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That's great. Next, focus on making products that can be repaired and upgraded by end-users for an extended period of time. Electronics manufacturing is resour
by beloch 9y ago
That's great. Next, focus on making products that can be repaired and upgraded by end-users for an extended period of time. Electronics manufacturing is resource intensive (beyond just energy) and a significant source of pollution (beyond CO_2 emissions). Recycling electronics is also resource intensive and does produce waste. If Apple tried to extend the average useful life of its products by just a couple years it would make a big difference.
- rimliu 9y agoTo be fair Apple products have a very long life compared to some competition.
- EpicEng 9y agoNot when my four year old drops the iPad on my tile floor.
- executesorder66 9y agoDon't give your four year old an iPad then.
- paulcole 9y agoHaving a kid is among the worst decisions a person can make for the environment. A childless person could smash iPads all they wanted and not make a dent in comparison.
- njarboe 9y agoUnless one of the kids you raise does something really great to improve the world. Not having kids to help the environment has no chance of working unless there is a world government that enforces the policy on everyone. This idea that not having children is a great good should be put rest. Raising children well is a lot of hard work and anyone who would do it well should be encouraged to have them.
- paulcole 9y ago> Unless one of the kids you raise does something really great to improve the world. This is like saying “if he grows up to be a pro basketball player, he’ll be rich.” Should be pretty obvious that it’s an astronomical longshot at best. Whether a child is raised well or not has nothing to do with their effect on the environment. Simply existing in the modern world clearly has a huge cost.
- njarboe 9y agoOverall net positive environmental impact over the generations I guess would be a better way of stating it. A culture that believes in not breeding (for any reason) will not last very long.
- paulcole 9y ago> Overall net positive environmental impact over the generations I guess would be a better way of stating it. Multiple generations just multiplies the negative impact- it doesn't reverse it. At some point (which we may discover sooner rather than later) humanity's impact will be beyond repair.
- EpicEng 9y agoOdd that I wasn't thinking about the environment when my wife and I discussed having children. Are you serious?
- reformedjuju 9y agoFound the evolutionary dead-end.
- paulcole 9y agoYes. Just less delusional about the impact my choices have than most people. It's fine to choose to have a kid. But don't fool yourself into thinking you're making a responsible choice when it comes to the environmental impact of doing so.
- EpicEng 9y agoA South Park episode comes to mind... http://gph.is/2bjK3lK http://gph.is/2bjK3lK I just don't know where you get off telling people they shouldn't have kids. Maybe you're just immature, I don't know, but there's nothing to be gained from it.
- paulcole 9y agoI specifically said, "It's fine to choose to have a kid." My point is that if a person is concerned about the environment and the toll humanity is taking on it, recognize the affect your personal choice is having.
- EpicEng 9y ago>It's fine to choose to have a kid. Thanks for your blessing. It's everything else you said )moreso the way in which you said it) that's wrong.
- paulcole 9y agoWould you judge someone who said they were environmentally conscious but lived in a McMansion and drove a hummer? I don't see why having kids is any different.
- 9y ago
- greglindahl 9y agoNot only is this true -- I've twice used iPhones for 4 years before replacing them, with full software updates the entire time -- there are also plenty of 3rd parties who can repair things like cracked screens and tired batteries.
- oculusthrift 9y agohuh, my battery runs down, GPS breaks, and software gets too slow for the aged harwdware after about 2 years everytime.
- greglindahl 9y agoSo did you go for the $89 battery replacement, or were you lucky and got it for $29 because of the cpu-throttling problem?
- keitarofujiwara 9y agoIs this an actual statistic or is it your impression in general?
- greglindahl 9y agoFor software updates, it's hard to imagine that any other phone, tablet, or laptop can compare. For example, I'm typing this on a "late 2012" mac mini, which is running the latest OS X.
- NiveaGeForce 9y agoI use a 2010 laptop running the latest Windows 10.
- greglindahl 9y agoCongrats, you're a pretty rare user. You don't have to google for very long to discover a large number of people complaining about forced Windows 10 updates. The equivalent situation for OS X is that almost everyone updates. This is especially visible on phones. Twice I've had a 4 year iPhone, twice it ran the latest software. There are very few Android phones for which this is true.
