Monday, December 01, 2003
Computer Repair #1
I thought it might be interesting to document the time I spend in the month of December keeping the computers running at the Brain household. I'm curious how many problems arise and how much time it takes to resolve them. I'll just drop a blurb about each repair into this blog as it arises. [I eventually ended up logging 21 errors in December -- for a complete list, click here.]
The first problem comes from my mother. This one technically started during the Thanksgiving weekend and now is spilling over into December. Her main problem: she had a hard disk crash recently and had to replace the disk/reload the operating system, applications, etc. (Right there you are talking about a 2-day process... She had a person from church who was nice enough to assist her). Her lingering problem: Her printer still doesn't work. The conversation:
Mom: "My printer doesn't work"
Me: "You need to reload the driver."
Here, in this little two-sentence conversation, you realize just how wide the gulf is between "computers" and "most of their users". My mother does not know what a driver is, nor (in the history of the computer world) why drivers evolved and why they are needed, nor where to find one, nor how to download it. She just wants the printer to work, and she's not being unreasonable to expect that it will work automatically when she plugs the printer into her computer.
We walk through the process of going to the Epson site, selecting the country, finding the download/support area, finding printers in the support area, finding her printer, finding the driver she needs, declining Epson's offer to spam her (there's a whole screen for accepting or declining Epson's spam), reading and agreeing to the End User Software License Agreement...
Let's pause on this step for a moment. The screen for the End User Software License Agreement says, "Notice to User: This is a legal agreement between you (an individual or single entity, referred to hereinafter as "you") and Epson America, Inc. ("Epson") for computer software product, fontware, typefaces and/or data, including any accompanying explanatory written materials (the "Software"). BEFORE INSTALLING, COPYING OR OTHERWISE USING THE SOFTWARE, YOU MUST AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT. If you agree, click on the Accept button below. If you do not agree with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, click on the Decline button and you will not be able to download the Software." Then the agreement looks like this:
- Epson grants you a personal, nonexclusive, limited license to install and use the Software.
You may also make copies of the Software as necessary for backup and archival purposes. The term Software shall include the software components, media, all copies made by you and any upgrades, modified versions, updates, additions and copies of the Software licensed to you by Epson or its suppliers. Epson and its suppliers reserve all rights not granted.
Other Rights and Limitations.
The Software is licensed as a single unit, and its component programs may not be separated. You agree not to modify, adapt or translate the Software. You further agree not to attempt to reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble or otherwise attempt to discover the source code of the Software. You may not rent, lease, distribute, sublicense or lend the Software to third parties. You may, however, transfer all your rights to use the Software to another person or legal entity provided that you transfer this Agreement, the Software, including all copies, updates and prior versions, to such person or entity, and that you retain no copies, including copies stored on a computer. Further, you agree not to place the Software onto a server so it is accessible via a public network such as the Internet.
Ownership.
Title, ownership rights, and intellectual property rights in and to the Software shall remain with Epson or its suppliers. The Software is protected by United States Copyright Law and international copyright treaties, as well as other intellectual property laws and treaties. There is no transfer to you of any title to or ownership of the Software and this License shall not be construed as a sale of any rights in the Software. You agree not to remove or alter any copyright, trademark, registered mark or other proprietary notices on any copies of the Software. Epson and its suppliers reserve all rights not granted.
Warranty Disclaimers.
You acknowledge and agree that the use of the Software is at your own risk. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. EPSON AND ITS SUPPLIERS DO NOT AND CANNOT WARRANT THE PERFORMANCE OR RESULTS YOU MAY OBTAIN BY USING THE SOFTWARE. EPSON AND ITS SUPPLIERS MAKE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO NON INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Because some states and jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of implied warranties in certain circumstances, the above limitations may not apply to you.
Limitation of Liability.
