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HP TV ads claim its printers are 'made to be less hated'
(www.theregister.com)
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
It's not their printers which are hated, it's their business model of selling overpriced ink and toner cartridges to a price that's higher than champagne prices and using technical devices to make it impossible to use other toner sources, firmware to make printers stop working when ink runs anywhere near low (they define 'low' as 33% ink left), while at the same time ensuring that as much ink and toner as possible are wasted through unnecessary testing and calibration and cleaning processes.
No, we hate their fucking printers as well. Non-removable printheads and automatic retraction to try to stop you from unclogging their shit hardware. I'd also include the firmware in critique of their printers, what you mention above, as well as limiting black printing if color is low (even with dedicated black cartridges). Arbitrarily restricting scanning on some models, etc.
We decidedly DO hate their printers.
That are all symptoms of said business model. And Hewlett Packard isn't the only company with such abominations.
To add to your point, their printers are indeed hated, but it is simply a symptom of their terrible business model and not the problem itself.
No, I hate their bloated as fuck drivers as well.
Not to forget possibility of machine identification code (in best case waste of toner/ink, in worst case dangerous).
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_Identification_Code