DUH?!?

[Kay/NC]

Do you just ever want to KICK yourself, for doing something truly DUMB?

For three weeks, I have fought the office printer, which is a Kodak wireless one I installed a year or so ago.  It is a great printer, and the ink crtridges for it are very reasonable, compared to the HP ones I've always used before buying this one. 

The machine let leaving lines blank as it printed, giving me a "needs black ink" message"...well it starts out with "black ink is low", and then progreesses to the more dire warning.  I tend to keep a couple of spare sets on hand, so popped otu the cartridge adn replaced it, only to have the same problem. 

Thought it was mabe the printer itself, in the commands, so uninstalled in, reinstalled it this morning, shut down and restarted, did everything but stand on my head, and it was still blanking worse than ever.  Frustrated...these are not apparently still available, and I have this stick of ink, so ARRGHHHH!!!

Switched paper, since Ihad just opened a new carton of that about the time the problem surfaced  No deal!

Finally, I ripped open the top of the thing, ready to see if I coudl take out hteh printnhead and maybe find a replacement.  All of a sudden, I realized that I have been changing the COLOR cartridge over and over again. DUH!!!

Popped out the narrow black one, snapped in a new one and VOILA!  It prints!!!!

Do you ever wonder why it can take almost a month to fix the simplest thing?  Anyone else have a similar experience?  And here I was feeling so tech-savvy....!

[turkey feather]

Reading this I was hoping there was going to be an answer to my printer problems.  But it isn't a wrong ink . My main printer quit maybe from lightening and I moved another printer to computer and it worked for a short time. But now I cannot get it to print.

I am going to need a portable computer soon and I looked on line last night. How will I ever choose the right one with so many on the market?

[Kay/NC]

Choose the computer...I am guessing you mean a laptop or tablet...the line between the two is blurring. I would be sure to install a wireless router, and use a wireless printer. You will thus be able to connect the computer to the printer without wires, printing antwhere that both are within range of the router.

FWIW, I chose the Kodak printer because the ink cartridges are very affordable, compared to HP. You might want to look at thst issue, or see which brands have ink available nearby. Evidently, Kodak has left the printer market...but, I am not sure.

I would pick a printer that does photo quality, if you want to print out your pictures at home. I do. If you ever need to scan email attachments, then look at sll-in-ones.

Some of those still fax, but not all do...if thst is important to you, look for all of the functions you need in a multi-function machine. I have stopped looking for fax capability, since scanning and attaching to an email is more the way people do things now, and you have no long-distance charges that way.

Also, attaching a telephone line to anything here is asking for a lightning strike, unless you route the phone connection through a surge protector. We go through those like kleenex around here in summertime.

[wt51015]

Depending on what you're going to be using the laptop for, Sam's has a Chromebook for very reasonable, It is really a base unit, but for just using on the internet to avoid viruses on the main computer it works well. Can connect to a printer, speakers and even a monitor if you need a bigger screen. Good Luck with checking out the newest technology.

[linda/IL]

I find it mind boggling & scary! I'd love to find a young computer nerd to help me set it up & lead me.

[Kay/NC]

The mind boggling part I get, Linda. Technology advances so quickly, it is hard to stay current, if ot isn't your occupation, or a serious hobby.

I wouldn't call it scary, though...things are so much more user -friendly as we go forward. You get so much more for every dollar you spend than you would have a couple of years ago. Computing can fit in your pocket, that used to take a big desk.

It is mostly like I said above...you need to know what you want your system to do, then shop for the tools to do it. Most stuff is plug and play easily now. There are local nerds, who will advise and set you up for a fee, and even some of the big box stores offer setup services now. Ask at the counter...Staples has geek departments right inside the store now.