Apple defends decision to leave environmental program
Apple faces a potential economic loss as 95 percent of government computer purchases are required to be EPEAT certified.
How Green Was Apple: Products Lose Environmentally Friendly Designation
Apple has withdrawn itself from a program granting environmentally friendly certification to electronic products. According to CNET, it was late last month that Apple announced that it would no longer submit its devices to the nonprofit EPEAT group for green certification and that it was also withdrawing its currently certified products from the organization’s registry.
So why did Apple drop out from EPEAT?
The reason is the “design direction” for its products, as EPEAT CEO Robert Frisbee says in CIO Journal. To meet EPEAT’s standards, products need to be easy to take apart, so their components can be recycled. But such is not the case with Apple’s star products, the iPhone, the iPad and the new MacBook Pro with Retina display, as Schechtman explains:
One of Apple’s newest products, the MacBook Pro with a high-resolution “Retina” display, was nearly impossible to fully disassemble, said Kyle Wiens, co-founder of iFixit.com, a website that provides directions for users to repair their own machines. The battery was glued to the case, and the glass display was glued to its back. The product, released just a month ago, had not been submitted for EPEAT certification, according to the organization.
Apple: Don't ditch public transit
Tell Apple to include public transit in its new map software
Apple: Include public transit in your map software.
Do you ever ride a bus, train or subway system? Well, Apple has decided that you no longer need to.
Apple’s new iPhone will not carry information on public transit or biking directions, a vital fixture in the lives of millions of people who rely on bus and rail service to get to work in the morning and make their way home in the evening. Apple is leaving its customers without a key tool to make it to job interviews on time, or to know when to grab the last train out at night.
Tell Apple: Include public transit and biking directions in the iOS 6 update.
Apple’s new mapping software — with its implicit assumption that all Apple users drive everywhere — disproportionately affects less affluent customers that rely on public transportation. This removes access to transit information at a time when people need it the most — when they are in a rush, when they are lost and in an unfamiliar neighborhood, or when other transportation options have unexpectedly become unavailable. We know that adding public transit features is possible — Google Maps, which Apple is removing from its phones, has been doing it for years — but Apple has decided that integrating bus and rail information isn’t worth the time to build into its own map service.
Tell Apple: Don’t ditch public transit.
Ex-Apple tech guru boosts fortunes of school's computer lab
Mr. Gifford, as students call him, spent about a dozen years at Apple during two tours, most recently as director of software development for professional applications. He was in charge of the Macintosh operating system two decades ago in his first stint with the company, so maintaining a roomful of iMacs at this K-5 school in San Mateo is hardly a challenge.
Calenda would run the lab for free, but being an employee gives him the authority he needs to do it properly. He regards his new role
as a way to give back to the community while pursuing a newfound passion for improving schools through technology.
“As class sizes go up and funding goes down, we have to figure out creative ways to enhance education,” said Calenda, whose 8-year-old son, Lucas, is a second-grader at the Mandarin-immersion school. “Computer-assisted learning is a good way to do that.”
Chinese blog Ynet reports that over 70% of Apple’s iPhones are now made in Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant, where this video was shot. The video, courtesy of iFeng by way of M.I.C Gadget, shows a Chinese reporter from iFeng and Foxconn CEO Terry Gou taking a tour of the iPhone production line. (via A Rare Video From Inside an iPhone Factory)
Apple Now Has More Cash Than The U.S. Government
in case you hadn’t heard… but just remember: it’s BIG GOVERNMENT that is a threat to our democracy, people, BIIIIIIIIIIG GOVERNMENT (be afraid of it)
