The tax season jinx...

struck once again this year.  Last year it was my internet connection gone crazy - I had to disconnect my wireless network and connect directly to the router to be able to transmit tax returns.  Not a big deal - and I have come to appreciate the added security of a direct connection rather than a hackable wireless connection - but it was trying at the time, since I am not computer hardware savvy in the least.  This year: my all-in-one printer/scanner/fax.  I am not a big fan of those all-in-one contraptions, but this laser printer from Dell held up very well during nearly four years of continuous use, so I can't complain.  The fuser was going and the noise that emanated from the thing was horrific - and it would cost almost as much to replace the fuser as it would to buy a new printer, so I'm sure you can see where I am going with this.  And there's Aggie protecting Mom from the big, bad printer box.

Here's where I confess my lifelong love of HP printers - their durability, ease of use and long-lasting toner cartridges.  This is not a paid advertisement - if you've ever owned one, you know what I mean.  So, for a little more than the price of a new fuser for the dying Dell, I got a color laser printer/scanner/fax from Staples.  Ordered it one day; it was delivered the next.  The price was the same at all the big stores - but Staples had one in stock.  Al came to my rescue by taking time out of his busy day to come unpack it and set it up for me; Jonathan cheerfully hauled the old printer and the box away.  I love my friends!  We printed a test page and voila!  Beautiful quality - and no grinding noise!

An hour or so later, one of my clients sent me a fax - that worked.  Good to know.  And then I decided to scan the day's work.  Or tried.  And tried.  Again.  Apparently, you can't just hook an all-in-one machine up and be good to go.  Well, if you just want to print and fax, sure - but not if you plan to scan.  After a half dozen false starts, I finally consulted the installation instructions and found that it is recommended that one install the scanner software prior to connecting the unit via its USB cable.  Once I worked through that little obstacle, everything worked just fine.  The scanner is much faster, more efficient and way more user-friendly than the Dell ever was - so the little installation glitch has fast faded from my memory.  Mr. Hewlett and Mr. Packard have greatly simplified my daily work-scanning ritual - it doesn't take much to make me happy!