Use VMware Virtualization Software to run your legacy applications

Are you running Windows Vista or Windows 7? Maybe you're run into the problem where you can't run your legacy applications. Or, maybe your old peripheral (e.g., printer, scanner, etc.) isn't working. Fortunately, VMware allows you to run a virtual Windows XP machine on your computer that's running Vista or 7. This way, you can still run those legacy applications and peripherals. That's what I'm doing. I have an old HP LaserJet printer that doesn't work on Windows 7. It's a good printer, so I don't want to throw it away. I'm now printing to that printer using a virtual Windows XP machine.

VMware gives you much more flexibility over the "Windows XP mode" feature that is built into Windows 7.

Printers and ink cartridges

I've owned many different computer printers over the years. We still have an old laser black-and-white printer made by HP that we got before my wife and I were married. We used that to print some of our pre-wedding materials. I can't believe it's still working. We also have a nice color ink printer made by Epson that we use to print photos. You can get a really decent scanner/printer/fax for less than $150 these days. Several years ago, the same type of machine would have cost over $300. Scanners have come down in price and these types of "all-in-one" devices have gotten very popular.

Companies that make printers often sell printers at a very low price because they make their profits on the ink cartridge. Do you know how much an average ink cartridge roughly costs? There was a time when I used to use refill kits. Instead of buying a replacement ink cartridge, I got ink and simply refilled my old cartridges.

So what type of printer do you use? At work, I even have an old Xerox printer that uses solid ink. Essentially, it melts "wax" and sticks it to the paper. The results is a nice color printout that won't smear if it gets wet. It's cheaper to maintain than a color laser printer, but I'm disappointed that we have not seen other companies replicate the Xerox technology of solid ink color printers.