Michel, it's hard to find much of anything about "reviews" in your post.
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No? I just meant to mention that there are quite many people biased (or paid?) by some huge companies just for giving good reviews. I am far from being the only person to think about it. I can even give you reports of consumer associations in some countries that agree with me.
As for the rest it seems that you are happy with your Epson but still angry at HP. You go on to claim things about a printer you don't have upon which you are quick to throw stones at engineering problems which you are assuming are a continued conspiracy that is somehow a carry over problem from the Photosmart you had 4 years ago.
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Come on! Are you blind or completely affiliated to HP? Why are you so pro-HP? Personally, I am not affiliated with any brand. I don't mind with the brand. I just want a tool that do the job as expected with the requirements/specifications provided by the manufacturer. If there is a failure with their specs, then the problem is theirs, _not_ mine. I don't identify myself with my printers, nor do I with my car (too many people does).
Please read this thread in the forum "z3100 current status of roller marks?, any updates or real fixes re?". HP was really reluctant admitting there _is_ a problem. And now, they provide a new mechanical design. I don't need to own this printer to understand the problem. And I really thank a lot the people that has reported this problem in the forum. For me, that's what I am expecting from reviews.
Also, are you an engineer? I am, and I am confident with my technical knowledge. I have more than 24 years of experience. You say "conspiracy"? Are you paranoid? When I mentioned the problem with HP, it is _not_ a "conspiracy" but simply an issue related to money, "$$$". I just mentioned facts. I did not invent anything. Dot.
Producing a new product costs some amount of money. A failure, especially with technical issues, is hard to admit for big companies because there are so many money involved (research, quality test, production, etc). When Mercedes had to call back many of its A100 (If I am right about the model) in the past, this was merely because of the pressure of their customers and several public tests performed by some consumer magazines. I think that your vision of the world is quite naive in the sense that you think that big companies are leaded by philanthropical mindset. Come on! If you think that HP or Epson are producing printers just for bringing you some "pleasures", I think that you are really subdued by marketing campaigns.
Michel, it's hard to find much of anything about "reviews" in your post.
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I don't agree with your statement. The thread concerns the "state of reviews" in general. jpgentry wrote: "I just wish the reviews had more factual, usable info these days. I'll leave it at that...". I entirely agree with him/her. What I mentioned concerning HP is just fact. Pure fact. What people reported concerning HP in the aforementioned thread is also facts. It's a fact that the new problem with Z3100 is similar to the problem I encountered with some HP printers in the past. There is _nothing_ subjective. If it's hard to admit for you, then you are entirely subdued by HP marketing ideas and you identify yourself to this company. If you work for HP or are affiliated with, you ought to write it down and admit you are biased. Otherwize, you entirely agree with what I said when I wrote that many reviews now are spoiled by reviewers being highly biased (for whatever reasons of their own) and hiding it (=not admitting it).
_michel moreaux
Switzerland.