Skip to main content

Old faithful moves on...

About 7 years ago I sank a LOT of money into a personal LaserJet printer. The HP LaserJet 1320 was a great little personal printer, despite costing a fair amount of money for a printer (around $500 MSRP at launch). For years that printer has cranked out page after page after page of beautiful black text. Originally we purchased it because our kids loved to color, and it was getting really expensive to print all their coloring sheets on an inkjet printer. So a laser printer was the perfect solution. We went through reams of paper printing outlines of Star Wars characters, dinosaurs, and other assorted topics that the kids were in to from time to time.

The time has come though to retire old faithful. Despite being a solid printer, and most likely having some solid life left, it's reached a point where I needed something with a few more features. In particular I've found myself in need of a scanner on a number of occasions recently for various document signings, and with my last cheap scanner sitting in a junk heap, I was stuck using places like Kinko's. I didn't want to just pick up yet another cheap scanner that would take up more room and another port on my computer. So I started doing some research on newer multi-function printers, and had narrowed my choices down to a few solid contenders. Well, today I was wandering through Office Max, and there was one of the printers I had been looking at (HP M1212nf MFP), on sale for 10% off of regular price. So I decided to pick it up. It's amazing how much technology gets cheaper. I paid about 60% LESS than what I bought my 1320 for, and got tons more options.

In addition to full copy/scan functionality, it also is AirPrint compatible (and ePrint), meaning that my mobile devices can print directly to it now. The only caveat is that I didn't get a wireless model, so I had to put it next to my router in the living room so I could hardwire it in. Not a huge deal, just a little funny seeing the printer sitting next to my TV and Xbox. It all works though and is a great upgrade.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The beat goes on

Yesterday Apple revealed their long awaited entry into the streaming music field. They were able to do this quickly because of the acquisition of Beats last year, and the systems and intellectual property that came with that purchase. Considering that the music reveal was pretty much the only big news out of a pretty benign developer keynote, I'll take a few moments to talk about what I think about it. Apple was perhaps the defining company in the music revolution of the past 20 years. With the introduction of the iPod that revolutionized portable music, to the creation of the iTunes store and the eventual death of DRM, Apple has been at the forefront of digital music. This leadership comes with high expectations to continue to lead, and so many people have long questioned Apple not getting into the streaming music business quicker. For the past few years new companies have come forth to lead the change in the streaming music evolution. From Pandora and its ability to create un

Microsoft Surface Pro 3

So I've been a horrible blog author and have neglected this site for far to long. It's not that I haven't had anything to say, I've just neglected to say it. So with an attempt to get back on the wagon, here's some thoughts on Microsoft's announcement yesterday for it's Surface Pro 3. Despite being a minor Apple fanboy, the most interesting company to watch, in the personal computing space right now, is Microsoft. With the departure of Steve Ballmer, and the rise of Satya Nadella, it has been an interesting 9 months for one of the founding pioneers of personal technology. Many agree that Windows 8 has not lived up to what Microsoft would like it to be. They made a bold attempt to redefine how users interact with their computers, and merge the tablet and desktop experience. However, that experiment, by most accounts, has failed. This is a common pattern for Microsoft however, alternating between a mediocre OS release, and then a stellar one. Therefore, it&#

Under the Surface of Microsoft

One of the big tech announcements recently, that caught the world by surprise, was the new Microsoft Surface tablet. Although many people expected some sort of tablet annoucement, I don't think anyone thought that Microsoft would pull out a full-on iPad competitor, complete with massive innovations in design and functionality. My first impression of Surface is that it's a really great piece of technology, and things like the built-in kickstand, and the smart-cover-like touch keyboard are really inventive. Since I'm writing this on an iPad with a wireless keyboard, I know there are plenty of times when the marriage of an old-school physical keyboard input method with modern touch screen interfaces results in something even better :) The thing I wanted to comment on though wasn't the introduction of new hardware, because I think that story is still evolving, and Microsoft's involvement with it's OEM's could be quite the fireworks show. What I want to ramble