Interesting. I prefer HP printers to all others, but I got a Canon with my last PC (it was cheaper to go with the package than to just buy the PC, monitor and an HP printer).
The Canon is a good all-in-one scanner/copier/printer (ink-jet) - quiet, fast, good quality "photos" (the pictures really drink ink, tho, LOL).
Anyway, getting update drivers is no problem, no spam, etc. (I send spam to the Junk Email Folder in Outlook). Haven't seen anything from Canon except for notifications to holiday-themed DL's that my wife likes to look at and sometimes actually DL and use.
I'd still rather have an HP printer with the multiple print cartidges for photos . . .