- wor3q 9y agoWhere I live it's pretty common to have a 6-7 year old gaming PC with SSD, and RAM upgrade among less tech savvy people. They are fast enough to do web browsing and media consumption. i5-5350u from newest Macbook Air is actually way slower than 9 year old i7-960, and it's sufficient for most people. Four year old Nexus 6P has latest system version. Android One phones will have it too. Time to live was a big difference in favor of Apple few years ago, but it's getting way better for Android phones now.
- saagarjha 9y agoYou're being incredibly disingenuous. > Where I live it's pretty common to have a 6-7 year old gaming PC with SSD, and RAM upgrade among less tech savvy people. Why would a "less tech savvy" person have a gaming PC? > They are fast enough to do web browsing and media consumption. That's not what a gaming PC is for… > i5-5350u from newest Macbook Air is actually way slower than 9 year old i7-960, and it's sufficient for most people. 1. i7-960 is the processor from the Mac Pro. i5-5350u is from an ultraportable laptop. 2. The "newest Macbook Air" hasn't been substantially updated in around three to four years. > Four year old Nexus 6P has latest system version There's many things wrong with this statement, so let me break it down. 1. Nexus 6P came out in September 2015, so it's not even three years old yet. 2. Nexus 6P will not be getting the Android P update, which is currently in beta. 3. Nexus 6P is the high-end flagship phone literally backed by Google. No other Android phone is going to get updates as long as it does. 4. iPhone 6, which came out in 2014, will most likely be getting the update for iOS 12.
- Konryan 9y agoI'm not sure - from my experience it seems they've been going further and further along the road of planned obsolescence.
- askafriend 9y agoApple products have the most thriving second hand market out of perhaps any electronics manufacturer today. Their product resale value and reliability alone make them a far better option with regard to the environment than almost anything else. The products have extremely long usage cycles relative to the industry standard. It's such that they've integrated the environmental impact deep into their product design and business. You can argue that this is simply a byproduct, but they've talked a lot about it over the years that it's pretty deliberate.
- gs_tmc 9y ago>> The products have extremely long usage cycles relative to the industry standard. I don't see this trend at all in my environment. Actually quite contrary. Some, who love Apple products, always upgrade really soon. I've got an Sony smartphone for 6 years. Regarding tablets, my parents, sisters, parents in law have an Android tablet, Surface and iPad and independent of the brand they all have theirs for years and don't plan to upgrade soon. So, this is a myth common to premium products. Probably part of the marketing strategy (same for cars, kitchen gear, etc.).
- icebraining 9y agoThe use cycle doesn't have to be by the same person. If the iPhone they are ditching is sold to a person who would otherwise buy a new phone, the net production of phones is the same.
- wor3q 9y agoWasn't Apple the one who created the trend for non user replaceable batteries? Or non upgradeable pcs? Or making you dispose your perfectly good screen, when your iMac gets old? Resale value is high due too really good marketing and brand recognition combined with high prices. People will often buy a 3 year old iPhone instead of technically superior new Android phone for some price, just to have this brand.
- mulmen 9y agoMy 2014 RMBP is still the best laptop I have ever owned and everything before that was a Thinkpad, one of them a real IBM one. User-serviceability is overrated in general. You can still replace the battery in a MacBook, it just isn't easy. Mine is 4 years old and gets heavy daily usage and the battery is still acceptable although it is showing signs of age. I will probably look at getting it replaced next year. My iPhone 6s is starting to act up, especially when cold but I haven't replaced the battery in that yet. I'll probably get that done this summer when the phone gets to the point it can't go a full day without a charge. I don't care about the supposed technological superiority of a cellphone. I just want it to work. Apple seems to put more effort in to privacy and security and I like their business model more than Google's. I prefer to be a customer instead of a product.
- usaphp 9y ago> Next, focus on making products that can be repaired and upgraded by end-users for an extended period of time. Not sure if I want them to spend resources and make products more expensive just so I can repair my 10 year old iPhone myself. I have no desire spending time repairing an old phone that isnt usable already anyway due to its aged hardware.
- reaperducer 9y agoI seem to recall a statement from Apple recently that if you return an iDevice to an Apple Store when you're done with it, it is torn apart and 100% of it gets recycled. Not sure if that only applies to recent devices, or everything it's ever sold.