A Greener Apple

[iBunny]

I could care less about being enviromentally friendly.

Will these displays perform better? Better Resolution? Sharper Picture? Lower Response time? Better Viewing angle?

I will trade the enviroment any day if I can get a better computer.

 

[numlock]

As i was a participant in a thread recently and made my opinion clear that I wanted apple to be a leader in this field I am happy they have made this change and are declaring their goals. Hopefully they will fullfill them

Sorry, but its IMO more like a big self-congratulatory piece with Greenpeace patting themselves on their own back.

Greenpeace's real complaint of Apple wasn't that they weren't doing anything, but merely that Apple wasn't telling Greenpeace what they were doing. -hh

wow. how in gods name did you read that into their statement?

Greenepeace and other people (quite rightly) where upset that a iconic brand like apple didnt disclose this information. The consumers and the people/species living on this planet have a right to know

The policy that Apple changed today wasn't to become environmental.
Instead, the policy change was to be more open in divulging what they are currently doing and planning to do in the environmental field.

there are two ways of reading into that paragraph. You chose to think that apple was already this numero uno eco friendly company in the world but didnt disclose anything as they are so modest. Others might want to think that they behaved like many fortune 500 companies did/do and cut corners where possible

We also know that nothing accomplished will ever be good enough for some critics. For example:

absolute nonsense. It was clear from greenpeace´s comments that they wanted a recycling program wherever (makes a bit of sense) apple sold ccomputers.

 

[AidenShaw]

Apple sells like 9-15% of all computers sold in the world....

[Apple] held a 5% U.S. marketshare for PC shipments in the 1st quarter of 2007. (a table in the linked article puts Apple in the "Others" category below 4.1% worldwide share)

According to a recent report by IDC, Apple owned about 2.8 percent of the worldwide PC market in the third quarter of 2006.

Data, your numbers are imaginary - not even close to the actual marketshare figures.

 

[Rocketman]

Official response from Greenpeace

Lots of congratulations from Greenpeace for Apple:

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/tasty-apple-news-020507

"Today we're changing our policy."

It's not everything we asked for.

Apple hasn't gotten an actual green product to market, but no other electronics manufacture has either.

We look forward to working with the new, greener Apple in future – toward the greening of the entire electronics industry.

And to all the Apple fans who have contributed their thoughts and blogs and creativity to this campaign, reach over your shoulder and pat yourself on the back. Put a happy tune on your ipod and do a happy dance. You've proven you can make a real difference. You convinced one of the world's most cutting edge companies to cut the toxic ingredients out of the products they sell.

Now, let's take it to the next level! An Apple green to the core!

Ummm. "To Greanpeace"

Apple changed their policy on public disclosure, not "becoming leading edge green". Apple has been leading edge green since 2002 and leads EVERY other major hardware manufacturer - by a country mile.

It's nt everything you asked for because you are a pimple on commercial manufacturers' a$$ and you asked for the moon with NO contribution whatsoever to "making it so."

The suppliers to the electronics industry will offer "green products" when they are BOTH manufacturable and cost competitive. There is a commercial incentive to get rid of lead simply because it is heavy to ship, and the others because Apple is in California, the most ecologically and regulatory, and employee protection, facist state, in the union. You have to declare eraser dust a hazardous waste here (unless you are a non-commercial end user).

Work with Apple? Don't you mean you will criticize it unless it makes a press release you can hang on to for dear life and take credit for with language "differing" from the truth and the series of events as they occured (ie Fraud)? You seem to have missed the FACT they have been greener than anyone ever and have been since 2002. You not only missed that and the opportunity to promote it, you claimed the opposite!! You are retards!!

Apple users convinced Apple to be green lke they convinced Apple to release an "overpriced" music player, or they convinced Apple to release an "overpriced" phone.

This is Steve Jobs. The Mac. The IMac. The iPod. The iPhone, The iTV. The iCEO. This is Steve Jobs and his "crew". Not you Greenpeace. Not even Apple users, especially as influenced or commanded by you Greenpeace.

Let go of the train. Apple is crushng this industry without you.

Go away and chase some single hulled oil tankers, and just to show how intolerable they are, sink them and cause an oil spill dozens of times as hurtful as every product ever made by Apple, recycled or not.

Rocketman

 

[synth3tik]

This has been a thorn for Apple. I can't count the number of list of environmentally friendly companies. Apple never faired well on any of them. It's great to see a public stance on the issues of eliminating hazards chemicals from their products.

 

[iSee]

Did I ever say it would go up $1000? Oh, I didn't, but thanks for putting words into my mouth.

The person I was responding to was making it sound like this laptop change would clear up all types of heavy metal poisoning. Maybe that would be apparent if you read the previous comments between that poster and myself.

