I think one could argue that the file format war could contribute to e-waste indirectly. New file formats coming, uh oh gotta buy a new version of office, might as get a new computer. Office is a bit more of a modular piece and fortunately there are other options.<div>
<br></div><div>Microsoft is a friend of the hardware industry though. Hardware requirements rarely ever go down do they?</div><div><br></div><div>Best regards,</div><div><br></div><div>J. D.<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">
On Fri, Jan 16, 2009 at 11:00 AM, Atlanta Geek <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:atlantageek@gmail.com">atlantageek@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
I've been reading 'Hot Flat and Crowded' by Thomas Friedman and a<br>
point was made that we should design for sustanibility. Appliances<br>
should never go into the dump. Government policies should be such that<br>
it makes more sense to refurbish and reuse rather than to just buy a<br>
new appliance. (Maybe a huge sales tax on new goods)<br>
<br>
Anyway I thought the same case could be made about PCs. How many old<br>
PCs have been sent to the dump just because they got so loaded with<br>
viruses the user just decided to get a new PC with the newer MS OS.<br>
PCs seem to have a 3-4 year replace cycle which somewhat corresponds<br>
to the release of OSes by Microsoft.<br>
<br>
So what's your opinion. Anyone more articulate than me find this<br>
remotely interesting.<br>
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