Plus, it was blown out of proportion by tech bloggers (and tech blog readers!) looking for the next "antenna-gate".
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Apple Backpedals, Puts "All Eligible Products" Back on EPEAT Environmental Registry
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Plus, it was blown out of proportion by tech bloggers (and tech blog readers!) looking for the next "antenna-gate".
I wonder why so few people see it like that. Because like you, I never really knew the EPEAT certification rules, but now that I know they let Apple pass on their fancy rMBP on issues which clearly should not pass, I'll just ignore this "standard" from now on since EPEAT is now "glued" to Apple's a**.
I'm not the kind of guy who keeps his Mac for many years (although it might be more responsible to do so), but being able to replace a hard drive or battery every once in a while when the rest works like a charm is the reason I would always go for the non-retina MBP.
Plus, making Bob take the hit for a decision which is clearly executed by a CEO is also one nice PR strategy. I bet they asked him to do that since he is retiring.
I have to say, EPEAT putting the Retina MBP on the Gold Medal list puts both EPEAT and Apple is a very bad light.
This makes EPEAT look like a toothless and suckup organization, and thus makes their ratings untrustworthy. And Apple's political maneuvering here, including Mansfield's letter, makes them appear extremely facetious in their attitude towards the environment. I was really prepared to take Apple at their word until the Retina got a gold star. But now I see that this was all backroom dealing just so Apple could get a good rating. It's distasteful, and disappointing.
This makes EPEAT look like a toothless and suckup organization, and thus makes their ratings untrustworthy. And Apple's political maneuvering here, including Mansfield's letter, makes them appear extremely facetious in their attitude towards the environment. I was really prepared to take Apple at their word until the Retina got a gold star. But now I see that this was all backroom dealing just so Apple could get a good rating. It's distasteful, and disappointing.
You forgot to add a step...
MacBook Retina fails to qualify for EPEAT.
Apple pulls out of EPEAT
Apple returns to EPEAT
Apple give EPEAT a brown paper envelope
The same MacBook Retina is now EPEAT Gold Standard?
That it can be recycled locally is also not enough.
You should be able to swap basic components by yourself to make it last a long time cost effectively.
I've always wondered about the delegation of duties between the designers and hardware engineers since both business areas report directly to the CEO. In the rMBP video on Apple's website Jony Ive spends most of his time talking about the innards of the machine - designing and engineering custom parts, the cooling system, the display, etc. Who makes the decision to glue in the battery and use custom screws - Mansfield or Ive? Or is it a joint decision?
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But that has nothing to do with whether the machine is recyclable or not. Outside of the battery what would need to be swapped to make the rMBP long lasting?
So, the Asus Zenbook has a slot type SSD with a standard SATA connector? And while we are at it, can you show me any smartphone where one can upgrade the RAM?You mean besides using any of the standard micro/mini-sata interfaces that all other SSDs use?Besides intentionally restricting DIY upgrades, I would love to know a reason a customer would find positive. (before you claim that it needs to be so because of the form factor, we have in the market the Asus Zenbook - same form factor as the Air, but as a DIMM slot for RAM upgrades, and a standard SATA connector for SSD upgrade/replacement).
That the machine is recyclable is not enough.
RAM, storage, and battery need to be replaceable in a laptop.
I would still not buy it because of the lack of ports. And a machine does not need to leave an optical drive out to be light.
So this has nothing to be about EPEAT and everything to you being ideologically opposed to the machine and it not fitting your needs.
In terms of containing consumer electronic waste, I'm actually a huge proponent of preventing user accessibility to parts. Besides the fact that I doubt very many are even interested in tinkering in notebooks anymore, I have a feeling people would more likely to just toss a ram module or old hard drive into the trash instead of an entire notebook.
Why doesn't it have anything to do with EPEAT? Longer replacement cycles mean less environmental impact.
I don't know anyone other than my colleagues and myself who ever upgraded a laptop. I don't actually know anybody who has upgraded a Windows laptop. I know a few people whose MacBooks have been upgraded, but only because _I_ got the parts and did the work. The huge majority of people don't upgrade laptops. Apple users are among the more computer savvy ones, but even there it's not _that_ many who upgrade their laptops.
But then the Retina MBP which you were complaining about comes with 8 or 16 GB of RAM, and no laptop with 16 GB of RAM can be upgraded. And in a years time lots of people will offer upgrades for the SSD drive.
Many people will buy it with 8GB because they can't justify paying for 16GB now, and the machine will last less because it's not upgradeable.
That there are no 16GB SO-DIMMs now doesn't mean there won't be any in the future. It is usual that a machine will be upgradeable beyond what's advertised at launch because bigger RAM modules do not appear until later.
Interpreted sound like your interpreting your wants with reality. So now Apple a company wanting money knows better than an organization tasked with dealing with putting standards to keep the environment from going south to the level that its detrimental to us. How about this, I wish we could bring back manufacturing to America and watch the pools of sludge we don't have to deal with any more here become a reality again.
Where do these people come from.
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There is no guarantee the way Apple is making things will mean longer replacement cycles, what we do know is that if you can't fix it or change things then your pretty 2000 grand laptop is a brick than is going to be trashed, maybe you will get a new one but the old one is not going to be taken apart fixed and continue to be used for years to come. Once something goes wrong in the new and future equipment its land fill.
Nasty chemical landfill. Not all is bad lots of what is now in Apple equipment is inert and should pose no health risk.
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True but that how it goes. The true feel for Apples future is going to be the iPhone 5. That is going to tell us a lot more of where and how Apple is going to handle Jobs never coming back.
How does the user not being able to replace these things on their own make the machine less recyclable? Or not having certain I/O or an optical drive?
Now your not talking about replaceable parts but what you consider your ideal equipment which sound like old grandpa talking. In my days there was 8 track and dam it we liked it.
Optical is dead no one cares, Unless your gaming which still requires been online to play the game shows that optical disk are going to go away. I use a wifi DVD/Blu-ray disk for all my needs as well as 3 other Airs, and no one seems to mind or care any more at the house, first week it was "the world is ending" after the first week glazed over eyes when asked do you miss the built in DVD.
How does the user not being able to replace these things on their own make the machine less recyclable? Or not having certain I/O or an optical drive?
Not being able to replace parts means more things will have to be manufactured, as people will have to stop using them more often.
It is not about recyclability, which is misleading by itself.
There is no guarantee the way Apple is making things will mean longer replacement cycles, what we do know is that if you can't fix it or change things then your pretty 2000 grand laptop is a brick than is going to be trashed, maybe you will get a new one but the old one is not going to be taken apart fixed and continue to be used for years to come. Once something goes wrong in the new and future equipment its land fill.
Nasty chemical landfill. Not all is bad lots of what is now in Apple equipment is inert and should pose no health risk.
Where is your evidence for this? Consumers can send their devices back to Apple for recycling free of charge. In some cases they actually get paid for doing so. It's not Apple's fault if consumers chose to do otherwise.