By far the best part of setting up the HP M1120 MFP is how easy it is to insert the cartridge. Holding the cartridge over the laser printer’s innards, it slipped from my grip, slid into the printer and literally snapped into place!

In fact, the longest part of the setup was installing the drivers (which work nicely on Windows 7 by the way). 5 minutes later, the Windows printer test page was out. Being a B/W laser printer, with less colors to process and worry about, does have it perks after all. At least the built-in scanner does color, which is all that matters in my eager-to-print-reports opinion.

At an average price of over $200, the HP M1120 MFP is one of the most affordable laser printers today. Locate a shop online.

Was browsing through “the egg” and found a well-assembled performance desktop package. HP’s Firebird enjoys a 2.66GHz quad-core processor (Intel’s Q9400), 2 250GB hard drives, and 4GB of RAM. A DVD burner and a 5-in-1 card reader give this setup more variety.

But by far the most mouth-watering feature of HP’s desktop is its two NVIDIA 9800S setup. That’s two relatively high-performance video cards, both featuring 512MB of memory each, working in tandem to provide lots of power to drive graphics. Like for say, those needy video games? All these functionally high-end specs are contained within a relatively small and stylish desktop tower, which comes with a wireless mouse and keyboard. Unfortunately, a display is not included, but that means you have freedom in that regard.

You can buy the HP Firebird 802(GM339AA) Core 2 Quad Q9400(2.66GHz) 4GB DDR2 from Newegg.com ($1300)

To make a long story short, the HP Mini 2140 is a bit expensive, but you get what you pay for. At least according to Liliputing:

Sure, the processor isn’t any faster than the CPUs in lower priced netbooks like the HP Mini 1000. And it’s not the thinnest and lightest mini-laptop available. But for a reasonable amount of extra cash you get a sturdier case, an accelerometer, a spill resistant keyboard with DuraKey finish, an ExpressCard slot, and a decent if not spectacular 3 cell battery. A 6 cell battery is also available, which reportedly runs for up to 8 hours with a standard hard drive, and up to 10 hours if you opt for the $575 80GB SSD.

Personally, I’m happy that HP didn’t make the same mistake they did with the Mini 1000: engineering a proprietary VGA-out port. That setup required a relatively expensive adapter to be remotely useful for presenters on-the-go, and limited the potential appeal of that netbook.

(Image courtesy of HP)

The excitement of Boing Boing Gadget’s Rob over the new HP Mini 2140 is understandable. Save for the really small trackpad, the Mini Note form factor is great because it wonderfully fits a decently-sized keyboard into a netbook. And a 10.1″ display with a native resolution of 1377 x 768? Even better! Or, is it? Read more

The HP w2228h is still a great 22″ HDMI-capable display (see HP w2228h: What’s Hot, What’s Not). But after a few months of use, I’ve realized that there are at least three more irritations with it:

Delayed Speaker Kick-in. Whenever the display detects something coming through its audio in or HDMI cable , you have to wait a second or so for the monitor to fade in the sound at full volume. This was probably done to protect the built-in speakers from damaging sudden noise, but it’s irritating to have to move back to the start of a song just to hear the first second or two. Read more

In what some would quickly label as propaganda for printer manufacturers and their business model, PC World recently tested several printers with OEM and aftermarket ink cartridges. Test showed that the former, which are more expensive than aftermarket variants, leave less ink in their tank before displaying low ink-level warnings. In the case of the Canon Pixma MP610, the difference was as much as 19 percent—24 for the OEM and nearly half for aftermarket variants.

Despite the (mostly) clear lead of OEM cartridges over their aftermarket counterparts, I wonder why most printer manufacturers don’t let their customers get every last drop from each cartridge. Put simply, why prevent owners from using up their ink? In the case of HP, the printer may flash low-level warnings, but will allow the user to continue printing, right until they start seeing the telltale signs of low ink.

In the end, PC World’s article is a boon for HP, highlighting the company’s “unique” setup: “The HP printer will continue to print until the cartridge is completely dry–but since the print heads are part of the cartridge in HP’s design, running out of ink does not damage other parts of the printer.”

(image from hp.com)

HP eagerly announced that it was licensing the fluid management technology used in its printers to Home Dialysis Plus, a company that aims to provide accurate and effective dialysis machines for home use:

HP uses it to create calculated mixtures of ink and water, which are then delivered through a printer to a piece of paper. Home Dialysis Plus will use it to mix tap water and concentrated dialysis solution at a level customized for patients that can be administered at home rather than at a treatment center.

Obviously, this will make life a lot easier for those who need to get a dialysis on a frequent basis. The process requires these unfortunates to basically orient their lives around the next session. But the Home Dialysis system hopes to make dialysis practical within the comfortable—and accessible—confines of home.

A thought: how soon will we see third-party dialysis solution cartridges? Kidding!

A 22-inch LCD display that features 2 USB ports and support for HDMI, DVI, and VGA. Read on to see what’s hot, and what’s not. Read more

Here’s a good deal from Deals2Buy.com: “HP Pavilion dv9700t, Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo T5750, 2.0GHz, 17″ WXGA+, 3GB RAM, 250GB, LightScribe SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer, 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS, 802.11 a/b/g/n, 8 Cell Battery, Windows Vista Home Premium for $699.99 at HPShopping.com”

Check it out here. The promo works for only the first 2700 buyers. Be warned though: anyone who owns a 17″ laptop will tell you that it’s more “powerhouse” than “portable”. All we know is that desktop replacement laptops really belong on the desk.

It’s not exactly the newest monitor on the market. But the HP w2207h, a 22″ LCD monitor with a native resolution of 1680 x 1050 pixels, has won its fair share of kudos. It’s not exactly the cheapest 22-incher out there (expect to pay an average of $340 for it), but this display features HDMI in, a USB hub, and even stereo speakers. So it works with HDMI-capable laptops, boosts your USB port capacity, and doesn’t require earphones for full enjoyment.

But perhaps the biggest attraction of this HP LCD is how it can swivel between landscape and portrait modes. Never has looking at upright pictures of women reading documents been so easy! Thanks to mindless for letting us experience his dream setup.