5 ms·

Hold on... so we're going back to printing things out again, things that are easily accessible on our phones or computers? Really? I don't quite understand why

by highace 14y ago

Hold on... so we're going back to printing things out again, things that are easily accessible on our phones or computers? Really? I don't quite understand why anyone would want this apart from the gimmick factor.

pivo 14y ago
I occasionally need to print things, for example a train ticket last weekend that needed to be scanned and wouldn't scan on my phone. This might be good for me if it were less expensive.
- threedaymonk 14y ago
  I'm not sure it would help, as most print-at-home train tickets are designed for A4: the bar codes wouldn't even be readable if scaled down to receipt paper size. If space isn't a concern, laser printers are now very cheap. Unlike inkjets, they don't dry out, and if you're only an occasional user you may never need to refill the toner. Mine cost about a fifth of the price of a Little Printer.
mootothemax 14y ago
I don't quite understand why anyone would want this apart from the gimmick factor I can buy tickets for the local tram/busses/trains on my phone. It's a great service that works close to flawlessly. If I could print off tickets at home though, and thus not rely on a network connection (to buy the tickets) and battery life, I'd do so in a heartbeat. I think there are plenty of uses for small things like this. Personally, it's too expensive for me to use for small fun things like this, but I imagine other people will have more useful ideas that'll make it worth the money.
- unwind 14y ago
  But that kind of usage, which sounds pretty much exactly how you'd use a desktop printer, is not at all what they seem to be selling. Their idea is that you should use their cloudy goodness to define a bunch of subscriptions to pre-curated "publications", which is what get printed on a schedule. So you could probably get your daily Wired synopsis in the morning, on paper. Or something.
  - mootothemax 14y ago
    But that kind of usage, which sounds pretty much exactly how you'd use a desktop printer, is not at all what they seem to be selling. Their idea is that you should use their cloudy goodness to define a bunch of subscriptions to pre-curated "publications" Yeah, it was more the small form factor that was working for me, rather than the publications aspect. Basically, I guess that I'm 100% not their target market :)
osener 14y ago
I don't have a smartphone and I'd love the ability to print the ingredients for a recipe in seconds before I go shopping (unfortunately this products seems to be well over my price range).
- nasmorn 14y ago
  If it was in your price range you would already have a smart phone.
njharman 14y ago
Yeah, I don't get it either (actually I get what it is, hipster/"art"/electronic kitsch, just don't get why) Reminds me of grandparents who printed out emails back in the 90's. But even they don't do that anymore.

by highace 14y ago

pivo 14y ago

I occasionally need to print things, for example a train ticket last weekend that needed to be scanned and wouldn't scan on my phone. This might be good for me if it were less expensive.

threedaymonk 14y ago
I'm not sure it would help, as most print-at-home train tickets are designed for A4: the bar codes wouldn't even be readable if scaled down to receipt paper size. If space isn't a concern, laser printers are now very cheap. Unlike inkjets, they don't dry out, and if you're only an occasional user you may never need to refill the toner. Mine cost about a fifth of the price of a Little Printer.

mootothemax 14y ago

I don't quite understand why anyone would want this apart from the gimmick factor I can buy tickets for the local tram/busses/trains on my phone. It's a great service that works close to flawlessly. If I could print off tickets at home though, and thus not rely on a network connection (to buy the tickets) and battery life, I'd do so in a heartbeat. I think there are plenty of uses for small things like this. Personally, it's too expensive for me to use for small fun things like this, but I imagine other people will have more useful ideas that'll make it worth the money.

unwind 14y ago
But that kind of usage, which sounds pretty much exactly how you'd use a desktop printer, is not at all what they seem to be selling. Their idea is that you should use their cloudy goodness to define a bunch of subscriptions to pre-curated "publications", which is what get printed on a schedule. So you could probably get your daily Wired synopsis in the morning, on paper. Or something.
- mootothemax 14y ago
  But that kind of usage, which sounds pretty much exactly how you'd use a desktop printer, is not at all what they seem to be selling. Their idea is that you should use their cloudy goodness to define a bunch of subscriptions to pre-curated "publications" Yeah, it was more the small form factor that was working for me, rather than the publications aspect. Basically, I guess that I'm 100% not their target market :)

osener 14y ago

I don't have a smartphone and I'd love the ability to print the ingredients for a recipe in seconds before I go shopping (unfortunately this products seems to be well over my price range).

nasmorn 14y ago
If it was in your price range you would already have a smart phone.

njharman 14y ago

Yeah, I don't get it either (actually I get what it is, hipster/"art"/electronic kitsch, just don't get why) Reminds me of grandparents who printed out emails back in the 90's. But even they don't do that anymore.