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As an avid dumpster diver, nothing irks me more than seeing people throw away perfectly functional equipment that they just don't have a 'fashion sense' for, an

As an avid dumpster diver, nothing irks me more than seeing people throw away perfectly functional equipment that they just don't have a 'fashion sense' for, any more. I'm rapidly accruing enough material for my own data center. My kids have their own little mini-studio of keyboards, samplers, and whatnot, to deal with. I'd love to be putting the thrown-away computers to better use in my area. If only there were some sort of really big cultural effect that could occur that would make it utterly unacceptable to take your "old computer" anywhere other than a school or education facility put in place to prevent exactly this kind of ridiculous waste from occurring ..

SamReidHughes 14y ago
The last thing we need is old computers. Old computers suck. They have old failing components and they use too much energy.
- shinratdr 14y ago
  You'll get down voted for it but its completely true. Anyone who thinks they are helping the environment by still using their ancient P4 instead of junking it is kidding themselves.
  - icegreentea 14y ago
    As if it costs no energy to make a new computer? If you want to minimize total energy costs, you have to consider manufacturing energy costs. The case for just getting a new computer gets even worse if you put all of your old computer's energy costs as a sunk cost. This study shows that amongst the early 2000s generation of laptops that even if you use a laptop for 7 years [1] (you have to squint at the first graph), manufacturing still accounts for ~50% of energy costs. Even assuming that manufacturing efficiency increased even more than operating efficiency since then, the answer is still not clear cut. Now obviously at some point, it becomes better to get a new computer period, and most P4s may already be in that range, but as a generalized statement, should be taken carefully. [1] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652611000801 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652611...
  - seclorum 14y ago
    Pathetic, really. Whats so 'ancient' about a P4? Its still just as functional as it was the day it was minted - a manufacturing process that cost the earth a LOT in terms of resources. The carbon debt of producing last years computing devices is still huge, and that is all going to be thrown away and ignored because the "P4 isn't fast enough any more.." So all those resources are going to be wasted just because its not 'fashionable' to have a slow computer any more? I find this attitude disgusting. There is no such thing as a 'dead computer', only dead users. That P4 that someone finds 'uncool' could just as easily make a huge difference in someone else's life, it only it weren't sitting there in a huge pile of garbage, rotting away ..

SamReidHughes 14y ago

The last thing we need is old computers. Old computers suck. They have old failing components and they use too much energy.

shinratdr 14y ago
You'll get down voted for it but its completely true. Anyone who thinks they are helping the environment by still using their ancient P4 instead of junking it is kidding themselves.
- icegreentea 14y ago
  As if it costs no energy to make a new computer? If you want to minimize total energy costs, you have to consider manufacturing energy costs. The case for just getting a new computer gets even worse if you put all of your old computer's energy costs as a sunk cost. This study shows that amongst the early 2000s generation of laptops that even if you use a laptop for 7 years [1] (you have to squint at the first graph), manufacturing still accounts for ~50% of energy costs. Even assuming that manufacturing efficiency increased even more than operating efficiency since then, the answer is still not clear cut. Now obviously at some point, it becomes better to get a new computer period, and most P4s may already be in that range, but as a generalized statement, should be taken carefully. [1] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652611000801 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652611...
- seclorum 14y ago
  Pathetic, really. Whats so 'ancient' about a P4? Its still just as functional as it was the day it was minted - a manufacturing process that cost the earth a LOT in terms of resources. The carbon debt of producing last years computing devices is still huge, and that is all going to be thrown away and ignored because the "P4 isn't fast enough any more.." So all those resources are going to be wasted just because its not 'fashionable' to have a slow computer any more? I find this attitude disgusting. There is no such thing as a 'dead computer', only dead users. That P4 that someone finds 'uncool' could just as easily make a huge difference in someone else's life, it only it weren't sitting there in a huge pile of garbage, rotting away ..