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Neoma

(10,039 posts)
Mon Feb 25, 2013, 01:00 PM Feb 2013

What's the most amazing thing about technology these days?

We got a new printer because I discovered that you can actually print things (in my case, math worksheets) off your iPhone. Our old printer was only black and white, and didn't work on a MacBook, so that was another reason to go find a new one.

Holy fuck. It's a printer, scanner, copier and fax machine with wifi and AirPrint capability. At the moment my jaw is dropping due to wifi capability. It means we don't have to plug it into our computers for it to work! What kind of world are we living in these days? Plus, the ink isn't expensive. Since when is printer ink not expensive?

Your turn.

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What's the most amazing thing about technology these days? (Original Post) Neoma Feb 2013 OP
The development of cloaking technology described by Michio Kaku in this clip aint_no_life_nowhere Feb 2013 #1
If invisible fiend is in MY bathroom OriginalGeek Feb 2013 #3
That no matter how advanced things become, something is guaranteed to fail at... Gorp Feb 2013 #2
Did I not mention that getting ink for this one is cheap? Neoma Feb 2013 #4
I'm not sure I'd call the ink for any printer "cheap". Gorp Feb 2013 #5
For all 4, this was like, 30 something bucks. Neoma Feb 2013 #6
I'm guessing that means your color cartridge contains all three base colors in one unit. Gorp Feb 2013 #9
Actually no, they're three different ones. Neoma Feb 2013 #10
Weird. What make and model is the printer? I'm in need of another one (for the dining room). Gorp Feb 2013 #12
Epson workforce WF-2540. Neoma Feb 2013 #14
Thanks. I'm an HP guy but I'll take a look at it. I liked Epson dot-matrix printers. Gorp Feb 2013 #16
I stopped buying printers because of the price of the ink Yavin4 Feb 2013 #8
I have no idea what Kinkos charges, but you can get a basic printer for about $35. Gorp Feb 2013 #11
I haven't faxed anything since 2009 Yavin4 Feb 2013 #13
Wow. Still, I thought the FAX would die many years ago because of e-mail. Gorp Feb 2013 #15
Happens often enough to me that I'm paranoid about it. Populist_Prole Feb 2013 #23
Ours are always on. They just go into sleep mode. It's quicker than booting up. Gorp Feb 2013 #24
It's gotten rid of landline phone bills NJCher Feb 2013 #7
i need anew printer, that sounds perfect for me. we can do it Feb 2013 #17
Epson workforce WF-2540. Neoma Feb 2013 #18
Thanks, I will check it out we can do it Feb 2013 #19
Coolest thing ever, IMO... pipi_k Feb 2013 #20
I saw a family Skype a death in hospice. mucifer Feb 2013 #21
Debian and other free GPL, BSD, and Artistic license software. hunter Feb 2013 #22

aint_no_life_nowhere

(21,925 posts)
1. The development of cloaking technology described by Michio Kaku in this clip
Mon Feb 25, 2013, 01:20 PM
Feb 2013

I apologize for the fact the interview comes from Faux. When this gets fully developed, I wonder how I will react to the possibility that an invisible someone is sitting on my bathroom counter in the morning watching me do my business.

OriginalGeek

(12,132 posts)
3. If invisible fiend is in MY bathroom
Mon Feb 25, 2013, 03:26 PM
Feb 2013

well, it sucks to be him.

After he passes out I will phone the authorities.


and steal his cloak.


Not in that order.

 

Gorp

(716 posts)
2. That no matter how advanced things become, something is guaranteed to fail at...
Mon Feb 25, 2013, 02:50 PM
Feb 2013

... the very worst possible time, when you need it the most. The printer will run out of ink, the computer will lock up, the Internet connection will die, or something beyond explanation will prevent you from doing something time-critical. It's been that way all along and I suspect it is simply a fact of dealing with technology that will be there forever - like the car not starting after you've packed it for a road trip and are ready to roll.

