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Well, that didn't take long!
Last year, after Coke took 10% stake in the company, Keurig started shipping a new version of their instant coffee machines. The primary 'improvement' was the addition of DRM designed to exclude any coffee not approved by Keurig. It is a scheme very much like the ink cartridge DRM of IBM/Lexmark.
One coffee maker has decided to crack that Keurig's DRM and are now shipping a device you insert into the maker that lets you spoof it into thinking any coffee is 'authorized.' They are capitalizing on their new Freedom Clip by giving it away along with free samples of their coffee.
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Q: What's the difference between a duck and an elephant?
A: You can't get down off an elephant.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 02 2015, @08:26AM
Good. Why would I want to be subsidizing DRM manufacturers with each cup of coffee? It seems a bit insane to be trowing away a circuit every time I drink a cup while allowing a company to make money with rent seeking and an artificially restricted market. I would rather consume non "approved" coffee just to avoid endorsing this behavior.
By the way, dot matrix printers are still around, and if you do not need color, they are still the cheapest cost per page print solution out there. Their ink ribbons do not clog, nor do they have DRM.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 02 2015, @08:51AM
Anyone bringing up that topic should be required to include the URL of a vendor who still re-inks ribbons.
Extra points if the vendor keeps the shell, throws out the old ribbon, and puts in a new ribbon.
(There used to be a place in Las Vegas that did just that.)
Indeed, these could not be farther from DRM'd junk.
-- gewg_
(Score: 1) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 02 2015, @10:45AM
Actually, if you spray some CRC into a used ribbon, you can print with it again. I handed in a few University essays printed with that "ink."
(Score: 5, Funny) by c0lo on Monday February 02 2015, @12:35PM
OGHIHA (Oh God How I Hate Acronyms).
CRC:
cyclic redundancy check?
Class Name, Responsibilities, and Collaborators
Chain Reaction Cycles™?
Chicago Rabbinical Council?
Christian Reformed Church?
California Rehabilitation Center?
Candida Related Complex?
Colombo Rowing Club?
Colorectal Cancer?
Crowd Riot Control?
Corrosion Reaction Consultants?
Circumcision Resource Center?
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 02 2015, @01:45PM
I think OP was assuming that all geekdom recognizes CRC contact cleaner the way rednecks instantly recognize WD-40.
Western Digital v40?
Wahabi Dogma 1940?
Winchester Derringer 40 cal.?
etc.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday February 02 2015, @09:15PM
I bet software and biology geeks have no clues about (without being less of a geek).
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 03 2015, @03:59AM
Most computer geeks know the one true CRC. It does not involve a printer, unless you are printing a lovely modulo 2 arithmetic flow chart.
(Score: 5, Funny) by LoRdTAW on Monday February 02 2015, @03:27PM
I think the product he was referring to is Concentrated Rectal Cleaner. Though I could be wrong.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 02 2015, @03:35PM
3rd party dot matrix ribbon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GUUK3RE/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2 [amazon.com]
12 pack for $15
The manufacturer's ribbon:
http://www.amazon.com/Okidata-Microline-420-Black-Ribbon/dp/B000HRVDMA [amazon.com]
1 for $13 Still cheap compared to ink jet.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 02 2015, @07:59PM
Back in the day, you could usually find a local guy who had a re-inking setup and get the ribbon portion of your cartridge to last for several recharges after it was ostensibly used up.
That was both green and economical.
After the ribbon portion is badly worn/damaged, I really like the green aspect of re-using the shell/carrier (made of petrochemicals).
If that part isn't damaged, it can be re-used indefinitely.
The re-inking service doesn't have to keep a huge stock of shells either; that should make his costs lower.
I've been pretty much paperless for quite a while, but there are still operations that use NCR paper; a dot matrix printer is just the ticket for them.
...and I really despise Jeff Bezo's labor practices.
He's easily in the running for World's Worst Boss.
-- gewg_
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 03 2015, @02:56AM
...and I really despise Jeff Bezo's labor practices.
He's easily in the running for World's Worst Boss.
I get it. It is like the Walmart of the Internet in that regard. But it is effective, especially for quick and good research.
