HP LaserJet Pro MFP M130nw - Review

One of the reasons I was politely asked to leave my previous web location was that I did not dedicate the blog 100% to technical content. The other reason had something to do with Halloween Boobies, but I won't bore you with that now.

In my long and storied computer career, I've had three printers at home: a LaserJet so old that it wanted a serial cable, and two multifunction HP DeskJets. The LaserJet worked flawlessly until, for some reason, it didn't. The DeskJets both followed the same trajectory: they printed nicely, the very expensive ink cartridges dried out because I barely print, and the scanner mechanism broke, which, for some reason, broke the printing function. This was years ago and I've somehow managed to survive.

So after much thought, I decided on a laser printer, with scanning, fax, and copying. Laser cartridges don't dry out and they produce a lot of pages. I looked around and found relatively cheap color laser printers. The first color laser I saw at work, many years ago, was about $10,000. So I was a little shocked to find this little bugger in the neighborhood of $350. Since I remember what was involved with color lasers, it was a real mental tug of war between I WANT ONE and YOU'LL BE SORRY.  The 'feature' that stopped the purchase was that it requires four cartridges (this is standard) at about $110 each, which is more than the cost of the printer itself (also standard with InkJets).

Since I had such a bad time with HP printers, there was no excuse not to get another one. Ok, let me back up.... when printers are released, they don't come with linux drivers. Windows and Mac - no problem. Linux... well... take your chances. The linux community got together and put together a resource on printers and whether or not they worked with linux. Unfortunately the linux community cannot travel into the future to say if a very new printer will work. So if you want a new model of printer, you have to wait til someone buys it and tries it, then posts the results. The ones I was looking at didn't have listings on the linux page yet. 

HP may have questionable hardware, as displayed by my two dead multifunction printers, but they're incredibly smart. They released software called HPLIP or something like it, that will allow you to use their printers on linux. HP was also very fortunate, in that their software is so functional that it's included in several linux distributions, Ubuntu included.

My nephew said you go into Costco to buy some cereal and walk out, $350 dollars later, with a cart full of everything, including tires for your car. So I naturally started there (online).  They had exactly one HP, which was the aforementioned color laser. Nope. Costco doesn't usually disappoint.

While I'm web-shopping, I noticed something... stores weren't listing small details, like price. Some had to be put in your 'cart' before the secret price would be revealed. Some were more complex and I give up easily. To prove my point, later that evening I did a search for a specific kind of juice, and that price wasn't  listed either. Juice. What the hell is wrong with these people?

My next step is where I used to live when they first opened... I won't say their name, because for some reason other people don't, so I'll tell you it rhymes with Breast Guy. BOOM, the HP printers popped right up. It was weird - they had prices listed. Not available in stores, this unit was probably being blown out at $99, as it was up to double that on other sites.  I did a compare of a few laser AIOs (all in one), as price was less a consideration than reliability and suitability.  I print something every other month or so, which isn't really a category to compare by. It turned out that the least expensive printer would be just fine. It's an awful shame this isn't the case with guitar gear.

Although this shouldn't be anyone's sole criterion for purchase, I checked the reviews. People are most likely to review something if they have a complaint, especially if you've ever had the misfortune to read Yelp. I was surprised to find a lot of great reviews and a few bad reviews, all pretty much the same. People liked the printer or they had trouble and hated the wireless setup. Since I'm a big shot network guy<tm>, this wouldn't be a problem for me.

The transaction was quick and pleasant, unlike any other transaction I have had on the web. I kept waiting for the internet to crash, but it didn't. I got a tracking number and it showed up when they said it would.

For some reason, I really didn't want to set it up. Who gets a new toy and doesn't want to play with it? I'll tell you who... the person who has to set it up first. I only knew this subliminally. Dammit if the reviewers weren't right: even a big shot network guy<tm> couldn't make the wireless function work. It's not that it wasn't user-friendly, it was user-HOSTILE. It also refused to set anything up until there was paper in it. Am I crazy for thinking it shouldn't need paper to set the wireless feature up?

My wireless network is set up very securely. So securely I almost had to take it  apart to get to it.  I need very specific info before I can connect anything wirelessly. Naturally the information was not available for this little bugger.  Going through the options on the face of the printer was an interesting feat.  The directions were printed out in four languages, fortunately, in case I preferred to read them in French, Spanish, or Portuguese (I think). Looking closer,  they basically gave a few quick steps, then referred to the User Guide, located at a web address. Just think of the money saved not printing a useful set of instructions. Just because you can get some backdoor software that works with linux doesn't mean there are any instructions for linux.

So I did what any short-tempered, ADD techie would do... I gave up and plugged the damn thing into my computer, with the INCLUDED usb cable. They used to charge you extra for them, causing many an unpleasant surprise when they opened the box after the stores closed. Linux recognized the printer and set it up. Yay! I told it to print a test page, which it promptly did. And by that I mean that it said it printed, but I checked the print queue and discovered it was sitting there, stopped, with no way to send it out for printing. I got all sorts of weird error messages, which I looked up, and discovered that people recommended reinstalling the HP software. I downloaded it and set it running, where it suggested removing the old software... yeah, ok. And it found the printer and bloody printed! I was shocked.

