Making more out of what you have.
Why do we throw so much stuff away? Maybe there is a case for the management of this country both business and government to become a bit more technically knowledgeable. We need to teach them or alert them on ways to become more reusable conscious so to speak. in his article: http://www.instructables.com/id/Electronics-for-teaching-children/ the author points out there is so much good equipment that can be reused with just a bit of street science smarts. Imagine how much overburdened school systems could save you in tax dollars if they were a bit street science smart.
Where I used to work, my former employer sent off to auction literally thousands and thousands dollars worth of equipment that could have been re-purposed. For example an old Dell GX110 which sold for nickels and dimes at auction could have been converted to a disk-less thin client (see http://www.instructables.com/id/PC-personal-computer-into-a-sort-of-thin-client/ for an article on how to do this). They were replaced with the latest thin clients at several hundred dollars a piece that never really worked right. Is that street science smart management? Besides we need less landfills. If you go to the "DIY" sites on the net, you can literally find thousands of articles on how to re-purpose what you already have.
In Europe, traditionally they have been willing to spend a bit more for products because they wanted a product that lasted. Here in the United States, media has brainwashed the consumer into getting the cheapest (even if it is expensive) product and treat it like a throwaway. "Oh, we think it is broke then let's just get another one." This is probably why are products are not selling overseas very well. Another issue that is hurting the American economy. It is time for big business in the United states to get a clue to get away from planned obsolescence and step up the quality. Budgets are tight and people can not afford to repurchase the same product. Big business has not seen the light yet, but the public has and probably why "DIY" internet sites are booming. For example www.instructables.com was recently purchased by Autodesk who are the makers of the software known as "Autocad". This is probably to make money off in DIYers to help get the inventors innovations to market.
As a side note, lots of people are going to Goodwill and other resale shops to purchase items for a song and then remaking what they have bought. In my case, I bought an adult bike for five dollars. It does need a bit of rust removal, but rides just fine. This is versus what would probably cost close to a hundred dollars at a retail store, I feel blessed. One man's trash is another man's treasure. Another reason why "dumpster diving" has become one of the latest fad hobbies. When someone leaves a piece of equipment or whatever on the side of the road, it us usually scarfed up in minutes by repurposers. This has led a lot of people to become pretend recyclers to get your stuff for free. Caveat emptor (or should I say seller beware).
A little preparation for my last comment. Generally if you want to use a piece of computing equipment you want to look at the software (aka applications) that allow it to work first. What the software runs on (aka the hardware) becomes second object to look at when deciding what is a good buy in computing equipment. One thing that Apple has pushed is all the software that runs on their Ipads and Ipods. The ironic thing is that you can use the exact same software on most any recent computer, laptop, or touchpad. The reason why, is all of the software being used is the Ipad being a web browser terminal and taking advantage of what is on the internet. Yes, I know you can get applications that run on the Ipad it self. You can generally do all of that from most any web site. Apple could be taking advantage of user ignorance. (i.e. what you can do from the web (http://www.instructables.com/id/Uses-for-your-own-private-cloud/).
Lastly, when big business does make a very viable product, they do not know how to make the most advantage of it sometimes. For example, Hewlett Packard who probably make the majority of computer printers came out with a touchpad. A laptop on steroids, but without all the bulk. It was similar to the now notorious Apple "IPad". The product was a bit over priced, but it was never really marketed correctly at least to me. Someone one mentioned to me that the reason why the HP (aka Hewlett Packard) touchpad did not sell is that there was no software for it. I have to bite by lips at that comment. The HP touchpad will work with the internet and can use the exact same software applications from the internet that the Ipad can. So essentially there is no limitation to what the touchpad can do. Did not anyone at HP realise that? They do now and guess that is why they now have a new leader...
Note: Our cheap touchpad that I use can be seen at http://www.instructables.com/id/Cheap-touchpad/.
Our uses for recycling computers: http://www.instructables.com/id/Reuses-for-legacy-computers/
Where I used to work, my former employer sent off to auction literally thousands and thousands dollars worth of equipment that could have been re-purposed. For example an old Dell GX110 which sold for nickels and dimes at auction could have been converted to a disk-less thin client (see http://www.instructables.com/id/PC-personal-computer-into-a-sort-of-thin-client/ for an article on how to do this). They were replaced with the latest thin clients at several hundred dollars a piece that never really worked right. Is that street science smart management? Besides we need less landfills. If you go to the "DIY" sites on the net, you can literally find thousands of articles on how to re-purpose what you already have.
In Europe, traditionally they have been willing to spend a bit more for products because they wanted a product that lasted. Here in the United States, media has brainwashed the consumer into getting the cheapest (even if it is expensive) product and treat it like a throwaway. "Oh, we think it is broke then let's just get another one." This is probably why are products are not selling overseas very well. Another issue that is hurting the American economy. It is time for big business in the United states to get a clue to get away from planned obsolescence and step up the quality. Budgets are tight and people can not afford to repurchase the same product. Big business has not seen the light yet, but the public has and probably why "DIY" internet sites are booming. For example www.instructables.com was recently purchased by Autodesk who are the makers of the software known as "Autocad". This is probably to make money off in DIYers to help get the inventors innovations to market.
As a side note, lots of people are going to Goodwill and other resale shops to purchase items for a song and then remaking what they have bought. In my case, I bought an adult bike for five dollars. It does need a bit of rust removal, but rides just fine. This is versus what would probably cost close to a hundred dollars at a retail store, I feel blessed. One man's trash is another man's treasure. Another reason why "dumpster diving" has become one of the latest fad hobbies. When someone leaves a piece of equipment or whatever on the side of the road, it us usually scarfed up in minutes by repurposers. This has led a lot of people to become pretend recyclers to get your stuff for free. Caveat emptor (or should I say seller beware).
A little preparation for my last comment. Generally if you want to use a piece of computing equipment you want to look at the software (aka applications) that allow it to work first. What the software runs on (aka the hardware) becomes second object to look at when deciding what is a good buy in computing equipment. One thing that Apple has pushed is all the software that runs on their Ipads and Ipods. The ironic thing is that you can use the exact same software on most any recent computer, laptop, or touchpad. The reason why, is all of the software being used is the Ipad being a web browser terminal and taking advantage of what is on the internet. Yes, I know you can get applications that run on the Ipad it self. You can generally do all of that from most any web site. Apple could be taking advantage of user ignorance. (i.e. what you can do from the web (http://www.instructables.com/id/Uses-for-your-own-private-cloud/).
Lastly, when big business does make a very viable product, they do not know how to make the most advantage of it sometimes. For example, Hewlett Packard who probably make the majority of computer printers came out with a touchpad. A laptop on steroids, but without all the bulk. It was similar to the now notorious Apple "IPad". The product was a bit over priced, but it was never really marketed correctly at least to me. Someone one mentioned to me that the reason why the HP (aka Hewlett Packard) touchpad did not sell is that there was no software for it. I have to bite by lips at that comment. The HP touchpad will work with the internet and can use the exact same software applications from the internet that the Ipad can. So essentially there is no limitation to what the touchpad can do. Did not anyone at HP realise that? They do now and guess that is why they now have a new leader...
Note: Our cheap touchpad that I use can be seen at http://www.instructables.com/id/Cheap-touchpad/.
Our uses for recycling computers: http://www.instructables.com/id/Reuses-for-legacy-computers/
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