home product annoyances

[sleddogg]

Went to use my printer today which I rarely use and the FULL ink cartridge that I put in 6+ months ago is dried up. Needed to print a return invoice for another home product to go back for service. So every time I need to use my printer it's going to cost me 20+ dollars.

Also, cordless phones, when are they going to begin to use current battery technology? My sister got my mom a vtech 3 phone bundle to replace the Unidens which were not keeping a charge. I set her up and see they have ni-cad batteries. Ten days later, phones won't keep a charge. Looked online for models and they were new in mid 2008, so these batteries have been sitting for some time now. Phones don't have a battery indicator either!! Hmmph!! Come on. I want a cordless phone that uses smart battery technology (Lion or Lipo) that can't be overcharged, a good battery meter and features akin to cell phones like recent calls in and out listed when you press the call button. Is that too much to ask?

[phi1l]

Went to use my printer today which I rarely use and the FULL ink cartridge that I put in 6+ months ago is dried up. Needed to print a return invoice for another home product to go back for service. So every time I need to use my printer it's going to cost me 20+ dollars.

sounds like you need one of the cheaper laser printers that use toner & not ink

Also, cordless phones, when are they going to begin to use current battery technology? My sister got my mom a vtech 3 phone bundle to replace the Unidens which were not keeping a charge. I set her up and see they have ni-cad batteries. Ten days later, phones won't keep a charge. Looked online for models and they were new in mid 2008, so these batteries have been sitting for some time now. Phones don't have a battery indicator either!! Hmmph!! Come on. I want a cordless phone that uses smart battery technology (Lion or Lipo) that can't be overcharged, a good battery meter and features akin to cell phones like recent calls in and out listed when you press the call button. Is that too much to ask?

If you looked inside, you could probably have replaced the batteries in the Unidens.

[crokett]

You can replace batteries on a Uniden phone. I've done it a few times.

If your ink dries out between print jobs, you don't need a printer. Print the file to PDF and take it to Kinkos or a UPS store to get it printed out. Or email it to yourself at work or a buddy and have them print it.

[sleddogg]

replaced batteries in unidens twice, never performed good more than a couple months, she is elderly and thinks they have to stay on the cradle all the time, never lets the batteries cycle. Just saying I would rather pay a little more for a phone that doesn't give so much trouble. I have panasonics at home that at any given point any one of the three will not let me answer a call saying "no link to base", so I have to run around the house trying to find another handset. Might as well have it wired to the wall if I have to get up anyway. Their battery performance is poor also but at least they have an indicator so you know when to put them on a charger. I buy quality tools and high quality audio and quality anything else when I can find it. Just can't find quality phones and have handled at least ten sets since going cordless. Just seems an area of electronics that consists of mostly mass produced junk with poor feature sets.

[sleddogg]

You can replace batteries on a Uniden phone. I've done it a few times.

If your ink dries out between print jobs, you don't need a printer. Print the file to PDF and take it to Kinkos or a UPS store to get it printed out. Or email it to yourself at work or a buddy and have them print it.

That's what I did and now have more room on my desk thank you...lol.
I stuck the printer on your back porch lol.

[cabinetman]

On one of our HP printers, full (older) cartridges will read full, and still print funny. I think they build that into the unit.
.

[crokett]

That's what I did and now have more room on my desk thank you...lol.
I stuck the printer on your back porch lol.

Thanks! I needed a new printer anyway. I don't like the one I have very much.

Seriously, I've replaced battery packs in Unidens without a problem. Our cordless phones also stay in the charger most of the time and the batteries don't go bad in a few months. If hers are, something else is wrong.

[charliex]

Check these out

The new Panasonic Dect 6.0 phones use standard NiMH cells so you don't have to buy special battery packs. This means you can also charge them in a regular NiMH charger. The phones can be left off the charge base for days and still work for extended conversations. Fully charged they claim 17 hours of talk time. They also announce, with voice who is calling. Back lit number pad. 50# phone book with easy to read back lit display. Number block which sends unwanted calls to "busy signal" plus lots of other nice features. We've had ours for about 8 months and they are the best phone system I have ever had. I bought them because of the easy (cheap) battery feature. We got the 5 pack so we have a phone answer machine in the kitchen and a hand set in 2 bedrooms, sewing room and garage /shop.

