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HP settles inkjet dispute with LexJet

Hewlett-Packard on Thursday announced it has dropped a patent infringement charge against LexJet Corporation over the type of ink used in remanufactured HP print cartridges.

In exchange, LexJet has agreed to alter the recipe used to make its ink as well as pay HP an undisclosed sum.

HP originally filed suit against Florida-based LexJet on May 22.

LexJet is one of many companies that take used HP ink cartridges and resell them with their own ink inside. It's a sensitive topic for HP, one of the world's largest producer of printers and ink cartridges, which has sued several … Read more

New Kodak wireless printers fix old mistakes

After our mediocre experience with Kodak's last offerings, the ESP 3 and ESP 5, we're happy to see Kodak fixing some of its old mistakes.

On Monday, the company announced two new products in the ESP line of desktop All-in-One printers. The ESP 7 and ESP 9 both feature secure Wi-Fi print servers for wireless connectivity and Kodak's newest intelligent paper tray system. The printers can approximate the amount of paper in the tray and automatically adjust print settings to increase productivity in the office or home. Both printers are available now and will be tested and … Read more

E-books: The flexible future

Interesting news from the DemoFall conference held this week in San Diego:

Plastic Logic--a company founded to commercialize electronics built on flexible plastic substrates--demonstrated a prototype e-book reader (not yet named) and announced that it plans to ship this product in the first half of next year. You can read the press release for yourself.

This particular gizmo is very attractive. It uses a large, flexible electronic paper display based on technology from E Ink (the same company that makes the displays for Amazon.com's Kindle and Sony's Reader), but the device overall is remarkably thin and light.

And the whole thing is somewhat flexible, so it won't break if it gets slightly bent in a backpack or briefcase. Flexible doesn't mean invulnerable, but it's a lot better than the brittle glass displays of existing e-book readers.

Check out this video from DEMOfall, in which Plastic Logic CEO Richard Archuleta demonstrates the prototype. I see some minor problems in the prototype's display--some dead lines and odd drawing glitches--but nothing that should interfere with the scheduled launch.

More importantly, even as a prototype, the display's contrast ratio seems to be better than that of the Kindle or Reader, mostly by virtue of the white being whiter--I'd have to make a direct comparison to be sure, though. I also see all of the critical features I want in an e-book reader: good display resolution… Read more

The 404 181: Where Natali is not selling her hair on eBay...yet.

On today's show, we reveal our favorite fragrances, briefly touch on the new Apple offerings, disappear into e-Ink, rip into the Geek Squad and Microsoft's new "gurus," send text messages to inanimate household objects, and try to convince Wilson to take a shower in public in the name of animal rights.

Don't bust out that checkbook yet, my friends, contrary to popular belief, Natali Del Conte's hair is not on eBay...yet. We'll be the first ones to break that news, but until then you'll just have to listen to our show to get your NDC fix. Lots of news to talk about today, which we get to right after we guess each other's favorite eau de liquid smells. No surprise here, but Jeff's is the sweet scent of Natali's hair that he creepily compares to a cherry lollipop. Anyway, we also get the scoop on a few more tech-related gems, including a story about energy companies testing a program that will send you a text message on behalf of your thermostat if you forget to turn it off when you leave the house. Hey, I'm all for energy conversation, but are ya kidding me!? So now, on top of ignoring text messages from my close friends and family members, I have to deal with spam from my household appliances, too!? I guess I can see it being useful when I forget to turn off the oven, but I'd prefer to get the news by driving up to a burning apartment rather than getting a text from my oven that says "Hey, dummy--you forgot to turn me off, so now I'm spitting hot fire at all your physical possessions. See you at home!" No thanks, gas company, you can keep the service--I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Episode 181 Download today's podcast … Read more

Marketing ploy of the year: 'Esquire's' digital E-Ink cover

In case you hadn't heard already, this morning Esquire officially unveiled the first "digital" E-Ink cover in paper magazine history at an event in a Borders store in Manhattan. The special cover, which helps promote/commemorate Esquire's 75th anniversary edition, is only incorporated into 100,000 copies, all of which are available only at newsstands for $5.99 a pop--that's $2 more than the usual price. Sorry, subscribers, you get a ho-hum nondigital version.

The whole venture is sponsored by Ford and its campaign for its new "crossover" vehicle, the Flex. The cover … Read more

Canon rolls out 6 printers for every occasion

Tuesday, Canon announced six new printers that are sure to appeal to a variety of users including small- to mid-size business professionals, photography enthusiasts, students, and creative hobbyists. This new release includes four new Pixma printers and two new Selphy compact photo printers. Let's take a closer look at the offerings:

Pixma iP3600 $80 9600x2400 color dpi resolution Dual paper trays for plain and photo paper Five color individual ink cartridge bay Bundled with one ChromaLife100+ ink set and Easy-PhotoPrint EX software Pixma iP4600 $100 9600x2400 color dpi resolution Reported print speeds of up to 26 pages per minute for black, and up to 21 ppm for color Auto-duplexer with two separate paper trays Easy-PhotoPrint EX software includes Auto-Photo Fix for easy edits… Read more

Get creative with Epson's new design-savvy printers

Last week we showed you Epson's newest line of WorkForce printers, and this week Epson is back with another announcement: an "Artisan" series developed with the creative designer in mind. Unlike the WorkForce Series, the Artisan 700 and 800 are perfect for both household consumers and entrepreneurs that want a do-it-all printer that can perform multiple functions.

The Artisan 800 ($300) is the flagship model of the series with a comprehensive list of functions that include Wi-Fi, fax machine, copier with an Automatic Document Feeder, PictBridge support, and a dual paper tray to separate plain and photo-specific … Read more

Canon's latest Pixma printers do triple duty

Canon introduced two new Pixma printers on Monday, August 11, the Pixma MP480 and Pixma MP190. Both of them are all-in-one printers, meaning they also do triple duty as scanners and copiers. These new models are supposedly ideal for both work and home, and include several new features that make the printing, scanning, and copying processes much easier for the end user. In addition, they also take on a slightly updated look from previous Pixma printers, with a sleek, but versatile, style incorporating flip-top LCD screens and a matte silver and black palette.

The $70 Pixma MP190 is a low-level … Read more

Featured Freeware: GreenPrint World

GreenPrint World is a free Windows utility that helps eliminate wasted pages while printing. Installation takes some time since it requires Visual C++ 2005, which is included if necessary. GreenPrint will also put four new programs into your Windows start-up menu, add a browser helper object for Internet Explorer, and add three printers (GreenPrint PDF, GreenPrint MailPDF, and GreenPrint). During installation, GreenPrint will ask you to select a default printer, but the printer can be easily changed later from the GreenPrint interface.

After installation, you can print from any application to GreenPrint, which will automatically remove pages from your printout … Read more