As for printers, they pretty much give those away. They make their money off of the ink. I just had to swap out an all-in-one wifi in my work area for a simple color printer that's been sitting around for a while. The former kept saying it was out of paper (and making some strange noises). It's way beyond its service life both in terms of age and number of prints. I'm determined to fix it because I just bought about $100 in ink for it.

The latter had been sitting around for a while and all four of the ink cartridges claimed to be empty. I could squeak out a test page and one print at a time, but then I had to reboot it before the next print. It's also wifi and does 2-sided printing. Two of the computers would print to it, two others would not, although they were communicating because they got the "failed to print" message. New ink cartridges solved the problem, but of course they are different from the ones I'd just purchased.

The first all-in-one I got was the original HP OfficeJet (a long, long time ago in a state far, far away). It was b&w and hard-wired but it served me well. I was amazed it could do all that at the time. Now even the color laser jet printers come in all-in-one wifi models for a reasonable price.



Neoma

(10,039 posts)
4. Did I not mention that getting ink for this one is cheap?
Mon Feb 25, 2013, 03:36 PM
Feb 2013

My husband is an IT/computer programmer guy and my dad is also a computer programmer. I've been hit with the worst Trojan viruses in history and I end up coming out clean. Plus we put down insurance on this.

So, I guess I just don't understand the customer support on things. I've always had it for free and whether I like it or not, I'm fed by computers.

 

Gorp

(716 posts)
5. I'm not sure I'd call the ink for any printer "cheap".
Mon Feb 25, 2013, 03:50 PM
Feb 2013

A full set of four cartridges for "the latter" color printer was almost $80. The all-in-one it replaced takes $66 to put in a full set. You can BUY a printer for less than that, but I'm not into the throw-away mentality so many people have. In this particular case, I had about $65 in OfficeMax bonus points so it only cost me $15 for the set. Still, that's how they make their money. It benefits those who print in small quantities because they sell the printers for such low prices, but it's gouging those of us who use our printers extensively. Our ink purchases are essentially subsidizing the cost of printers.

 

Gorp

(716 posts)
9. I'm guessing that means your color cartridge contains all three base colors in one unit.
Mon Feb 25, 2013, 04:07 PM
Feb 2013

I've got printers with those tri-color cartridges. The biggest problem I have is that if you print heavily in one color, the cartridge dies even if the other two are still basically full. The only kind I'll buy now are the ones with individual cartridges. For some reason, I always seem to run out of yellow first.

Oh, and if they're available for your model of printer, get the XL cartridges. In general they contain twice the amount of ink for 1 1/2 times the cost of the regular size. It's just a small way to save a few bucks. And Office Max takes back cartridges for $2 toward their "rewards" for each one, maximum ten per month. I've got about 40 or so to recycle at the moment and I don't think I've taken any in for February.

Even if you don't participate in MaxPerks, they'll still recycle the cartridges so you don't have to put them in the trash. You just won't get the $2 bonus for each one. We recycle any and everything we can. Our recycling pile is usually far larger than the rubbish pile. It's sad how many houses often don't even have a recycling can out on pickup day. Wow - ink to trash in one post!





 

Gorp

(716 posts)
12. Weird. What make and model is the printer? I'm in need of another one (for the dining room).
Mon Feb 25, 2013, 04:18 PM
Feb 2013

Yes, the dining room. My wife does a lot of her work out there.

Yavin4

(35,356 posts)
8. I stopped buying printers because of the price of the ink
Mon Feb 25, 2013, 04:05 PM
Feb 2013

I realized that I don't print more than say 20 pages a year, if that. So, why buy a printer? If I need something printed, I print at work, and if work is not available, I run into my local Kinkos and print it there. Not too much of a hassle.

 

Gorp

(716 posts)
11. I have no idea what Kinkos charges, but you can get a basic printer for about $35.
Mon Feb 25, 2013, 04:17 PM
Feb 2013

I need the FAX, copy, and scan functions of an all-in-one and we've got multiple users in the house, so I really don't have an option. And talk about a time warp, I don't remember a time when I printed fewer than 20 pages per week - and that's going back to the late 70's. The "paperless society" computers were supposed to usher in took exactly the opposite direction.

