Re: Brother laser (semi-O.T. ?)

[J R FOX jr_fox@xxxxxxxxxx]

[Caution: this is going to be more than semi-O.T.]

--- On Mon, 3/16/09, Patricia M. Godfrey  wrote:

> From: Patricia M. Godfrey 
> Subject: Re: Brother laser (semi-O.T. ?)
> To: xywrite@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Date: Monday, March 16, 2009, 12:35 PM
> J R FOX wrote:
> > I was wondering if any of you have experience or
> comments re the use of Brother (B&W) lasers
>
> Not lasers, but I had a perfectly maddening experience some
> years back with a Brother inkjet multifunction.

Thanks for your comments on this, Patricia. I've tentatively
decided _not_ to go inkket this time. The cartridges can dry out
on you, and I don't think the cost of consumables makes sense.
I still have a fair amount of research to do on this, because I
like to get these things right the first time and not have to
return something then replace it. (Due to some more pressing
priorities, I'm not going to rush this.)

In doing this kind of research online, with "professional"
reviews plus reviews from users, one generally finds Pro and
Con comments that differ widely and contradict each other.
(This is true for almost any product.) But issues emerge, and
hopefully there gets to be some consensus. Unfortunately, it
is looking like a lot of such products -- and here I'm leaning
more on in-store inspections -- are now flimsy junk, made as
cheaply as possible. It may cost as much as $400., but it is
still made to be a disposable product: when it wears out after
a year or two, the most sensible and economical choice will be
to take it to the dumpster or recycler, and get a new unit.
Gone are the days when you could buy something really solidly
built, and get 10 years out of it, like I did with that high
end HP Fax machine.

So, it becomes a matter of which deficiencies you can tolerate,
at the right price. Most of the units I've considered have some
major dealbreaker. An office equipment repair shop I've used
here for many years says that in fax-only, Canon is the way to
go. But they have this very large plastic piece jutting out
that would be right in my face, so forget it. Anyway, I want to
have the flatbed type for copies, so I don't have to run out to
Kinko's all the time, which is one of the considerations pointing
me towards the All-in-Ones.

> BUT going through
> the usual Uninstall software-Uninstall Hardware routines
> wasn't enough; the Scanner software and it's
> connected app, in particular, had to be pruned from the
> registry by hand. (several hundred references). After doing
> this two or three times, I decided my time was worth the
> cost of a new printer

Yes, that sure sounds familiar. I'm all but certain the culprit
is ScanSoft, which seems to have gobbled up all of its former
scanning / OCR competitors. I avoid anything from them like the
plague, because it drives so many hooks deep into your Registry
that you need a block of C-4 to pry them loose. You can't
uninstall their stuff without Tech Support walking you through it.
It took close to an hour over the phone. I did this once, but
won't go there again.

, got an Epson, and kept the Brother as
> a stand-alone fax and copier. IT did yeoman service in that
> capacity for several years, then finally died.

If you got several years out of it, you're ahead of the curve.

> Meanwhile, at the office, we had several Brother thermal
> faxes in succession. The problem with them was--and is--that
> it is absolutely impossible to reach even automated tech
> support. You wade through voice mail hell forever. FWIW.

I read in one user comment that their tech support was in the
Phillipines. Can't really single that out these days, though.
Does *anyone* still offer tech support that is _not_ wretched
and abysmal ?


 Jordan