IN NO EVENT WILL EPSON OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE TO YOU, WHETHER ARISING UNDER CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OR WARRANTY, MISREPRESENTATION OR OTHERWISE, FOR ANY DIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY LOST PROFITS OR LOST SAVINGS, EVEN IF EPSON, ITS SUPPLIERS OR ANY REPRESENTATIVE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY ANY THIRD PARTY. In no event shall Epson' liability for any damages, regardless of the nature of the claim, exceed the amount paid by you for the Software or ten dollars ($10.00) whichever is greater. Because some states and jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability in certain circumstances, the above limitation may not apply to you.
Termination.
Without prejudice to any other rights Epson has, this Agreement shall automatically terminate upon failure by you to comply with its terms. You may also terminate this Agreement at any time by destroying the Software and all copies.
U.S. Government Restricted Rights.
The Software is provided with RESTRICTED RIGHTS. Use, duplication, or disclosure by the Government is subject to restrictions set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of The Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at DFARS 252.227-7013 or subparagraphs(c)(1) and (2) of the Commercial Computer Software - Restricted Rights 48 CFR 52.227-19, as applicable, and any amendments thereto.
Export Restriction.
You agree that the Software will not be shipped, transferred or exported into any country or used in any manner prohibited by the United States Export Administration Act or any other export laws, restrictions or regulations.
Governing Law and General Provisions.
This Agreement shall be governed and construed under the laws of the State of California, U.S.A., without regard to its conflicts of law rules. This Agreement will not be governed by the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, the application of which is expressly excluded. This Agreement is the entire agreement between the parties related to the Software supersedes any purchase order, communication, advertisement, or representation concerning the Software. This Agreement shall be binding upon, and inure to the benefit of, the parties hereto and their respective successors, assigns and legal representatives. If any provision herein is found void or unenforceable, it will not affect the validity of the balance of the Agreement, which shall remain valid and enforceable according to its terms. This Agreement may only be modified in writing signed by an authorized officer of Epson.
(c)(1) and (2) of the Commercial Computer Software - Restricted Rights 48 CFR 52.227-19, as applicable, and any amendments thereto.
Export Restriction.
You agree that the Software will not be shipped, transferred or exported into any country or used in any manner prohibited by the United States Export Administration Act or any other export laws, restrictions or regulations.
Governing Law and General Provisions.
This Agreement shall be governed and construed under the laws of the State of California, U.S.A., without regard to its conflicts of law rules. This Agreement will not be governed by the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, the application of which is expressly excluded. This Agreement is the entire agreement between the parties related to the Software supersedes any purchase order, communication, advertisement, or representation concerning the Software. This Agreement shall be binding upon, and inure to the benefit of, the parties hereto and their respective successors, assigns and legal representatives. If any provision herein is found void or unenforceable, it will not affect the validity of the balance of the Agreement, which shall remain valid and enforceable according to its terms. This Agreement may only be modified in writing signed by an authorized officer of Epson.
Having accepted all of that (what choice do you have? All printer drivers from every printer manufacturer have these agreements), it is now possible to go on with the process of downloading the driver, installing it, praying that it works... And really she needs to download three drivers. When you look at the download page, there is Printer Driver v4.5CE (the actual driver), Epson Stylus Driver USB Updater (fixes a bug in the USB version of the driver) and then the Status Monitor v2.5bE ("After installing this EPSON printer driver, it is highly recommended that you download and install the EPSON Status Monitor 2 v2.0DE to allow monitoring of the ink usage and printer status.").
We download the first driver, unzip it, let it load temporary files, let it install, let the hardware wizard try to recognize the printer... And it doesn't work. We try various things in the control panel. We uninstall the driver and start over from scratch. Nothing works. And it's hard, because she's looking at a screen that she doesn't understand and I am 400 miles away trying to imagine what is happening over the phone. We work on it for 45 minutes and then give up. We'll try again tomorrow, hopefully with my sister on the scene, since she knows more about computers.
And I suppose I should be thankful that Epson even has the drivers on it's site, and does not charge for them. Charging for drivers seems to be becoming more common. Even so, this is way too hard for such a simple thing... especially since (in any normal user's eyes) it should all happen automatically when you plug in the printer.
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