Digital BW, The Print

Hi Ken,

> I wish the culture here in the U.S.
> was such that, if I drove off from a McDonald's drive-in with a cup of hot
> coffee balanced in my crotch, the resulting problem would be mine, not the
> seller of the hot coffee.

Agreed %100.

> By the same token, if I want to sell a printer
> for $40 that requires a $40 cartridge with a miniscule amount of ink, I
> should be free to do so, and let the marketplace handle it.

There are two issues with that.  Consumables of this nature should not be
proprietary.  I have a problem with putting in place "protection" that
forces people to use ONLY YOUR cartridges....and THEN putting in place (IMO
idiot) legislation like the DMCA that somehow considers these chipped
cartridges a violation.  The first is bad enough, but the second is beyond
arrogance in my book.

If I buy a printer, I should be able to do what ever the hell I want to with
it, and if that includes replacing the chipped cartridges with something
that allows me to use non-chipped cartridges, that should be only my
business, no one else's.  This is entirely different than removing pollution
control from an automobile, or some safety feature, such as a seatbelt.
It's like saying I can't buy an adapter to allow the use of a standard oil
filter, instead of the manufacturers proprietary $75 oil filter.

Austin