My price comparison shows around a 6 fold increase in price, so how will that not translate into higher prices for the customer?

The $1000 price increase is based on your "6 fold increase." Glad I could clear that up for ya.

And I did read the previous comments which is what I was responding to. That's how these forum thingies work.

 

[faintember]

Sony VAIO TX Series are LED backlit and still around 2000$. Granted they are 11 or 12 inches but its still whithin price range of ultrapotable laptops with LCD.

Then you won't mind linking the Sony vs. an comparable ultraportable with a LCD screen.

Grounded???

Ctrl+Command+D

The $1000 price increase is based on your "6 fold increase." Glad I could clear that up for ya.

It is a 6 fold increase. Do the math yourself. I mearly gave that example as a current price differential between the two technologies. No where did I ever say that the price differential would be applied in it's full extent to the laptop. I was arguing that there would be a increase in price that the consumer would have to pay when there is the move to the LED backlit laptops.

And I did read the previous comments which is what I was responding to. That's how these forum thingies work.

Then you are intentionally putting words in my mouth then? Brilliant.

 

[iSee]

What?! No it's not.

I'm all for environmentally-friendly products, but their methods are invasive and arrogant. They don't even listen to scientific facts if it treads anywhere near proving them wrong on an issue. As one member posted earlier, they blindly oppose agricultural genetic engineering of any kind even when it is proven not to have any harmful side-effects.

A little headstrong, are we?

Greenpeace, like Al Gore, has good intentions, but poor methods.

-Clive

Hey, don't lump ol' Al Gore in with those Greenpeas. At least he's sincere and his position is based on scientific facts.

 

[Glenny2lappies]

Thanks for caving to the Eco-Terrorists. Now that you have proven that Apple's policy can be changed by terrorism, expect to see many more assaults in the future.

Errm, you cannot be serious here? Either you're trolling or have a rather warped view of the world.

This needs deconstructing...

• Apple aren't caving in to anything; they're making a commercial decision based upon 'normal' capitalist behaviour - they've decided they have to follow the general view of the world and be more ecologically responsible.
• Eco-Terrorists - please don't use this term as it's extremely offensive. In this case Greenpeace have simply highlighted the pollution that all electronic goods create and ranked manufacturers according to their ecological footprint.
• If by terrorism you mean thinking different to you, then I'd hate to see your day-to-day life
• With words like assault, it sounds like the words from a NRA member!

If you've bothered to read this thread you'll quite clearly see that Apple are responding to external pressures, in descending order of importance:

• EU and other government directives (even in the US) insist that Apple take a more ecological view of their manufacturing processes
• Public opinion - people may still not give a damn about the environment in hicksville, but around the rest of the planet it's a rather important issue
• Bad publicity - commentary about a corporation's green credentials is bad in the educated world. Bad green publicity isn't good publicity
• And in a very last place, pressure from ecological interest groups such as Greenpeace

Again, Apple aren't doing anything particularly out of the ordinary, just providing leadership that is taking them in a more green direction.

If you want to live in some environmental cesspit, please crap in your own back yard; but don't screw up my planet.

 

[EagerDragon]

It's yet another pre-announcement!

This is, seriously, great news from Apple. However, I am interested to hear what people who know more about environmental issues than I do make of SJ's latest essay.

Im sorry to say, that this is another feather on Digitime's cap. They predicted this a while back (several months).

 

[Apple Architect]

Totally agree

Big bad Greenpeace again. They're such bastards for trying to make the planet a better place for future generations to live in!

You can bad mouth them all you like but they have apparently managed to make Apple change their practices now haven't they....



I bet they're just gutted that they made a point about a company not doing enough for the environment and then that company did something positive about it.

Lets face it, Apple was not a shiny light on this until now. Hopefully the message will get out that it is actually "cool to be green". I just hope for the sake of our children that more companies follow suit.

 

[EagerDragon]

About bloody time Steve got his arse in gear about this. It's important.

I'd like to see more of these ocassional essays from Jobsy... maybe even a blog!!

If Steve was attending and responding to a blog under his name, the blog would get 10 to 20 thousands posts a day. Maybe hard to respond to everyone.
Every one would try to pick his brain.

 

[Apple Architect]

Hopes and fears

I could care less about being enviromentally friendly.

Will these displays perform better? Better Resolution? Sharper Picture? Lower Response time? Better Viewing angle?

I will trade the enviroment any day if I can get a better computer.

I hope for the planets sake you are joking !!!.

 

[Azurael]

Nice to see we agree on something

I take it you are all aware of how awful lead free solder is from a technical standpoint...?

It's most likely the cause of the GPU failures in iBooks and the 'ring of death' on XBox 360s, since it isn't flexible or heat tolerant enough and tends to crack under expansion and compression.

