We all understand that manufacturers can't be expected to support their older printer and scanner models forever. But at what point should a customer still be able to have faith that drivers will be available for his or her device for newer OS releases? That was the question one reader was asking after running into a problem with drivers for some Canon scanners.
"I know this is almost certainly not a new story," the reader wrote. "HP has been accused for years of not providing updated drivers for old -- what they call old, that is, not what in general I would call old -- hardware for new operating systems. But now Canon appears to be doing the same thing. I'm in the process of rolling out new PCs at one of my clients and all of them have Windows Professional x64 installed. The client has two of Canon's LiDE line of scanners, one of which is a year old and one that is just a few months old. Of course, Canon does not have drivers for these scanners for the x64 version of Windows and the old 32-bit drivers won't install. When I contacted Canon support, this is the response I got:"
"Canon has currently developed Windows XP 64-bit drivers for the CanoScan 9950F, 8400F, and LiDE 500F scanner models. Canon has not announced plans to develop drivers for other models at this time. However, should drivers be developed, they will be posted directly to our Web site at www.canontechsupport.com when available. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."
The reader found this answer particularly unsatisfying. "So the party line is not even yes or no, but they don't know," the reader wrote. "We're just supposed to keep checking the website, and if not, go out and buy one of their new scanners that does have x64 drivers. Now, I'd like to state for the record, it' s not the money that bothers me, or my client. $125 for a new Canon scanner is nothing, since I remember paying over $2,000 at one time for an HP Scanjet IIcx, but it's the fact of having a perfectly good, working piece of hardware that's still technologically current but unusable on any machine with XP Pro x64. It's just such a waste."
Obviously, the world is hardly rushing en masse to Win x64, so it would be one thing if Canon had simply chosen not to support that OS with new drivers at all. But since Canon is offering x64 drivers for some LiDE scanners, while not on other recent models, it does seem like the reader and his client have a legitimate beef. And if Canon isn't going to support these models that customers may have purchased only a few months ago, couldn't it at least come out and say so?
What do you think? If a peripheral manufacturer wants to keep faith with its customers, at what point is it fair for it to stop offering updated drivers? Post your comments below or write me directly at Foster@gripe2ed.com.
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