Chas

[jackellis]

I have both Vtech and Uniden phones here that I bought based on reader reviews rather than price. So far, they've worked well. No problems with the batteries, and I think replacements are available.

New battery technology is expensive, so I think it's easier to justify the cost in a product like an iPod or a high end "smart" cell phone than in a commodity product that sells primarily on price like cordless phones seem to.

[sscherin]

I gave up on the ink war a long time ago..

We picked up a networked Oki C5200N Color Laser about 5 years ago.. It hides in the office hooked up to the wireless network.
The included demo toner lasted the first 4 years.. I think we got 3,000 pages out of that set..

Spent $119 for a refilled toner set last year.. It's still gong strong..

I plan to slowly phase out the cordless PSTN handsets with WIFI enabled VOIP phones as I find the time and $$.. I can also set up the PC's with soft phones.

I have a Cisco Spa3102 sitting around to use as a PSTN to VOIP gateway so the VOIP phones can call out on the land line.

[cabinetman]

I have both Vtech and Uniden phones here that I bought based on reader reviews rather than price. So far, they've worked well. No problems with the batteries, and I think replacements are available.

New battery technology is expensive, so I think it's easier to justify the cost in a product like an iPod or a high end "smart" cell phone than in a commodity product that sells primarily on price like cordless phones seem to.

I've replaced a few batteries in phones, and if Radio Shack doesn't have it, I use battery.com. Very fast service. They have batteries for just about anything.
.

[LinuxRandal]

I gave up on the ink war a long time ago..

We picked up a networked Oki C5200N Color Laser about 5 years ago.. It hides in the office hooked up to the wireless network.
The included demo toner lasted the first 4 years.. I think we got 3,000 pages out of that set..

How do you like the color aspect of it? Wishes or regrets?
YEARS back, when I started using Linux, my color printers were supported, but my oldest useable one, was something like 25¢ per page. When it was low, one of the office supply stores had a Brother HL-1440 for $150 before a $50 mail in rebate. Its partial toner lasted me a year and a half, and I am just now getting ready to install the third toner cartridge.

Still, there are times I think I would like a color laser all in one, mainly for pictures and faxing.

[RAV2]

The new Panasonic Dect 6.0 phones use standard NiMH cells so you don't have to buy special battery packs. This means you can also charge them in a regular NiMH charger. The phones can be left off the charge base for days and still work for extended conversations. Fully charged they claim 17 hours of talk time. They also announce, with voice who is calling. Back lit number pad. 50# phone book with easy to read back lit display. Number block which sends unwanted calls to "busy signal" plus lots of other nice features. We've had ours for about 8 months and they are the best phone system I have ever had. I bought them because of the easy (cheap) battery feature. We got the 5 pack so we have a phone answer machine in the kitchen and a hand set in 2 bedrooms, sewing room and garage /shop.

Chas

I SECOND THIS -----this is why I bought this phone. Just put in higher capacity AA batteries if needed (have not needed to yet).

[luteman]

And now they're trying to sell us "electric" cars!

[sscherin]

How do you like the color aspect of it? Wishes or regrets?
YEARS back, when I started using Linux, my color printers were supported, but my oldest useable one, was something like 25¢ per page. When it was low, one of the office supply stores had a Brother HL-1440 for $150 before a $50 mail in rebate. Its partial toner lasted me a year and a half, and I am just now getting ready to install the third toner cartridge.

Still, there are times I think I would like a color laser all in one, mainly for pictures and faxing.

Color is great to have but not a requirement.. It's handy when I'm printing things like maps and wiring diagrams. The Oki uses a glossy toner so pics have a bit of a shine to them kind of like a dye sub printer.

Big plus is unlike ink toner won't run when it gets wet.. That is nice when you are running out to the car with a fresh map in the rain or working with a printed recipe in the kitchen.

The only down side is real OKI color toner is $80 a cartridge, black is $50 but you can refill them or buy refilled cartridges. When the imaging drums are used up I'll probably just buy another Oki as the cost of drums and toner exceeds the price of a new c5600.. They last 15,000 pages so I have a long way to go on them.


I forgot 1 more laser printer plus..

print a template out extra dark and you can transfer it onto a piece of wood using an iron.