It printed very quickly, as lasers tend to. The print quality was great. This seemed to be just what I was looking for, wireless setup aside.

The printer came with a cd of software, Windows and Mac only, so most of you won't have most of these issues. Just for fun I tested the scanning function. From waaaay back, I remember that you have to use either a utility or graphics program and scan into it. And I did that. And it worked.  Beautifully and much quicker than I remember.

The fax function, which I really needed AT THIS MOMENT, was nowhere to be found. In fact, I noticed there was no jack in which to plug the phone line. What happened? I think the genius who purchased the printer somehow transposed the models that included wireless with the models that faxed. Or the printer only included fax capabilities if it was shipped on alternating Wednesdays, on a thirteen month cycle.

My situation is difficult and weird, so you will not experience the same variety of grief I did. You may experience different varieties of grief -  I don't know. I expect the wireless networking to be easier with software for your operating system, but I can't be positive.

The printer works well, quickly, and the print is nice. The scanner works quickly and accurately. The fax doesn't work at all, largely as it's not included on this model. Since scanning and printing work well, I think it's safe to assume that copying also works flawlessly (provided there's paper). HP no longer thinks hiding the power button is funny and has located it on the front of the printer, so naturally I had trouble finding it.

The printer does everything I want it to do.

If I get itchy, I'll give wireless networking another try. But I'll have to be damn itchy before that happens.

Unless it starts throwing random parts at me or the scanning mechanism breaks, I recommend this printer. For the price, you can't beat it.

Explosive Farts

What - you think I'm kidding?
A patient was burned during surgery when the laser being used ignited a fart. Who says Silent But Deadly isn't deadly? They did her a real cervix.

• I'm not entirely sure of the country, but on the first of every month, there's a man who dresses as a white rabbit and waves at people by the river in Barnes. Sounds perfectly reasonable to me.

Mexico is now celebrating Day of the Dead. We call that Kardashian Viewer Night.

• To support those with cancer, someone has decided November is No Shave month. The Social Justice Warriors want everyone to know that raising cancer awareness is oppressive because not all people who have prostates are men. Apparently anatomy is no longer a concern. I'd just like to say I'm the proud owner of a prostate and I'm a man.
• I'd also like to insert, as it were, some professional medical advice. Ejaculation is very healthy for the prostate, so get yourself going or have someone else do it. If you think I'm messing with you, do the research or ask your urologist (because we all have urologists).

Speaking of Social Justice, a conservative group on the campus of University of Redlands (no, I don't know where that is either) has been banned from holding a Funeral for Halloween due to an administrator's concerns that such a display would cause "emotional and psychological harm" to the campus community.  One concern was that the event was not clearly labeled as satire. Within a few years, this culture will eat itself. Colleges are already finding enrollment down.

• In England, hundreds of operations were canceled after malware hacked the hospital system. That was the headline, but the malware had to get there somehow. Much like the Internet of Things (IoT), medical devices are shit on security. Whether it's ransomware or a hack, these are among the last devices you want hacked. They had to shut the whole system down to find the malware but they remained open for other services. Lock em down, folks. This follows the crap we put in our houses.

Speaking of England, Admiral, a car insurance company, is going to price first-time insurance based upon Faceyspaces posts. Apparently they've developed an algorithm that will tell them what kind of a risk you are by your social media posts. It would be a blessing in the US, as none of us here uses Faceyspaces, so it would be free (well, the article doesn't exactly say that). Pictures of you drinking or drunk off your butt will not be scanned, so you're in luck there. One of the things they're looking for is detail, like saying 7pm instead of "tonight". This means that you'll get penalized if you care about privacy and post when you're not going to be home and specifically what time you're not going to be home. This program is voluntary.

Let's also consider the US programs that plug a sensor into your car to check your driving style/statistics. Add this to the black box and the car's cell modem tracking and you have a hell of a lot of information leaking out of you and your car. After that, it will be sold to advertisers, to better target the kinds of ads you receive. Sweet, eh?

• Did you know you can log into a certain satellite and watch for illegal fishing vessels? One vessel just got busted this way. It's very nice to stop illegal fishing and makes you feel good. Right up until you realize that a ton of these satellites are looking at YOU. Sit with that for a moment.

Pardon me for being late, but the one browser that doesn't hate Blogspot started hating it. Unfortunately for you, I found a different one.

• Bad news for white women: they have to stop wearing name tag bracelets. It's an issue of 'cultural appropriation'. Last week, Vanessa Hudgens (sigh) got in Deep Doo-Doo because she culturally appropriated the braids in her hair. I'm against it too, but only because she looks so much better without them.

