Life in Computer Hell

[Bunk McNulty]

I own--and use every day--an iMac desktop. "late 2015" and running OS 12.7 aka Monterey. I bought, a week ago, a printer from the fine folks at Epson. Thing is, the printer, it turns out, won't run on such an antique OS. Which led me to discovering that my machine is now so old it can't update to a sufficiently recent OS. Many, many hours of trying to connect wirelessly, then with USB. Conversations with someone at an Epson call center on the other side of the world ("I'm sorry, can you please say that again, slowly?") So now, the printer is going back to Epson, and I'm trying to live with the thought that Apple is gonna get another $1,300 out of me for a new machine. Would I purchase another Epson? Not after the tech service e-mail refused to accept my description of the product as insufficiently detailed. Being bullied by an e-mail app was the last straw...Why, I'm feeling better already! Off to UPS...

 

[TOOL460002]

I wrote off Epson many, many years ago. Never had a problem with HP. However, I think your problem is with Apple's policy of phasing out support for "old stuff" and not the printer. New Mac solves the problem unless you need another printer in 10yrs. Maybe. Who knows what will be supported! Ya... I bought my first/last Mac a year ago... I keep running into "this wouldn't be an issue on PC" problems. Best of luck whichever way you go.

 

[MJ5150]

You sir are not alone among your TalkBass family:
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/ne...ween-an-old-pc-and-an-even-older-mac.1379238/

-Mike

 

[Bunk McNulty]

You sir are not alone among your TalkBass family:
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/ne...ween-an-old-pc-and-an-even-older-mac.1379238/

-Mike

Thanks!

 

[MonetBass]

Look at Canon printers next time. Ours is a B&W laser printer and prints wirelessly. It's great.

 

[MJ5150]

More directly related to your situation, since Apple products have such a long life, you could likely find a used replacement that will last just as long while not costing as much.
As an observer of my wife in her Apple world, it is nice to see her various Apple devices outlive the supported life of the hardware. That's not as common as we might expect it to be across other brands.

-Mike

 

[Oddly]

I've given up on ever buying a home printer again. Total rip-off time. If I need something printed now I'll either go to my local library or use the one in my company office.

 

[T_Bone_TL]

I have some obsolete printers to go with my obsolete macs. On the other hand, I am developing a collection of Debian ex-Macs and ex-Windows machines to go on after the original software becomes useless, as it stops working with the rest of the world (beyond just printers.) And I've had (for people with enough flexibility-of-brain to try it) the delightful experience of handing back a machine that was useless and given to me for disposal as a fully-functional computer running different software a few days later.

My default printer of the moment is the circa 2000 HP LaserJet 4000. Very low cost per page, and no extortion-chip in the cartridge (you can print until the sheet is blank if you really want to - or get a streaky copy out when you need it NOW and a fresh cartridge isn't handy.)

You do need an ethernet JetDirect card to get those on a network.

I suppose I sould mention that I'm typing on a 2011 Mac Mini. I had a 2011 Macbook, too, but there, the actual hardware went kaput one day. Just rescued a 2012 but otherwise the same Macbook from the trash and it will make one more system version than these, which will let Chrome update again. Safari on these is increasingly flaky with many websites, Chrome has been an answer but is no longer updating, don't know if Firefox will eke out a bit more or if it's time to Debian-ize them rather than puttering along on system 10.13.6. Solid state disks do wonders for the perceived speed/usefulness of elder computers from the before SSD times.

 

[PolkaHero]

Still running my Asus desktop from 2015, running Windows 7. Yeah it's getting slow but the process of transferring files to a new one and making sure all of the peripheral devices work is too painful.

 

[Ostie]

I used to work in an office with several graphic designers who swore by Macs. I was a PC user who swore at them. I never had any love for the Macs. Then my wife got me this iPad and I’ve reached an uneasy truce with Apple. A few months ago i retired my old PC from ca 2010. I was amazed that it lasted that long. I replaced it with another PC. I hope it lasts as long as the old one.

 

[Nashrakh]

As a Linux user, 'computer hell' is my daily reality at the office.

 

[T_Bone_TL]

Still running my Asus desktop from 2015, running Windows 7. Yeah it's getting slow but the process of transferring files to a new one and making sure all of the peripheral devices work is too painful.

The one-time, not terribly painful, swap all the files onto SSD really makes a huge difference.

 

[PolkaHero]

The one-time, not terribly painful, swap all the files onto SSD really makes a huge difference.

It's not the file swap so much as making sure all of my software and hardware still works with the new OS.

 

[T_Bone_TL]

It's not the file swap so much as making sure all of my software and hardware still works with the new OS.

I'm suggesting you could (or could have somone else, if preferred) copy your current system and files to SSD then swap the SSD into your computer, without needing to change the OS.

 

[PolkaHero]

I'm suggesting you could (or could have somone else, if preferred) copy your current system and files to SSD then swap the SSD into your computer, without needing to change the OS.

That might be an option, I'll have to call my local computer shop Monday and find out if that's feasible.

 

[BassNugget]

I had the opposite issue. Have an old Brother Laser printer (2013) hooked up to a Mac running the latest OS. When Mac went to Monterey, it took about a week for Brother to issue a new driver to work with the OS.

BTW, not one issue with the Brother Laser printer since 2013. I print over the house wireless network. No issues with Sonoma.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

2015 is not that old of a computer. I have one running windows 7 w/o issues. Came out in 2009. As long as the workstation and printer is USB it will print. The issue is driver compatibility. Try an Epson universal driver. Not the OS universal printer driver. Even try an older version of printer driver. I do IT work, occasionally I have to use a PCL5 driver to resolve a printing issue.

 

[ImTheOnlyOne]

Good info about Apple's Core Audio code deprication.

 

[fdeck]

I had the opposite issue. Have an old Brother Laser printer (2013) hooked up to a Mac running the latest OS. When Mac went to Monterey, it took about a week for Brother to issue a new driver to work with the OS.

BTW, not one issue with the Brother Laser printer since 2013. I print over the house wireless network. No issues with Sonoma.

For a peripheral manufacturer, issuing a new driver instead of telling you to buy a new printer is exceptional to the point that Brother gets rave reviews in techie circles. They also provide reliable Linux support. My family's old Brother laser printer has lasted for ages.

 

[BassNugget]

For a peripheral manufacturer, issuing a new driver instead of telling you to buy a new printer is exceptional to the point that Brother gets rave reviews in techie circles. They also provide reliable Linux support. My family's old Brother laser printer has lasted for ages.

For sure. If this one dies, I'll buy another Brother printer for sure!