Apple not so GREEN after new MacBook Pro!
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I have been following the ins and out in relation to Apple's announcement that they were pulling their product range off the EPEAT Certification list. Its now seems that there will be some fallout,
'San Francisco city officials say they are moving to block purchases of Apple desktops and laptops, by all municipal agencies, after the company removed a green electronics certification from its products.' http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2012/07/10/san-francisco-officials-plan-to-block-apple-procurement/
From what I have read the 'problem' lays with the location / fixing methodology of the battery ...... it looks not to be conducive to easy recycling! Tut! Tut! Apple! Being as GREEN as possible has always been a big buying point for me
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Even thought there has been no comment I see there have been over 50 views so I will update on the lastest news that has just come to fore.
It seems that Apple have had second thoughts about taking its products out of EPEAT. They have now rejoined and given there new Retina MacBook Pros an EPEAT Gold standard. Its a case whereby the manufacture decides on the compliance level / grade and EPEAT vets the decision.
In this case it looks like EPEAT officials don't agree with Apple's self certified Gold grade. The problem seems to be the way the batteries are fixed with industrial glue.
I imagine a company with Apple's resources could come up with a better fixing solution other than industrial glue .... seems to be a crude solution!
Here is a link to a more detailed article,
http://www.electronicstakeback.com/2012/07/13/apple-rejoins-epeat-admits-quitting-was-a-mistake/ -
My current machine is a 13" unibody macbook. I damaged it's keyboard while cleaning it. I ordered a second hand keyboard, and a set of special screwdrivers to change said piece. (from the us, because those damn triwing screws used to fix the battery are not easy to come by locally) I had to dissasemble the computer completely, including motherboard, trackpad, battery, screen. All the screws were different length. It was a pain! If that had happened to my previous machine (a 13" non unibody macbook), it would have been an hour job, not on this one.
If the same thing had happened to a retina macbook, it would mean a new machine. Basically they are disposable, and at $2200, its ridiculous! Also, on all previous machines, over time, I upgraded ram and hdd. That is practically impossible on a new mac.
I may need to upgrade my current machine before this year ends. I really like osx and favor it over windows. If i need to upgrade, osx is my number one choice. I don't like the direction its hardware is evolving though. Now, what options do I have? A hackintosh?
Having a thin profile may be nice, but the price to pay for having it is unacceptable, at least for me. I don't really care if my computer is 3 mm thicker, as long as it can be repaired and upgraded.
Btw, apparently this EPEAT thing is something created by apple itself, so, i question how objective this new rating is.
Link:
http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/07/apple-gives-itself-passing-epeat-grade-for-retina-macbook-pro/
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@mike lucey said:
I imagine a company with Apple's resources could come up with a better fixing solution other than industrial glue .... seems to be a crude solution!
Really? Glue is simple to apply, generally reliable, has no moving parts to break or get lost. It is generally a very thin layer. It is quite possible to obtain glues that are trivial to 'disassemble' (if that's the right word for something like glue) such as the 3M 'command glue' stuff.
I've no idea what glue Apple might have used in this case but to blanket condemn the idea is silly. For a similar situation I would happily specify something like http://www.command.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/NACommand/Command/Products/Catalog/%7E/Command-Mini-Refill-Strips?N=5922782&rt=rud. Pull the right tab and it simply comes undone. Seems pretty green to me. -
Well, probably glue is a good alternative, but not the one apple is using.....
Pic taken from ifixit.com
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