Yes, the environment is important, but I don't want to pay more for a product that's inferior. Taking things slowly and understanding the consequences of our actions before jumping on the bandwagon is just as significant. After all, aren't lots of out-of-warranty iBooks going into landfills now because they're uneconomical to repair?

 

[EagerDragon]

WWDC is next month. . . with the rumors of Santa Rosa, how likely will we see LED screens in the laptops as well? Being that Steve did mention the bigger the screen the harder to make it LED. . . the laptop screens are smaller then the display. . . I would really want a Macbook Pro with LEDs. What do you guys think?

October for new displays. Resolution indipendance.

Laptops may get it sooner, but laptop displays are very shallow and I think they need a little extra space for LED. Not sure.

 

[Rocketman]

I take it you are all aware of how awful lead free solder is from a technical standpoint...?

The only technically good alternative to lead based solder (which does no damage to the environment at all as compared to the lead from the GROUND where it came from), is electrically conductive epoxies. Dozens of times the cost per pound and far more hazardous in terms of airborne emissions, and input item disposal.

Pb is your friend. When you bury it, it coats itself with lead oxide to "protect the environment".

Rocketman

 

[bigmc6000]

Speaking of "for the planets sake"...

I hope for the planets sake you are joking !!!.

I've taken a number of Material Science classes and i can tell you that (aside from mercury) what Apple is putting in their computers and vowing to rid them of is nothing compared to the damage you cause simply by breathing. CO2 is in fact a "greenhouse gas" and by mearly breathing you're a cause for global warming.

Just thought you'd like to know...

 

[rjwill246]

Mmmmm

Big bad Greenpeace again. They're such bastards for trying to make the planet a better place for future generations to live in!

You can bad mouth them all you like but they have apparently managed to make Apple change their practices now haven't they....



I bet they're just gutted that they made a point about a company not doing enough for the environment and then that company did something positive about it.

I really detest Greenpeace as they have absolutely no interest in the planet but love to raise money and awareness- so they can raise more money-- about paper tigers. They have been shown up here for what they are-- irresponsible communistic loudmouths. And, once again, proven wrong, though they will never issue an apology to Apple- that would take some sort of ethical and moral virtue-- while Apple had already been doing a great job without any goading from these wankers. Time for another ship, I think...

 

[Konradx]

Better late, than never...still a lil late

 

[Thi]

I knew it, I bought my mbp this year so that it will last me 3+ years, now I'd have to spend more money on the new one. Must resist.

 

[Cult Follower]

This announcement was a great idea for apple. And it gave us insight into what they are planning on doing next. I'm looking foreward to recieving the benefits of LED backlighting. How about at WWDC?

 

[Clive At Five]

Hey, don't lump ol' Al Gore in with those Greenpeas. At least he's sincere and his position is based on scientific facts.

Ernt. Wrong again. How can you be sincere on cutting back on energy when the man doesn't do it himself? Go back to page 6 and read posts 127 and 141, then proceed to cry for being pwned by Gore's hypocracy.

We (all of us) need to reduce in order to make a greener world. As opposed to where GreenPeace stands, scientific research can often hold the key to shaving away at the loads of energy we use - as in this case where we can implement technology to eliminate harmful chemicals AND increase efficiency - and not bash things which aren't proven to be harmful (agricultural genetic engineering).

More research is never a bad thing. Niether is tonning down one's arrogance... GreenPeace...

And pacticing what we preach is also a nice thing to do... Mr. Gore...

-Clive

 

[aafuss1]

Sony uses white-Led backlights in VAIO's-Apple could use something similar.

Will Apple eliminate mercury from the Cinema Displys in the next update-with LED backlit, a better update than the prices cuts accompanied by PMG5 and now Mac Pro updates

 

[breath of apple]

Another Apple Moment

Thanks for staying on top, Apple and Steve! These moments of character and leadership define you well

 

[williedigital]

I'm guessing the carbon offsets go toward helping someone else to use renewable energy. So when you buy a carbon offset, you're allowing someone else to generate (eventually) energy which produces no CO2 (?).

I guess its a way to subsidize others to NOT produce CO2.

But Al Gore should have been a true leader and purchased solar/thermal energy generation processes.

the only future we have is micro-energy generation (I call it discrete energy generation) where each house/business produces SOME energy via solar/thermal/wind.

Exactly, offsets are exactly the same as donating money to charitable organizations that work to fight some social ill, rather than you doing the work to fight it yourself. If Gore was somehow making the money he was donating from encouraging that social ill, then there might be a moral argument to be made (a good example is from Native Son, where the tenement owner funds the Boys and Girls club).

As for the future of energy, think nuclear and hydrogen.