HP and Yahoo teaming up to make your printer print ads

So, what’s more frustrating that ink that costs more than unicorn blood?

Being forced to print out ads with ink that costs more than unicorn blood! If you own a printer, you kind of know the aggrieved feeling that comes alongside having to print out anything, even important stuff like passport documents. But a post on Consumerist that comes via Computer World seems to suggest that ads printed on your precious, zillion-dollars-a-cartridge printer ink are just over the horizon- generally bundled with other content but still about as welcome as herpes.

According to the CW post, Hewlett-Packard thinks you won’t really mind scheduled ads printing out on your printer, ink and paper every day at around 7am or so- Stephen Nigro, senior vice president in HP’s Imaging and Printing Group says:

“What we discovered is that people were not bothered by it [an advertisement],” Nigro said. “Part of it I think our belief is you’re used to it. You’re used to seeing things with ads.”

It also seems that these ads will be based on stuff you look at on the internet, which sounds creepy and unwanted:

“Through IP (Internet Protocol) sniffing, you have an idea about where those printers are so naturally it allows you to kind of already target your offers,” Nigro said.

Of course, HP and Yahoo plan on keeping your privacy “in mind” when they force you to print out ads based on your browsing history, asserts Vyomesh Joshi, head of the HP’s Imaging and Printing Group.

“That’s where we need to be very clear business rules in terms of privacy,” Joshi said.

So, basically, if you buy one of HP’s new web connected printers, expect to wake up to a pile of printed ads for “asian ass porn” and no ink.