Embarrassing Moments

Several years ago, when I was working for a fairly prominent computer magazine, my printer stopped working. I checked the ink cartridges, opened and closed the top several times, turned it on and off, turned my computer on and off, and even reinstalled the driver. Nada.

So I finally called up technical support and told them that my printer, which I really didn't want to replace, had stopped working, and before I ran out to buy another, was there anything that they could do? The technician, who had obviously dealt with frantic customers before, asked me a simple question.

"Have you checked your connections?"

Well, I huffed, and I bristled. I wasn't an idiot. I would know if my connection was loose. I would, of course, have checked....

Oops.

Of course, it was the connection. And I learned that even somebody who presumably knows all about printers can make a very simple mistake.

The moral of the story? Printers are complicated machines, but sometimes they can suffer from very basic problems. Be patient with your printer -- and with yourself -- and hopefully the problem will go away.

(And if not -- well, there's this neat new photo printer I heard of...)