PlugnPlay? Fuggettaboudit!

Long ago and far away, in the last millennium, there once was the possibility that when one bought an item for a PC it contained everything necessary: power cable (when required), the item, an install disk, and a cable to connect to the PC.

Printers might have one of two connections, a Centronix (a very toothy looking grin) or parallel DB-25 (a large-ish D-shaped connector). Other items (modems in particular) also had two: either RS-232 (again a large-ish D-shape with 25 pins, formally known as DB-25, but NOT the same as the parallel) or the smaller DE-9 (with 9 pins). A mouse might come with an additional, PS/2 (circular, mini-DIN) connector.

Then something strange happened. Items began to lose their PC cables, on the basis that no one could possibly know what kind of connector was on a PC: RS-232 or DE-9? Rather than pack adaptors for both, manufacturers just stopped including the cables. In fact, printers could have exactly the same-looking cable but your printer required the one that was IEEEE-1284 standard. (I remember this from a scanner I bought.)

With printers, this became tediously annoying, as customers now had to make two trips to the store, one to buy the printer, and another to buy a cable, which turned out to be another $35 [minimum!] And by the way, buy 20-lb paper.

Only last month did I learn from clients that the printer environment has changed again. After a total of four hours with tech support for their respective printers (Dell and HP), both discovered that the ink cartridges included in the package were, in fact, dummies, non-operational, useless. HP calls their dummies "shipping cartridges". (And have not warned their tech support of so doing!)

Apparently, these manufacturers are no longer including … ink!

So we reluctantly got used to having to buy cables for our parallel/USB printers to connect to PCs (@ $35-60 ea), now we have to buy the ink ($35-65) before we start? So much for PlugnPlay! The $99 printer is now closer to $199!

Therefore when buying anything today, read the side panel to ensure you will have everything you need, though I doubt printer manufacturers are yet stating the need for ink. Oh, and note that there may not be an install disk; you are expected to have a broadband connection to the internet, from which the drivers and manual may be downloaded. Hey, the big companies have now outsourced their assemblies to you!

[Late News: when buying an HP printer for primarily printing photos , note that a different ink is needed!]

Archie specializes in tutoring and training of seniors in PC security, Windows, Internet, and Microsoft Office. He holds the CompTIA A+ certification and is often featured speaker at Goodwin House in Alexandria; he can be emailed at ama3@tfci-us.com