Derek, at 08:10 on Apr 30 1996, you wrote to Bill Grimsley...

BG> I am in urgent need of a Service Manual for my Canon BJ-300 bubblejet
BG> printer, but neither Canon nor any of their service agents will deign
BG> to sell me one, and whilst I consider their attitude to be rather
BG> unethical, the TPC assures me that they are not actually contravening
BG> the law relating to restrictive trade practices.

DW> I fully support their stand. 

Feathering your own nest, more likely.

DW> If the service manuals got into general distribution, there would be all 
DW> sorts of people doing repairs on their products.  They want to keep the 
DW> quality of repairs up to standard.  

Crap.  Now try explaining why, as I've been a qualified and experienced
technician for almost 30 years, Canon are the ONLY company who have ever
refused to provide me with service information in all that time.  It has
nothing whatsoever to do with maintaining standards in my case, and even
the TPC agree that their attitude is restrictive of trade.

BG> In the mean time, I would strongly urge anybody considering buying ANY
BG> Canon product to bear the above in mind before parting with their
BG> money.

DW> I have found them to be a great company.

Oh really?  Ever tried getting Canon to supply drivers for their products? 
Canon are quite happy to flood the market with their second-rate bubblejet
printers, yet expect others to go to all the trouble of providing drivers
for them.  Their products suck, and their attitude is even worse.

Regards, Bill

--- Msgedsq/2 3.20