__/ [ John Bailo ] on Thursday 08 February 2007 18:36 \__
> Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>
>> | The Chinese have a saying: the journey of a thousand miles begins
>> | with the first step. Reusing a puffing and wheezing old computer
>> | by installing a minimal GNU/Linux distro and staving off the day
>> | when it trudges forlornly to the scrapheap is at least a baby step
>> | in the right direction.
>
> Typically doesn't technology become more power efficient and less
> polluting over time?
Yes, but pollution here involves waste that requires hard and
energy-consuming disposal. It is about hardware which is made obsolete
rather than supported (backward compatibility). Pentium II's become
unusable, older graphics card cannot deliver "premium content", etc. The
same applies to data, but let's not cross over to a discussion about
software.
> So do new computers pollute less, emit less heat?
New computers replace perfectly fine PCs. There's a cycle of spendings that
is sought by the industry, which thrives in consumer waste. Software
analogy: urging people to upgrade from Office 97 to Office 2003 even if they
don't require any of the new 'features'. This urge can be intensified using
security patches (or lack thereof, which puts /everyone/ on the Net in
risk). Free software does not present these issue because upgrades are free.
Support costs are often lowered with an upgrade because the software is made
more reliable. So the customer actually /saves/ money by upgrading.
--
~~ Best wishes
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