clock! A big solid beast it is.

jmfbahciv

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Nov 7, 2015, 8:46:33 AM11/7/15
to
Is this manual on bitsavers?

/BAH

Bob Eager

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Nov 7, 2015, 8:59:58 AM11/7/15
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I had to buy a CD of loads of them off eBay at the time. But now:

http://www.hpitechnologies.com/files/hp-laserjet-4-4-5-service-manual.pdf

jmfbahciv

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Nov 8, 2015, 8:48:05 AM11/8/15
to
Is there anyone watching if files like those disappear?

/BAH

Hank

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Nov 8, 2015, 1:05:20 PM11/8/15
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In article <n1g7uu$69m$1...@dont-email.me>,
gareth <no....@thank.you.invalid> wrote:
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>From: "gareth" <no....@thank.you.invalid>
>Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
>Subject: Re: HP split into two
>Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2015 18:44:49 -0000
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>Xref: mx02.eternal-september.org alt.folklore.computers:153652
That sounds like an HP 412A chopper-stabilized DC VTVM. Very nice
instrument to have, and very accurate (I wouldn't want to part with the
one I keep here).

Conversely, the 400 AC voltmeters are bears to get working properly,
while a Ballantine 300 is pretty trouble-free.
I've spent hours smoking out bad grounds and other problems on these.
And while a 200CD oscillator is a good instrument to have, they develop
their share of problems that require some skill to troubleshoot.

Hank

Walter Bushell

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Nov 11, 2015, 12:50:51 PM11/11/15
to
In article <n1fdmj$rj2$1...@dont-email.me>, philo <ph...@privacy.net>
wrote:

> On 11/04/2015 09:58 PM, Dan Espen wrote:
> > Michael Black <et...@ncf.ca> writes:
> >
> >> On Wed, 4 Nov 2015, Joe keane wrote:
> >>
> >>> OK
> >>>
> >>>
> >> Isn't it now into four?
> >>
> >> In 1999, they got rid of the test equipment, creating Agilent. Seemed
> >> sad that they didn't keep the name with the test equipment, but I
> >> guess by then most people knew the name because of consumer equipment.
> >>
> >> HP is now splitting again, the "home computers" and printers in one, and
> >> the rest in another. Though this time both kept the name, sort of.
> >
> > They went through a bunch of stuff after that:
> >
> > merger with Compaq in 2002
> > acquisition of EDS in 2008
> > acquisition of 3Com in 2009
> > buyout of Palm in 2010
> > buyout of 3PAR in 2010
> >
> > A sign of no new ideas inside the company.
> >
> > They're still profitable, but revenue is declining.
> > So, the ship has a leak.
> > They're moving the deck chairs.
> >
>
>
> Can't say much good about HP.
>
> I recall when they were known for their excellent test equipment.
>
>
> One of my friends worked there for many years...he wrote their printer
> drivers.
>
> When he hit 60 though they got rid of him.
>
>
> He told me that HP once made products that no one else could make...and
> now they just make products that no one else wants to bother with.

HP used to stand for "High Prices" and they justified them with really
good products. This has not been the case lately.

--
Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greed. Me.

Walter Bushell

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Nov 11, 2015, 12:57:21 PM11/11/15
to
In article <KYWdnWLCj_MbWqbL...@giganews.com>,
But is harder to make profits with commodity products. Price
competition can be and usually is brutal, unless you can set
up some kind of cartel, including unspoken agreement not to
lower prices.

Walter Bushell

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Nov 11, 2015, 12:58:25 PM11/11/15
to
In article <20151106101614.3984...@eircom.net>,
Ahem A Rivet's Shot <ste...@eircom.net> wrote:

> Yes but sadly there's a big profit spike available if you have a
> name for quality and suddenly appear in the middle of the low cost market
> with stuff that looks good even if it's really crud. If you're really
> clever you fork off the business and sell it just before people start to
> catch on.

We used to support ourselves by making stuff. Then by selling each
other houses. Now it's by picking each other's pockets.

Walter Bushell

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Nov 11, 2015, 1:01:30 PM11/11/15
to
In article <n1inj...@news6.newsguy.com>,
Charlie Gibbs <cgi...@kltpzyxm.invalid> wrote:

> > Yes but sadly there's a big profit spike available if you have a
> > name for quality and suddenly appear in the middle of the low cost market
> > with stuff that looks good even if it's really crud. If you're really
> > clever you fork off the business and sell it just before people start to
> > catch on.
>
> That sounds like the most concise history of HP that I've heard.
> Do you have a book coming out?

Apparent profit from selling your good name. It's been known about
probably long before I was in college. Back then it was creditors that
would take over a business and require it to lower quality and live off
the name. Now, it's the executives who want the stock price up so they
can get their bonus.

Blech!

Andrew Swallow

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Nov 11, 2015, 7:57:05 PM11/11/15
to
In the printer market there appears to be an agreement not to use the
same shape ink cartridge. This includes the interfaces of the
controlling silicon chip.

Michael Black

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Nov 11, 2015, 11:30:42 PM11/11/15
to
That's hadly unique to laser printers.

I once found a nice dot matrix printer, maybe it was 24pin but it had a
buffer and serial interface (when I needed it) and I went to the store,
and there was a wall of ribbons for dot matrix printers, and none of them
were what I needed. I ended up buying something that looked about right,
and transferring the ribbon to the case of the worn out ribbon cartridge.

I thought in the days of cloth ribbons for typewriters, they were either
all the same, or just a few types.

But other electronic devices do it too. Lots of cordless phones have a
battery pack, and they all seem different from others. It comes as a
surprise to find some that use regular rechargeable batteries. I found a
nice 6mp camera with enough zoom, but the battery is dead and it's not
standard. So I can't even try the camera without spending money on it.

