Review: HP Photosmart C5180 All-in-one printer
This is consumer-level printer which cost me £70.
It’s quite a nice machine, but the software that powers it is abominable. On a brand new Vista install, it regularly loses knowledge of the network and has to be reinstalled (a process which takes at least 15 minutes of whirring).
On a clean XP install, the software for one some unwanted Photo Gallery package regularly pops up an error message. The modules aren’t installed a separate programs, so I can’t just delete that module in Control Panel. So now I have to continually get the task manager to nuke the process that pops up this consumer-friendly error message:
System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance
of an object.
at HP.CUE.Video.PlaybackControl.UpdateProgressBar()
at HP.CUE.Video.PlaybackControl._ProgressTimer_Tick(Object sender,
EventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.Timer.OnTick(EventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.Timer.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg,
IntPtr idEvent, IntPtr dwTime)
For all I know, every HP printer uses this software. Buyer beware.
Life’s too short for crap software—particularly dull utility software like printer drivers.