HP Deskjet 6988 Inkjet Printer

Good printer, HP software/drivers are still bad

By Wallace  Sep 23, 2007 | 8 out of 9 found this HP Deskjet 6988 review helpful

Pros: 802.11b/g support, print quality, cost

Cons: HP setup process remains buggy

I've been working with computers for many years professional and it amazes me that companies such as HP can deliver a good product, but if presented to a clueless consumer user it can turn into a nightmare. The printer passed my tests for speed/quality as I don't expect much from a printer. Those doing higher quality work and/or photos will weigh in on that level of quality.

Here is HP's problem....the driver CD and set up process must have been tested on a pristine system and very specific equipment. Given the home user will have a variety of software/hardware installed there are going to be some unexpecteds that the installation CD can not handle gracefully. For example, if your access point doesn't have the smart configuration feature, the end user is relegated to diving into network configuration that is likely to confound them. HP, you can do better!

Again, the printer is ok, but I dread the calls from my family when they buy one and the installation CD hangs or does not configure properly. There goes another family dinner in a back room fixing computers.