Perfectly clear instructions HP
Perfectly clear instructions HP
I can't blame the customer here. Ya, that's the USB in the Ethernet port.
27 comments
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HP printers are the avantgarde of enshittification when it comes to gadgets, although the earliest way I can think of selling a product similarly to a subscription is Gillette shavers. They basically sold a handle, and the first set of razor blades were free. After that one had to buy their proprietary and overpriced blades. HP managed to take this principle into the realm of peripheral devices.
Nowadays other gadgets have been "inspired" by HP in therms of enshittification. For instance, there are headphones that require an app to be set up properly, as the manufactorer can save implementing a physical button and can get tracking data form the user.
The sticker on the USB port is just another (physical) dark pattern.
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I read about this. They make the printer WITH a perfectly good USB port and then stick a "no USB" label over it and attempt to force you to use their wireless setup.
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trying to force the app, force the networking.. get the printer online and sending data back, trick an account signup too.. because, hey. user data nom nom nom.
and of course, also trick you into enabling automatic firmware updates--the first of which will be waiting for you and ramps-up blocking of third-party consumables.
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And if they do have USB printing, the firmware might still get in the way. Don't buy HP printers if you just want to print and be done.
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Can confirm, sister in law had one of these and it took me an embarrassingly long time to figure it out.
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holy fuck.
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PC Load Letter? What the f**k does THAT mean?
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In my years of IT, I saw a few customers do this. I always put the printers on WiFi so they could move the printer to wherever they wanted it.
27 comments