Miscellaneous Computing Follies

[filkertom]

A few weeks ago, getting ready for ConGlomeration, my printer cartridges ran out of ink. For what is now the third time, I went to the store (sometimes K-Mart, sometimes Target) to get a LexMark printer -- because it is considerably cheaper to buy the printer, with two cartridges and spiffy paper, than to buy the exact same cartridges. In this case, I saved $15.

Exact. Same. Cartridges.

***

Meantime, when we found out a few weeks ago that our duplicator couldn't get a CD order back to us by Labor Day no matter how much we begged, it actually made things easier. I could relax, and gear up for Dragon*Con. (The CD package is nearly ready to be sent off, and we should have everything back by the end of September. It'll be boss -- all environmentally-friendly and everything.)

***

I also hied myself down to CompUSA, where it turned out that they had my chosen brand of CD-R (Memorex) on deep discount this week. Yeah!

Unfortunately, I had to hie myself back down there again this morning. After a few years of faithful service, my 300-watt power supply up and died.

What gets me is not that a new power supply is now more expensive than the same power supply and a case used to be. I understand; the mod scene clued the manufacturers in to a whole new product line.

No, what gets me is that the store-brand 350-watt power supply is $69.99, and the 500-watt power supply is $79.99, and the first brand-name (in the fiercely competitive desktop computer power supply market, sheesh) was a 400-watt for $99.99.

Which the hell one do you think I got!?

***

So. Any good stories lately?

Comments

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

it is considerably cheaper to buy the printer, with two cartridges and spiffy paper, than to buy the exact same cartridges.

You can get cartridge refill kits. They seem to work. They seem to be cheaper than new printers. But I could be wrong.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

You certainly can. But I've heard mixed results, and I haven't tried 'em myself yet. Besides, one of the reasons I like LexMark is that the print head is on the cartridge itself -- if the head goes south, you just buy a new cartridge.

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

Fair enough.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

I do have to try 'em, though. Funny how the stupid ink is the most expensive part of the deal now.

[r-caton.livejournal.com]

I use JR refill kits (from Maplin in the UK), have used the black for years with Canon BC-02 cartridges (BC-200 printer) no problemo, but that's head and cartridge in one....
I recently got an A3 BJC-4650 Canon, and that has head and ink cartridge separate for the draft head (OK with a syringe fill), and a "photo" head I haven't tried as yet.

The vital thing is to get a kit that fills via a blunt hypodermic syringe. Don't touch any smartass contraptions with concertina collapsible bottles unless you want a multicolour shirt....

power supply

[armb.livejournal.com]

Since you only needed a real 300W power supply, and a "500W" nameless supply can probably manage that where a "350W" nameless supply might be borderline, and it was cheaper than the 400W, you went for the "500W" one. Am I right?

Re: power supply

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

In one. Although I had no worries buying the CompUSA brand. Their hard drives are made for them by Maxtor, and are functionally equivalent to the same Maxtor-brand drive but cheaper. I dunno who makes their power supplies, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt, and it worked out fine.

(Biggest sweat of the morning was hoping to god that the old p.s. hadn't taken anything like, say, the motherboard or the CPU with it. It hadn't. :-P )

Re: power supply

[(Anonymous)]

Geeeeez, extra 150 watts for just 10 bucks more...what are some of these name brand manufacturers thinking? *bamfoozeled*

Re: power supply

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

I genuinely don't know. I do know that, whatever the hell I put in my computer from now until this p.s. goes, it can handle it.

[mysterg.livejournal.com]

We got a new printer about a year ago; a Cannon i320. It's a great printer, which cost me 50 bucks, and the cartridges cost me about 20$ total when they run out, as opposed to the 60 dollars for the ones for my old printer (that's 60 buck EACH...)

Ah, cheap, throwaway tech does have it's good points, plus, using Office Max, we can recycle the cartridges too:)

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Well, ya see, that's the thing. What I got from K-Mart was a Z25 (which I guess has been, if not discontinued, discounted) -- $35 bucks. It came with two cartridges, each of which was $35. Ended up getting another one of those, but K-Mart finally ran out of 'em when I needed a refill, so I went to Target, where I found the Z515 with compatible (although not quite as good) cartridges... $35 bucks, where the individual cartridges would've been $50.

[mysterg.livejournal.com]

Yeah, sounds familiar; we had an old HP, and after I got tired of dealing with the expense for the umpteenth time, we got the Cannon. Been pretty happy since; I'm sure if you check at Outpost.com or the like, they'd be able to find you cheaper cartridges, if not a cheaper printer.

BTW, love your music. I saw you for the first time at Marcon this year in person. Very cool:))

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm getting decent results at NewEgg. I find that I don't trust the places that advertise on PriceWatch, having tried to call them for information and getting worse communication than I usually get ordering Chinese take-out. :-7

And, thanks! Will you be at OVFF?

[mysterg.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I don't know, I'll have to check the old schedule, but I know, at least, we'll be at the next Marcon:))

[skipjim.livejournal.com]

I buy tons of computer equipment for the shop I work at here, and I end up using pricewatch a lot.

They have become a lot safer to deal with since they started including links to customer reviews right underneath the company name. There are quite a few good companies out there (Newegg does list there btw). And there are quite a few really bad ones too. It's like anything else, buyer beware.

I'm kind of fond of www.dalco.com myself. They're not the cheapest but if it's in stock you'll have it tomorrow (500w power supplies are about $29.99 there).