I know Halloween is behind us (thankfully) but the Philly area made the list of Top Haunted Attractions. Places like City Hall, the building the State Police just raided for suspected election fraud, and the Parking Authority. All pretty frightening indeed.

• Ever wonder how Terry Gilliam (Monty Python) made those wild animations?  What - you didn't? Well, here's how anyway...

There is an awful lot of suspicion about skullduggery in the upcoming election. Here to save the day is Russia, which has offered to provide election monitors. This is the best and worst thing I've read all season.

Why Do You Think It's Called a Strip Mall?

Two relative strangers met and hooked up in California.  While this no doubt happens all the time, it rarely happens in front of a strip mall.  Hey, when you gotta hump, you gotta hump, right?

Now the NSA is really in your computer.  Our good friends near DC have been caught sneaking malware into the firmware of hard drives, as discovered by Kaspersky.  This also brings up the fact that the drive manufacturers allowed this. These are some evil folks, folks.  Lady Gaga or Beyonce had better do something fast...

A Tinder app is said to enable flings at Carnival in Rio.  And let's face it... if you've gotta go down... {ahem}, Rio isn't such a bad place to do it.

Mystery Mars haze baffles scientists. Well, it's not so much haze as the Martians steam-cleaning the rovers for us.

STUDY: Dogs are smarter than people think.  Not watching tv helps.

Show-winning dog semen sells for $2,000.  Further proof that I'm in the wrong business.

Rowdy women attack man at 50 Shades.  So I'm thinking to myself that this is my golden opportunity: stand outside the theater and clean up!  Right up until we discover that the man in question asked the ladies to lower the volume a bit and got the wrong kind of head.

Woman pulls gun on man after being denied sex. Wow, I didn't know we could DO that!

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It's Snow Time in the old neighborhood. Again. This time the forecasters called for three to six inches. Within hours, it was one to three.  In an extreme slip-up, we got three to six.  What are the odds that a weather forecaster will be correct?

As a result, I worked from the couch, where I am generally headquartered.  I was treated to the somewhat altered-state neighbor shoveling early.  I strongly suspect he has some sort of noise-enhancing attachment built into his shovel. Still, this is better than last year, with the snow blower. Snow blowers, while a great concept, bother me almost as much as lawn mowers.  Let's face it - they require so much care and maintenance that they're unlikely at best to be there for you when you need them (as one could argue about a wife).

After work, I shoveled. It wasn't bad at all (especially as I didn't have to start a snow blower). Then I heard this loud noise, incredibly similar to the neighbor's amplified shovel.  This is largely because it was the neighbor's shovel, this time being powered by the 437 year old being from hell who owns the place.  In the autumn, she has some sort of laser-powered Leaf Alarm to tell her when our leaves hit the ground.  I'll bet you she also has a laser-powered Snow Detector too. As soon as it starts snowing, she forces the tenant into Snow Bondage.  Apparently his snow job was not sufficient, as she was out there again, probably cataloging and cleaning individual flakes from the tarmac.

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I thoroughly ruined someone's day today, or at least I hope I did.  

I don't get out much and I don't have anywhere near enough fun, so I have to get it where I can (kinda like sex).

There's a street on the way to work that has a 25mph speed limit and they're not kidding. I suspect half of the town's revenue comes from speeding tickets. I was warned early to obey and obey I do.

Not everybody obeys and this is where the fun starts.

Sometimes people don't want to do the speed limit, so they pass you in great haste. The only problem here is that it's only a two-lane road, so they cross into the wrong lane to pass you. While I have yet to see anyone ticketed (or beaten) for this, hope springs eternal.  When I drive a higher performance car, I speed up while they're trying to pass: it amuses me.

Today's idiot was a special breed.  He got right up my tailpipe from the start. When this happens, I naturally make sure I'm doing exactly 25mph, if not 24.  This did not impress Sparky, who stayed in close formation. Trick Number Two: brush the brake pedal so the brake lights come on. Sparky backed off a bit but in short order, he was trying to climb into my trunk.  Firing up the brake lights again only pissed Sparky off and he blinked his lights at me.

Imagine - he blinked his lights at me.

A brief glance at the speedometer told me I was doing 1mph over the limit, so I slowed down. Sparky backed off.  Not for long, of course, despite passing several 25mph signs.  By this point, Sparky's face was no doubt starting to turn red and veins were popping out of his head.  In fact, he got more aggressive and would not back up, even with the Brake Light Treatment.  

Finally some sense must have seeped in and he backed off. I suspect he might have seen some speed limit signs.  Oh no, he was back again, this time weaving all over his lane, as if he were going to somehow rocket past me.  I smiled and continued to do the speed limit in a nearly offensive manner.

At this point, Sparky probably had to give the steering wheel to his passenger, as he was having a Coronary Event (formerly heart attack).  He finally got around me because he had to get into the turning lane. He shot me a look.  I smiled.

I won.


And as I close this episode, I have but one wish: that both the cat and the dog stop farting.  I'm going to asphyxiate here.