Free Printer example

A recent Personal Tech Q&A in The New York Times highlights an example of at least part of the "Free" printer phenomenom that I blogged about recently (see "Observations: Do printers fit with this new Free! thing?").

In this case, its a reader whos stumped about usability issues with a free HP (NYSE HPQ) printer (actually from the sounds of it an all-in-one, as the issue relates to scanning), and the helpful response provides a little editorial commentary on "free" printers.

items offered free or as heavily rebated bonus items are sometimes models that are on their way out of production. And while these printers are perfectly fine, the software CD that comes with them may contain outdated drivers and supporting programs for scanning, copying and other tasks.