this post was submitted on 21 Mar 2025
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[–] [email protected] 75 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Anytime a company reduces the functionality of a device through software or firmware they should have to offer to buy back the hardware. The depreciation rate should be set at time of purchase so you know how much you get if they neuter it a year from now.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 2 weeks ago

Why allow depreciation? You wouldn't have bought it with the reduced functionality, and it's going to cost you time and effort to remove it and replace it with something else. Inflation will reduce the value more than enough.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah, but that means they don't get your money anymore! Think of the ~~profits~~ ~~shareholders~~ children!

[–] [email protected] 40 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Or they could like... just not be dicks and supply firmware updates without the lock-in, instead of having to trade off security to use your device however you want.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

I must buy a printer soon. Thank you for reminding me to avoid HP products.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 weeks ago

This is the way. My brother printer is a hl2040, came out sometime in the early 2000s. It still prints. I've replaced the toner cartridge once since my Dad gave it to me back in 2016.

The other day I needed to print something out and this was after I had reinstalled linux.

Just fired right up, instantly recognized. Its one of the best pieces of hardware I own.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Are "brother" the nice guys at the moment?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 weeks ago

relatively speaking

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Laser printer and probably brother, it's worth the extra up front cost 10 fold

For an old color Dell Laser printer I got from a thrift store years ago I can find 4 color sets of toner for it for $40-60

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

brother is currently enshittifying right now.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago (7 children)
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[–] [email protected] 22 points 2 weeks ago (6 children)

Oh BROTHER, not this again.

On a more serious note, I've been all about brother printers for a few years now and couldn't be happier.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago

My current brother printer is a pile of shit.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

https://youtu.be/bpHX_9fHNqE

Unfortunately brother seems to be doing it now too. Don't let your old Brother printers update.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

meantime turns out was misunderstanding/bullshit. I mean even the video title was changed. maybe reroute your rage energies elsewhere

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago

Called brother about this and talked through the issues raised by Rossmann, they convinced me enough to buy 3 printers from them this month.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

I've been rockin my HL3170CDW for many years now. I have absolutely no issues with this printer, and I'll buy nothing else.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

"Settles" lol the lawyers got their payout

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I've never interpreted settling to imply lawyers don't get paid.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Lawyers get paid either way, but that's about the most that comes of it. Settling means no legal precedent has been set, so businesses can pull this bullshit again in the future

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Even better, the whole HP printer is optional.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Bullshittery aside, "HP Inc." Instead of just "HP" Is on the nose and has to be deliberate on the journalists behalf

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

The actual reason is because in 2015 "Hewlett Packard" split into two companies, one called HP, Inc, and one called HP Enterprise. The print and consumer PC business went to HPI, while the server and network hardware went to HPE. So, writing just "HP" could be interpreted as ambiguous.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Simple fix here, stop buying the companies that do this. I bought a brother printer and I won’t go back.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 week ago (2 children)

This was in the related articles: https://www.tomshardware.com/peripherals/printers/brother-denies-firmware-blocks-third-party-toner-and-ink-use

And I believe them. The reddit post in Rossman's video was 3 years old. I have personally installed and updated 5 Brother printers in the last year and they all still run on 3rd-party toner.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

I do think it's pretty ridiculous that rossman of all people would not verify any of this before making a video about it. At least reach out to the company and ask them for a comment.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

That sucks, I bought mine a few years ago and haven’t had any issues yet. 🤞

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago

I bought a 15 year old second-hand Brother laser printer - works like a charm, operates under both Windows and Linux, still has all the spare parts you can think of readily available, and you can just load any toner into the official cartridge to use it again, and again, and again.

Love it. Simple, dirt cheap, just works and does it well.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Sometimes I wonder why there's no DIY Paper printer after seeing so...much shit in Printer Company ?
We had advance DIY 3D Printer that can made various objects with various size and materials and yet there's no DIY Paper printer until now

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I have an epson eco tank. No more ink cartridges.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Ink jets are trash tho

Laser or nothing.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago (2 children)

You're probably right, but I'm just printing random documents on occasion.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

What about printing head replacement?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

From my experience, those last years. But they are indeed a bit expensive... I have had my eco tank for the last 5 years, only had to replace the b/w printer head after around 4 thousand prints, and I'm almost sure it was my own fault for using expired low-quality ink that I had bought in bulk for super cheap.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

HP is like, "enjoy the security vulnerabilities"

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

did the cups vulnerability get fixed?

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago

As someone who's worked on printer firmware before, it makes me really sad that a company can get away with making a consumer decide between getting access to any of the actually useful changes that engineers — who have no say over ink cartridge policy — put effort towards making the best product they could, or not having said ink cartridge policies forced on them.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago

Still not interested in a fucking printer.

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