Michael

Andrew Swallow

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Nov 12, 2015, 8:49:09 AM11/12/15
to
Time we told our employers that they need to push for standardisation of
printer cartridges. If printers are like Gillette Razors they
manufactures make more money on the cartridges than on the printer.

Joe Pfeiffer

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Nov 12, 2015, 12:55:58 PM11/12/15
to
Andrew Swallow <am.sw...@btinternet.com> writes:
>
> Time we told our employers that they need to push for standardisation
> of printer cartridges. If printers are like Gillette Razors they
> manufactures make more money on the cartridges than on the printer.

Oh, now doubt. I just bought a shiny new all-in-one
printer/fax/scanner/copier, with a maximum print resolution of
4800x2400 dip, maximum (hardware) scanner resolution of 1200x2400 dpi,
capable of handling 13"x19" paper and scanning 11.7x17"... for $149.99.

At the same time, I bought a set of high-capacity cartridges (it takes
four cartridges)... for $127.00

Not much question where Epson makes its money...

hanc...@bbs.cpcn.com

unread,
Nov 13, 2015, 12:45:59 PM11/13/15
to
On Wednesday, November 11, 2015 at 11:30:42 PM UTC-5, Michael Black wrote:

> I thought in the days of cloth ribbons for typewriters, they were either
> all the same, or just a few types.

There were actually quite a few types of ribbons for regular
typewriters and not compatible, but it wasn't as crazy as it
got for computer printers. Talk about forced obsolescence--
by discontinuing an ink cartridge, they make a printer worthless
and one needs to buy a new printer.

Forle, some people were buying bottled ink and using a syringe
to inject the ink into a printer cartridge, thus getting twice
or triple the life out of it at a much cheaper cost. If someone
did a lot of printing, I could see the savings in doing that;
even though it does seem like a messy pain.

(I tried using bottled ink with a fountain pen. It was a lot
cheaper than cartridges, but messy and a nuisance. There were
some good reasons fountain pens fell from grace.)



> But other electronic devices do it too. Lots of cordless phones have a
> battery pack, and they all seem different from others. It comes as a
> surprise to find some that use regular rechargeable batteries. I found a
> nice 6mp camera with enough zoom, but the battery is dead and it's not
> standard. So I can't even try the camera without spending money on it.


I got a new simple cordless phone, same brand as my old unit. My old
one had a headset jack in which I plugged in a cheap headset so I
could drive and talk legally handsfree. but on the new phone the
jack for the headset is slightly too big and won't work. Fortunately,
I rarely drive and talk, but it would be nice to have the feature at
times.



Michael Black

unread,
Nov 13, 2015, 12:56:18 PM11/13/15
to
On Fri, 13 Nov 2015, hanc...@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:

> On Wednesday, November 11, 2015 at 11:30:42 PM UTC-5, Michael Black wrote:
>
>> I thought in the days of cloth ribbons for typewriters, they were either
>> all the same, or just a few types.
>
> There were actually quite a few types of ribbons for regular
> typewriters and not compatible, but it wasn't as crazy as it
> got for computer printers. Talk about forced obsolescence--
> by discontinuing an ink cartridge, they make a printer worthless
> and one needs to buy a new printer.
>
> Forle, some people were buying bottled ink and using a syringe
> to inject the ink into a printer cartridge, thus getting twice
> or triple the life out of it at a much cheaper cost. If someone
> did a lot of printing, I could see the savings in doing that;
> even though it does seem like a messy pain.
>
> (I tried using bottled ink with a fountain pen. It was a lot
> cheaper than cartridges, but messy and a nuisance. There were
> some good reasons fountain pens fell from grace.)
>
The old trick, at least with Teletype ribbons, was to apply a few
drops of WD-40, and that rejuvenated the ribbon. I never knew about this
while I had a typewriter, but I did do it when I used dot-matrix printers.
It worked reasonably well. Take one out, spray in some WD-40, put it in a
plastic bag and let it sit, while I used the other ribbon that I'd already
rejuvenated.

Michael

Ahem A Rivet's Shot

unread,
Nov 14, 2015, 1:30:03 AM11/14/15
to
On Fri, 13 Nov 2015 09:45:58 -0800 (PST)
hanc...@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:

> Forle, some people were buying bottled ink and using a syringe
> to inject the ink into a printer cartridge, thus getting twice
> or triple the life out of it at a much cheaper cost. If someone
> did a lot of printing, I could see the savings in doing that;
> even though it does seem like a messy pain.

My inkjet has stationary cartridges which I replaced with oversized
refillable cartridges (they take just under 100ml) which are easily topped
up from bottles. It works a treat, they'll last as long as the printer and
printing costs are like an old laser.

Uncle Steve

unread,
Nov 15, 2015, 8:20:01 AM11/15/15
to
On Thu, Nov 05, 2015 at 02:15:12PM +0000, Scott Lurndal wrote:
> David Hume <David...@example.com> writes:
> >philo <ph...@privacy.net> writes:
> >
> >>
> >> He told me that HP once made products that no one else could make...and now
> >> they just make products that no one else wants to bother with.
> >
> >There is the memristor.
>
> Which has been in the labs for well over a decade without ever
> finding its way out. Meanwhile, Micron and Intel have demonstrated
> Optane last week at Oracle World, and expect to ship DIMMs[*] 1h2016.
>
> Non-volatile, 10x denser than DRAM, 1000x faster than NAND flash
>
> http://www.itworld.com/article/3000877/hardware/intel-offers-more-insight-on-its-3d-memory.html
>
> [*] Yes, non-volatile main memory. Back to the core days with instant-on!

Ha! Don't imagine that poorly written software will not continue to
expand and consume all available resources.



--
We all cannot be intelligent, but at least we can all be polite.

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