https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/15/technology/gary-starkweather-dead.html
At the Palo Alto Research Center, or PARC, Mr. [Gary] Starkweather built the first working laser printer in 1971 in less than nine months. By the 1990s, it was a staple of offices around the world. By the new millennium, it was nearly ubiquitous in homes as well.
"We still use the same fundamental engine to print billions of pages a day," said Doug Fairbairn, a staff director at the Computer History Museum who worked alongside Mr. Starkweather at PARC. "It was all Gary's idea."
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Gary Starkweather, Inventor of the Laser Printer, Dies at 81
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(Score: 2) by Appalbarry on Sunday January 19 2020, @06:28PM (3 children)
Was I alone in mistakenly reading the headine as something like "Original HP laser printer dies, aged 81."
Which, if you're of a certain age, seems entirely plausible.
As Jerry Pournelle used to advise, "Just buy the most expensive HP printer that you can afford." The assumption being that it will work reliably for years or even decades.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 19 2020, @07:07PM (1 child)
The primary reason Xerox printers got replaced was more resolution, color, ppm, media types, or postscript functionality.
Sadly Xerox chose to follow the consumer printer market into crappy cartridge based designs and didn't focus enough on innovating where the future lead (away from printers) and paid the cost with its corporate existence. Gone are Ampex, HP, DEC,SGI, Xerox, all the once greats.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 19 2020, @08:22PM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 19 2020, @09:55PM
That must have been BC (Before Carly).
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday January 19 2020, @08:47PM (5 children)
He just ran out of toner. Jeez, no need to be so dramatic. He takes HP type 01 cartridges, which last almost for-frickin'-ever, but even those need to be replaced now and then.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 4, Funny) by bzipitidoo on Sunday January 19 2020, @11:09PM
Well, he's not a vampire. The inventor of ink jet printers, now, definitely a first class blood sucker.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Snotnose on Monday January 20 2020, @12:06AM (1 child)
CSB time. '91 or so I was working late. Suddenly heard a lot of swearing and went to investigate. Turned out some woman was adding toner to the printer and spilled it. So she grabbed the mini-vac to vacuum up the mess. But the toner particles were small enough that the bag was just a suggestion, and I imagine she made a black cloud. When I poked my head in everything in the room, including her. were covered with a fine black powder.
My ducks are not in a row. I don't know where some of them are, and I'm pretty sure one of them is a turkey.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Monday January 20 2020, @12:05PM
fine and toxic black powder...
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(Score: 3, Funny) by looorg on Monday January 20 2020, @03:16AM (1 child)
Have they tried taking him out and shaking him a bit and then perhaps slam him a little against a desk or something? That is usually good for an extra print or two.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Tuesday January 21 2020, @12:07AM
That got an actual real-life LOL from me! Thanks for that :)
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 19 2020, @11:04PM (1 child)
Few would have thought that an African American born in the Deep South in 1938 would rise to the heights that Gary Starkweather did.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Monday January 20 2020, @12:47PM
Why not? racism was all but forgotten in most places by the 80s. It was resurrected as a way to not discuss mass migrations around the y2k. Racially motivated attacks are a reality, those against whites are censored, those against minorities are amplified. Two headline-worthy attacks in italy were fabricated last year, out of, say, 4.
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(Score: 2) by Nuke on Sunday January 19 2020, @11:39PM (2 children)
FTFA
WTF does "nearly ubiquitous" mean? Is is like Monty Python "nearly" seeing one camel? Most homes I know use inkjets, if they have any printer at all.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Monday January 20 2020, @12:07PM (1 child)
laser > inkjet if you don't use regularly.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 21 2020, @04:34AM
This is precisely why I talked my parents into replacing their inkjet printer with a laser printer. They print so infrequently that by the time they want to print something, they need a new cartridge. And the cartridges are ridiculously expensive.
Ink remains better for somethings, but, unless you're regularly printing, you're better off with the laser printer. It doesn't take that many replaced ink cartridges to pay for a pretty nice laser printer where you'll definitely get to use all of the toner.
Personally, if I ever need my own printer, I will likely get a color laser printer as I don't do a ton of printing but when I do, it would be nice to have colors.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 20 2020, @12:29AM
The motherfucker was a tank. I think Apple put on a facade over it to resell it Apple LaserWriter. I would keep using it if I could get cartridges to work it.
HP used to be an outfit producing quality products. Oh well.