Years ago, I spent one angry evening attempting to set up a wireless HP printer on our network. There were epithets, there were tears, there was the temptation to cut open a screen and throw the cursed machine out the window into traffic. Eventually, I was successful, but at what cost.

Five years ago, we moved to our house and I haven’t had the stomach to attempt this feat on our new network. At first, I claimed that it was only because I was waiting for an internet service provider to expand into our neighborhood and necessitate a new network, but when that came and went, I was forced to admit I simply feared the misery. For these years, it was easier to keep the machine on a high shelf, where on the rare occasion I really needed to print I could take it down, find paper, and USB it to my laptop sitting on the floor.

Finally, today, feeling well-rested and as emotionally calm as possible in Our Year 2020, I decided to take on this task. With a fearful heart, I pulled the machine from its place and the instructions from the web.

It took 2 minutes and it’s happily humming along.