I thought that reinking would be like finding VCR repair shops, but it looks like there is still demand because of antique and obsolete typewriters and specialty printers:
http://www.drviragopete.com/ribbon-reinking-service.php [drviragopete.com]
Great to know that is still an option.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Foobar Bazbot on Monday February 02 2015, @06:22PM
AIUI, there's no circuit being thrown away -- the "DRM" consists of a symbol printed in fluorescent ink on the lid of the cartridge. I think there's also a bar-code involved (to specify temperature and/or time parameters for brewing that particular coffee), but it's not recognized without the special fluorescent ink. (It's been a while since I read about this, sorry)
But yeah, circuit or not, don't pay the rent-seeking Danes. (OTOH, suppose the machine is being sold at or near cost, in order to make the real money off the overpriced coffee -- then buying the Keurig machine and buying unlicensed coffee cartridges from a third party and/or buying refillable cartridges and filling them with your own ground coffee could be a win. Even better if they're selling them below cost, though that's unlikely.)
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 02 2015, @06:35PM
(OTOH, suppose the machine is being sold at or near cost, in order to make the real money off the overpriced coffee -- then buying the Keurig machine and buying unlicensed coffee cartridges from a third party and/or buying refillable cartridges and filling them with your own ground coffee could be a win. Even better if they're selling them below cost, though that's unlikely.)
And on the other other hand.. Suppose the machine is being sold at a profit, but they are relying on morons who imagine that everything is sold below cost, Cos inkjets.. Then buying one instead of a proper coffee maker, and learning how to make a bloody cup of coffee still rewards the DRM using bastards. And makes money for a company who live off DRM just as much. And voids your warranty. should any modification be detected. You can not game DRM. If you play, you lose. You can not circumvent DRM and win indefinitely, because more DRM will be implemented, and eventually, it will be so much more work to circumvent that nobody will bother. The "but it might be subsidised, so if I get the crippled one, I'll win" argument is not a good one. The only way to win is to not participate. Buy a proper coffee machine and real coffee, drink instant, or drink something else. But please don't lie to yourself. The only thing you are sticking to "da man" is your money.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Joe Desertrat on Monday February 02 2015, @08:11PM
Get a stainless steel coffee pot that you perk on the stove. You can take that camping with you too, it works fine over coals or a camp stove. Better tasting, hotter coffee too.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by hemocyanin on Tuesday February 03 2015, @09:35AM
I've had my stove top percolator since 1992 although I did have to invest $3 in replacing the bubble. It takes some practice to learn how to make great coffee in a percolator, but once you get it down, percolated coffee fresh of the stove is wonderful. In my personal ranking, I'd put it in a cluster with my other favorites: espresso (either as americano or latte) and Bialetti brewed coffee. Percolated coffee is thinner than either of these other two and seems so right around dawn. The others I like later in the day.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 02 2015, @07:21PM
the "DRM" consists of a symbol printed in fluorescent ink on the lid of the cartridge
Wow. Invisible ink is now DRM? The mind boggles how stupid one has to be to believe that would hold up. Sounds like MBAs.
(Score: 2) by M. Baranczak on Tuesday February 03 2015, @01:05AM
"Overpriced coffee"? That shit would be overpriced if they gave it away.
(Score: 2) by meisterister on Tuesday February 03 2015, @12:14AM
By the way, dot matrix printers are still around, and if you do not need color, they are still the cheapest cost per page print solution out there.
Don't forget old laser printers! I can get generic or re-manufactured toner cartridges for my LaserJet 5MP, and it was a good step up from my dot matrix printer (which I still have) in terms of print quality.
(May or may not have been) Posted from my K6-2, Athlon XP, or Pentium I/II/III.
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Tuesday February 03 2015, @09:46AM
Even new laser printers (B&W) are dirt cheap and toner is extremely cheap in the aftermarket. I just ordered three 8000 page toner carts for $20 each (I know I could have found a better deal if I looked harder but I didn't feel like it). That works out to a toner cost of one-fourth of one cent per page. I suppose that price is beatable, but the effort isn't really worth it. I probably average around 20c per day on toner. I might be able to get that down to 15c, and with 260 work days per year, that would still only save me a whopping $13/yr at the cost of wasting a bunch of time searching the net, signing up with yet another shopping cart that requires sign up, etc. etc. Not worth it.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 04 2015, @05:14AM
The per-page cost for dot matrix printers around .15 to .2 cents ($0.0015 - $0.002 USD). The Okidata ML490 / ML491 has a 400-million character printhead life. The quality is 360 x 360 dpi because it is 24-pin. Because of the increased pin count and head durability, it is a little more expensive than most of its kind. But you can get used, refurbished, or something else. Laser has higher quality and is less noisy, although I like the nostalgia of dot matrix since I print rarely and I never hear it anywhere else. Toner has its own ills that I prefer to avoid.