If I was a moth, that gear could've killed me; AKA = packrat-ism triumphs

Yesterday my [12 yrs old] printer gave up the ghost. It did not explode - but on the 2nd page of printing a few Dragonstorm character sheets - there came a loud grindy noise and a gear shot out of the printer! [okay, it was actually a small wheel that advanced the paper feed, but 'gear' gets the point across] result = dead printer.
So - before Trey & I went out to a nice Valentine's Day dinner [observed on Sunday], we went to Frys. I knew I wanted a new HP printer [cheaper ink cartridge prices, for one, & product reliability]. I found a model I liked, the 3845 & made sure that it was brand, spanking new. I also got 2 extra ink cartridges for it, threw it in the trunk and dragged it upstairs when we got home.
Today I installed the new printer - and while doing so I found that the USB cable one connects the printer to the computer with was not present in the box. Grrrrrr. That is -not- an optional part, IMHO. However, gazing at the cable pictured in the instruction booklet, I thought I recognized the connector. Digging through a few drawers, I found that I did, in fact, have a USB printer cable. Tried it all out, the installation process worked and now I have a functional printer once again.
But I still am annoyed that the HP folks left that cable out of their product's box.