Newsletter Archives

• Patching embedded code

  Posted on February 24, 2025 at 02:45 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 22.08 • 2025-02-24

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  I’m here to state that patching firmware is easy.

  Easy, that is, if you can get over a big hurdle — knowing what device you have and where to find the proper firmware update.

  If you have a home-built or custom-built computer, often the hardest part is remembering which motherboard and accessory cards were installed. Then something turns out to be not quite right, and you’re in a pickle.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.08.0, 2025-02-24).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Patch Watch BIOS, Drivers, Firmware, Firmware Update, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Printers, Surface firmware update, System Information Viewer

• Epson EcoTank printers

  Posted on November 18, 2024 at 02:45 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 21.47 • 2024-11-18

  Look for our BONUS issue on November 25, 2024!

  HARDWARE

  

  By Will Fastie

  Epson has done a lot of things right with its ink-tank printer line, including making Shaquille O’Neal its spokesperson. Who doesn’t love Shaq?

  Regarding those right moves, I’ll provide my history with printing, give a quick review of my Epson EcoTank ET-5150, and discuss how Epson has managed to change the face of printing while selling over 80 million units.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.47.0, 2024-11-18).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Hardware Bottled Ink, EcoTank, Epson, Ink Cartridges, Newsletters, Printers, Printing Costs

• Cleaning up your printer

  Posted on April 22, 2024 at 02:45 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 21.17 • 2024-04-22

  HARDWARE

  

  By Susan Bradley

  You’re probably thinking this article is about cleaning paper dust from a printer or fixing a stuck pick-up wheel.

  We all deal with that sort of thing. This is about something you probably don’t think about before heading to your local e-cycler with that old printer — sensitive information.

  That’s right. Printer manufacturers are increasingly adding beacons, tracking, and — worse yet — the subscription ink plans to wring out every bit of profit from a device that increasingly is being used less and less. That’s data, and it’s tied to you. I’ll get back to that.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.17.0, 2024-04-22).

  Hardware Factory Defaults, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Printers, Recycling, Security, SMTP

• Dymo declines

  Posted on January 9, 2023 at 02:42 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  HARDWARE

  

  By Will Fastie

  One of my favorite brands is headed for extinction.

  I don’t think I’ve ever been as dismayed with a Christmas gift as I was a year ago. I just didn’t know it at the time. My wife gave me the gift because I asked for it, but even my reason for wanting it was askew.

  The gift? A Dymo LabelWriter 550 Turbo. Faster than a speeding bullet. Able to leap buildings in a single bound. And, designed to disappoint.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.02.0, 2023-01-09).

  Hardware Dymo, Hardware, Newsletters, Printers, Quality

• Dealing with printers

  Posted on March 22, 2021 at 01:00 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Keeping printers up to date

  Once upon a time, I purchased an HP LaserJet 4L printer that would just keep on printing, year after year, until the plastic door on the top of the printer finally broke off. After my initial installation, the printer driver was never updated.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.11.0 (2021-03-22).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Blue screens of death, Exchange Server, Patch Lady Posts, Printers

• Master your printer – not the other way around

  Posted on February 8, 2021 at 01:40 CST by Michael Lasky • Comment in the Forums

  HARDWARE

  Master your printer – not the other way around

  By Michael Lasky

  “I hate printers, but I love what they can do!”

  That’s the mantra recited by just about anyone who has a printer attached to their computer. Of all the peripherals that connect to our PCs, printers seem to be the number-one troublemaker.

  But it doesn’t have to be that way. Paper jams, overpriced ink, print spooler logjams, wasted paper – these are just a few of the hassles whose remedies are addressed here. If your love/hate relationship with your printer is more hate than love, read on — and maybe, just maybe, we can flip that around with these expert printer tips and tricks.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.5.0 (2021-02-08).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Hardware AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Hardware, Printers

• Patching printers

  Posted on July 13, 2020 at 01:30 CDT by Jamie • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  Patching printers

  The June bugs in Windows 10 that caused all of my PCL 5 printers to not print reminded me that there are several ways that printers need updating. The days when we could install a printer and never worry about it again are over.

  By Susan Bradley

  If you haven’t updated your printer lately, the first thing to review its printer driver. The older the printer, the more likely you will need something like a universal PCL 6 driver in order to have it work with Windows 10.

  Last and certainly not least, even in a home setting, I often have very good luck by setting up the printer on the wireless or wired network to determine the IP address assigned to the printer.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.27.0 (2020-07-013).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Security, Updates AskWoody Plus Newsletter, patching, Printers

• Best Practices: Ten tools and tips for better (and cheaper!) printing

  Posted on February 11, 2019 at 05:09 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Michael Lasky returns with insider information about printers, how they (mis)behave, and what you can do about it.

  Let me say it for you, “Hey! I didn’t know that!”

  In the new AskWoody Plus Newsletter issue 16.5.0 – out this morning.

  Other Best Practices, Michael Lansky, Printers