I bought two HP Elitebook computers (same brand, same model, with solid hard drive) 36 months ago - directly from HP.
Took the 24 months HP warranty. At roughly month 20, with about 1 month difference, both computers (used by two different people), showed the same signs: the key “R” was dislodged, and both of them started buzzing and overheating.
The service was called --twice. And the service, independently, repaired the keys, and replaced the ventilators.
At month 32, the users of both computers noted (and complained about) a ‘slow down’ of the computer performance (speed, battery lifespan), and the 'R" key jumping off again away from the keyboards.
At the same time, I (who bought the computers) started being bombarded with “weekly offers to upgrade to the new HP models”.
If this is not programmed obsolescence, I don’t know what it is…
I have a very low end HP printer. I barely use it. The HP app needed to be upgraded. At the upgrade, it insisted i turn on location data on my laptop, otherwise it would not install …
I try to avoid HP and Dell at all costs. I have a Lenovo ThinkPad and Lenovo Desktop (Legion T7), both of which are almost a decade old, and still working flawlessly.
My father bought an expensive Epson printer/scanner recommended by Which? magazine a couple of years ago and it’s now unusable because it can’t print black ink. It’s an “ecotank” type, which means that it has ink reservoirs that you fill up with ink bottles. The black ink reservoir is empty and impossible to fill. Stand the ink bottle in the appropriate position, it “glugs” a little but the reservoir remains empty and there’s no sign of any ink leaking from the device. Judging from discussions online, other people have this problem too, have tried various fixes and have not discovered a solution. Needless to say, Epson customer service is of no help.
We’ve got a Brother HL-L2400DW which does double-sided printing and has WiFi and it’s just over CHF100.
A colour inkjet was useful when the kids were constantly asking for photos to be printed for school projects - sometimes needed for the next day but now they need to plan ahead.
There was a ton of HP software preinstalled in the computer. According to the guys who came to repair the computers “required for diagnostics and protection”. There you have it! I have no doubt about computer internal timers and exchange of information
…then you get toner with geo-locked cartridges (looking at you Lexmark) and woe betide the poor person who buys refurbished ones, although the refiller has to buy the chips from the manufacturer, sometimes they only let you use half of the toner, others are serialnumber locked and only work in printers manufactured between certain dates. Also you get ones that no longer work after a certain date of after a firmemware upgrade.
Most name brand rigs these days have diagnostic software to reduce overheating and extend battery life. Number one cause of problems with any personal device. That and gaming. Otherwise almost all rigs have similar settings in the BIOS. If the machine is always plugged in one can set the charge level to 50%. Otherwise battery charge should be limited to 80% to extend it’s life.
To be fair, laptop fans could almost be considered consumables - there are plenty of Youtube videos on how to replace them.
Desktop PC fans are large and can so spin relatively slowly at around 500 to 1000rpm to generate the same airflow as laptop fans which need to spin at up to 7000rpm in gaming or other apps requiring a lot of processing.
They also suffer more from dirt and dust contamination - because laptops are moved around and are used in areas with lots of dirt.
I thought most consumer laser printers were sold at a loss, and where they made most of their money was on the toner cartridges. So it makes sense they would do whatever they can to stop you using 3rd party clones.
Its about the same amout you woud get from walking over a carpet. Admittedly is was a problem long ago but these days they have hepa filters able to filter 5 micron and the toner in your cheap laser printer is 7 micron.
Dont worry about it.
TBH, half of the people that has to work with computers these days should not be allowed to touch a computer. Workers that use non-descriptive terms such as “slow down” raise a red flag.
My employer chose HP Z books. It’s not my responsibility but it’s my problem, so I open the laptop once the fan goes wild while only outlook and the web browser are running. Fan going wild means there’s plenty of dust inside. Otherwise it’s the noisy laptop all the time.