We have times when the printers are spewing out 40 to 100 pages or more in an hour. I use the laser jets for high-volume printing because they're a whole lot faster and the toner is far less expensive per page than ink.

Yes, I buy paper by the box, and usually when they've got a "buy 2 get one free" or similar offer. I also use the back-sides of previously used pages for in-house use, test pages, and printing comic strips or funny cat pictures.

Yavin4

(35,356 posts)
13. I haven't faxed anything since 2009
Mon Feb 25, 2013, 04:25 PM
Feb 2013

I printed about 15 pages this past weekend and it was about $7.00 total. I don't anticipate printing anything else out for the rest of the year, and if I do, I will do it at work where it will be free.

 

Gorp

(716 posts)
15. Wow. Still, I thought the FAX would die many years ago because of e-mail.
Mon Feb 25, 2013, 04:48 PM
Feb 2013

It's still necessary for some signed documents or things that need to get somewhere quicker than you can scan and e-mail it. If it isn't time-critical I use the USPS.

Populist_Prole

(5,364 posts)
23. Happens often enough to me that I'm paranoid about it.
Tue Feb 26, 2013, 04:50 PM
Feb 2013

I might be on my PC one day knowing I'll need to make an online payment ( a bill or to pay for an ebay item won perhaps ) the next day, or perhaps checkin for a flight online and/or print boarding passes, and sure as hell the next day something goes wrong much like you mentioned and I have no time to mess with it.

I get so paranoid anymore that if I have the slightest of hunches something might go wrong I never ever wait till the last minute anymore. Sometimes I'll keep my PC and other hardware on overnight even, since when glitches happen, it's mostly upon startup.

Technology just seems to raise the bar of failure to even riskier events. Charles Lindbergh specifically wanted to use a single engine aircraft for his solo flight accross the Atlantic rather than the twin or multi-engine types suggested to him, citing more engines just gives that much more chance of failure.

NJCher

(35,425 posts)
7. It's gotten rid of landline phone bills
Mon Feb 25, 2013, 03:55 PM
Feb 2013

I went to Magic Jack and got rid of an estimated 700-something in land line bills.

Right now I'm having some technical issues with MJ and can't really use it until I have the time to fix it, so I'm making do with a subscription to Skype.

It's nice that there's an alternative to even very low cost phone service.


Cher

To the OP

Last year I got a wireless printer, too--very low cost and it's worked like a charm. I am thrilled with all the things it can do. The print quality is excellent.

pipi_k

(21,020 posts)
20. Coolest thing ever, IMO...
Mon Feb 25, 2013, 06:07 PM
Feb 2013

Night Owl security cameras.

We have 12 infrared security cameras...9 outside in various parts of the yard, and 3 inside the house.

There are five monitors inside the house, and (the cool part) we can view them remotely on our iPhones from miles away.

Two of them can pan back and forth, and have sound capabilities...i.e. we can send and receive sound. The ones that can't be panned back and forth are motion activated. And all activity is recorded throughout the day for later viewing.

So, right this very moment I'm watching live action of the deer having dinner out in the backyard at their feeder.

Awesome!!!



mucifer

(23,373 posts)
21. I saw a family Skype a death in hospice.
Tue Feb 26, 2013, 01:46 AM
Feb 2013

I'm a hospice nurse and I am sure I will see this more often. I am being as vague as possible for privacy reasons.

These days when someone is dying it is very hard to get family members temporary visas to visit the USA.

I went to pronounce a patient and I could see a family member in another country looking very sad and in the home the computer monitor pointing at the one who died.

I do believe this is a good thing. Of course it would be better if family could visit. But, this is definitely better than a phone call.

hunter

(38,264 posts)
22. Debian and other free GPL, BSD, and Artistic license software.
Tue Feb 26, 2013, 03:48 PM
Feb 2013

Proprietary software is a dead end.

http://www.debian.org/social_contract

Imagine if the internet was a Microsoft or Apple product. That would suck.

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