Editorial: Why the HP Brand Sucks

I once thought HP was a respectable brand. It once was. Clearly HP dominates the printer market, and they seem to be in bed with Monster and the Beats by Dr. Dre. If you asked me six months ago what the best brand was in terms of affordable Windows machines and/or printers, I would have said HP hands down.

Not the same case today.

A few months ago, I purchased an HP laptop for $549 and a HP OfficeJet Pro 8500 for $299. I bought them at the same time, and was happy with my decision at the store. Took them both home, set them up with no problems, and everything just worked. Sounds peachy, right?

Three months later, the screen on my HP laptop displays 3 lines of dead pixels. Then the 10-key stops working. Then the audio goes. This all happened in the span of a week.

I Called HP. They repaired it at no cost, but I was still not happy. No computer should have that many problems for no reason. It was treated very well, was never dropped.

A month later, the OfficeJet Pro starts paper jamming for no reason. I know paper jams happen but it would jam EVERY TIME I would go to print something.

The paper jamming stopped one day, when it would no longer catch paper.

That same day, my HP PhotoSmart printer on the first floor stopped working completely. Would not even turn on.

Needless to say, I no longer use HP. I got all HP products fixed under warranty, and then sold them on Craigslist as-is. I never got a replacement for the big OfficeJet printer, as I saw it was not needed. I did replace the PhotoSmart with an Epson printer. And it works just fine.

HP. Hope and Pray it works.

Why I sold my iPad

Like many of you out there, I bought the iPad on April 3rd. I was so excited to have the new device that the public had hyped up months before. I installed some apps, and thought they were rather fun. I even bought some of the expensive ones.

But as the month went on, I used it less. It got to the point where it would just sit there all day and collect dust. I really had no use for it. I think I bought it from all the hype the public gave it. You could honestly say, I was bored.

I don't think I would have been so bored if the apps weren't an arm and a leg. All the good iPad apps start at $9.99. I'm not going to throw that kind of money for an hour of fun, if that.

I found myself using my iPhone more than the iPad. The iPhone is small, light, and doesn't feel like it is going to break. The iPad was heavy, large, and felt delicate. The iPad is a beautiful device and has potential. I would have gone with OS X instead of iPhone OS, but Apple knows what they are doing.

I put my iPad on Craigslist and traded it for a brand new HP laptop two hours later. And I must say, I am enjoying this new computer over the iPad already.

I guess the iPad was just not for me.