The link we were missing!

Yesterday we posted that we couldn't find any firm links between "compatible toner" cartridges and evil organizations, but today, I am proud to say, we have finally established such a link.  Unfortunately it does not indict all manufacturers of "compatible toner" but it does show that the idea was formed by a particularly malevolent individual with little regard for humanity.  His name was Eero Gustavsson, and his primary occupation at the time was a purveyor of knick knacks and souvenirs in his adopted home town of Tokyo, Japan.  His family had moved there from Sweden shortly after the end of World War II trying to help shape the future of the world.  Eero, however, decided that shaping the future of the world was a secondary concern to lining his pockets, and created scheme after scheme to make himself rich at the expense of his fellowmen.  He had made (and blown through) millions of Yen and had lived quite comfortably, but after being caught in his last scheme, which, although technically not illegal was quite underhanded, he was banished from his favorite places to find business "partners."  He had also been asked to repay much of what he had taken in his last scheme, and so he had to start small again in unfamiliar territory.  Anyway, it occurred to him that toner cartridges were an ideal way to make money without having to make good on his promises while also looking like a respectable manufacturer.  He pitched his idea (sanitized to sound like a real business proposal) and got funding, but early communications with his employees show what he really had in mind.  Here is an excerpt from his training materials, translated into English:

"Everyone needs (or will soon need) a replacement toner cartridge.  Each manufacturer uses different specifications for their cartridges so that there can't be a high quality universal generic cartridge, and so people are stuck buying toner from the firm that sold them the printer.  This means the printer manufacturers can charge what they want for the toner.  All we have to do to gain the market is the following: (1) mimic the form of the cartridges, (2) fill them with toner, (3) price them at about 80% the cost of the official cartridges, and (4) make sure we sell them as 'compatible' and 'not authorized by the manufacturer'.  That way, when they don't work well people will simply curse themselves for buying the knock-off.  As toner purchases are generally infrequent, we only have to get each customer once in order to make a good deal of money." 

While Eero did not stick to his scheme long enough to become filthy rich, others with more skill at creating knock-off products picked up the baton and kept his idea alive. While we cannot establish any ties from "compatible toner" to organizations bent on the destruction of society we can unequivocally state that they are, if not Evil, at the very least evil.