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November 19, 2010 - 5:15 P.M.
Windows 7's trail of e-trash
- TAGS:device driver, Hewlett Packard, HP, HP LaserJet, HP Universal Printer Driver, HP UPD, Insider Content, LaserJet 1012, LaserJet 1018, LaserJet 1200, peripheral, universal printer driver, Windows 7, Xerox Mobile Express
- IT TOPICS:Desktop Apps, Enterprise Apps, Hardware, Macs & PCs, Operating Systems, Windows
How much perfectly good peripheral equipment will be relegated to the e-waste heap this year simply because it's not compatible with Microsoft Windows 7?
The PC industry will ship 366 million PCs by the end of 2010, according to Gartner. Most of those will run Windows 7. For many of those users, older peripheral devices won't work - and vendors don't like to spend money updating device drivers on models they're no longer selling.
Printers are a prime example of this unnecessary three-year cycle of forced obsolescence. Next to televisions they're the biggest boat anchors in the e-waste scrap pile.
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