[GTALUG] cheap colour printing with a privacy issue

[D. Hugh Redelmeier]

| From: Alex Volkov via talk <talk at gtalug.org>

| I've configured several HP inkjet printers in my life, and in my experience,
| for the novice user -- compiling and installing linux kernel from scratch is a
| much more straightforward process.

Interesting.

We have an ancient HP printer/scanner that Just Worked on Linux
(unless the trauma was so bad that I've suppressed the memory).  It
gets used regularly for scanning.  It rarely gets used for (colour,
inkjet) printing.  So rarely that once in a while I have to rediscover
how to unclog the jets by soaking the cartridge in hot water.  If it
were used regularly that would not happen.

I hate inkjets.  But I love the fact that they can do colour.  We
accumulated four or five as freebes a decade ago when they were thrown
in free with computer purchases.

| I think HP wants to get some field data on UI interactions with their printers
| so they can make them slightly less craptacular.

They did mention that they logged what application printed each page.
But that might be only on Windows (they didn't contemplate Linux in
their description).

It doesn't matter what we think.  We are unlikely to be able to figure
it out.  And it can change.

It does matter what HP claims, up to a point.