Reminder of the e-waste propritary tech causes
- Inicie sesión ou rexístrese para enviar comentarios
Came across this today. It is a stark reminder of just one issue that free software have help prevent.
Keep your hardware going as long as possible, even if a little slow, it is better plodding away to get a job done than going into a situation like this.
We have the Goodwill in my area that gets help from a large company to do e-recycling. I thought the Goodwill resells in their thrift stores.
We have some electronics that I worry about recycling because they also have private info on them.
The optimist in me hopes they are reselling these. I used to volunteer refurbishing old machines for those that needed them. Boot the machines, run Boot n Nuke which would write over the entire drive 8 times with random numbers and then install a GNU/Linux Distro.
The cynic in me worries that many of these machines are destined to these kinds of locations. I have argued for a very long time now that Free Software is also an environmental statement. It is one means of prolonging hardware far beyond what the hardware and software vendors determine.
From my limited experience trying to help with this kind of re-use projects, the wall we kept hitting was that we would get desktop units vs. laptops at a 9/10 rate while people were asking for laptops at a 9/10 rate. They would rather buy a cheap, newly produced, throw-away laptop than a refurbished desktop that may last a decade longer. Piling deeper and higher.
So I fully subscribe to your suggestion: "keep your hardware going as long as possible."
There's most popular tech creators on web, that mostly promote new hardware, like "you need X phone because X company doesn't support kernel patches*/new version of OS"
From that web tech creators or other people mostly have mindset that newer hardware is far much secure than older, and there's super fast progression that requires using new hardware for even basic things
and there's also psychological aspect i thing, that's people don't want be seen as weird because they don't use smartphones
there's also for some events, that's also thinking that's everyone has a smartphone to even enter event (2)
I'm mostly reuse, and clean as possible old hardware actually hobbyist, they mostly in my opinion are easier to repair or/and better
(like: remove accumulator, RAM, DVD-Drive, longer battery lifetime classic hand watches)
And I'm mostly shocked but i saved 2 Old TV's that's was replaced with new "Smart" TV, and that's devices works pretty well still, having
720p/800p output most times.
And now I'm mostly take 2-5 days before buying hardware, researching if working with free software, when not in h-node database
i trying if possible testing, and i avoid buying new condition hardware.
also that's mostly software freedom related problem, that they are also ships binary blobs, that is GPL Violation*
That time i was with No Phone all time, i can't even enter public event, there's was only method to verification that is you can go but need to a have e-ticket from "smart" phone (2)
This is 100% why ANTI-DRM efforts are important.
Why should the planet suffer due to what billionaires and other tech giants want. Like hell!
Its a waste of resources anyhow.
I don't think it's a matter of price, or the amount of money. Remember that the free software movement is about freedom, not price.
I'm sorry, but what does Zoma's comment have to do with money? DRM is a technology that restricts what people can do with their computers and makes those devices obsolete when they can no long be used. For example, mp3 players with DRM that can only able used on Windows computer with proprietary software.
People also lose their music collection once these devices go obsolete, but I don't get what this has to do with money.
I don't think we should be defending the billionaires, who have little interest in us making money.
1 EDIT.
As for why I said what I said,
DRM is used by proprietary software makes hardware more likely to die quicker due to malware and billionaires have an obsession with proprietary software.
And who pollutes the world the most?
Billionaires...
But I guess it wasn't clear what I meant.
Keep in mind throwaway culture benefits them the most.
So... yeah.