I have a perfectly fine iPad Air that is too old/slow to be usable for work. But it would work fine as a wall display.
However, Safari is too old to support some features, so there are limits to what can be done. And since all browsers have to use Apple's webkit, installing a different browser does not help.
And on anything older than iPadOS 17.4 we cannot sideload SW either, if a better browser could be built.
All I can do is to recycle it...
#ElectronicWaste
Tech companies would rather continue destroying the planet for some pennies.
> India's new rules mandate a minimum payment of 22 rupees (25 U.S. cents) per kilogram to recycle consumer electronics. Electronics companies say that will roughly triple their costs and benefit recyclers at their expense.
Exclusive: LG, Samsung sue Indian government over electronic-waste pricing policy | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/lg-samsung-sue-indian-government-over-electronic-waste-pricing-policy-2025-04-21/
#plannedObsolecense
#electronicWaste
#ElectronicWasteRecycling
https://www.europesays.com/uk/35184/ Nappies, smartphone glass, and cigarette butts are piling up in Europe. How can we recycle them? #cigarette #ElectronicWaste #Environment #FoodWaste #NewTechnologies #Recycling #Science #ScientificResearch #UK #UnitedKingdom
@bookstodon
3/
They enter various biological systems and cause alterations in respiratory functions of the lungs, damage to DNA, impaired thyroid functioning, and an increased risk of cancer. This chapter focuses on the effects of e-waste on water quality, phytoplankton, aquatic microorganisms, and human health.
Abstract from Chapter 6 Electronic Wastes and Contamination of Water
Electronic waste (e-waste) is the fastest-growing waste stream in the world, and it is an emerging environmental issue. E-waste can be toxic, and non-biodegradable, and accumulates in the soil, water bodies, and living things. Heavy metals such as Pb, Cd, As, Cr, Hg, Ni, Cu, Se, Zn, Co, Sn
Electronic Waste: Impact on Health, Animals, and the Environment ed. by Srijan Goswami et al, 2025
This book examines the detrimental impact of electronic waste on human health, animal welfare, and environmental ecosystems. The initial chapter discusses the sources, composition, and toxicity of electronic waste.
Chapter abstracts:
@bookstodon
#books
#nonfiction
#EWaste
#ElectronicWaste
#pollution
The Register: PIRG’s ‘Electronic Waste Graveyard’ lists 100+ gadgets dumped after support vanished . “Those well-meaning agitators at the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) are back, this time with an interactive “Electronic Waste Graveyard” cataloging a range of devices tossed aside after software support expires or cloud connections flatline…. its latest effort is an online ‘rogues’ […]
How I Gave My Old Computer Parts a Second Life
At the end of last year, we replaced our PCs that were over 10 years old. And with new equipment there is always the question: What to do with the old one?
We haven’t had the best experience of trying to sell old PCs in one go. So throw them away? But … they work quite well! It would be sad to see them just go to the bin. Also, it just felt wrong to throw away fully functional discs, RAM and graphics cards.
So I decided to try a different approach this time. Disassemble the machines and put all the parts up for sale on eBay separately. Not with the aim of making a lot of money, but to avoid electronic waste. – I took pictures of all the parts, gave them a (really) short description and put them up for auction on eBay for €1. The SSDs and HDDs were reset/overwritten and put online with the corresponding SMART values. I didn’t want to cheat anyone who bought a used disc.
If the parts didn’t sell within a few weeks, I could always throw them away. If each item sold for €1, it wouldn’t justify the effort, but at least the parts could stay in use! Maybe someone just wants to try / learn how to assemble PCs. You likely wouldn’t want to buy brand new components for that, right? Who knows (and actually I don’t care).
The Result: after about 3 weeks, to my surprise, almost all the parts were sold! The mainboard and the DVD burner sold for 1€ and 2€ respectively, but all the other parts sold for more.
And I admit: it was also a bit fun to disassemble the machines. 
https://www.locked.de/how-i-gave-my-old-computer-parts-a-second-life/
Dani Ploeger - Deserted Devices And Wasted Fences, everyday technologies in extreme circumstances
Many Americans still don’t understand how easily #IoT devices can get bricked, 20250205,
by Scharon H,
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/02/many-americans-still-dont-understand-how-easily-iot-devices-can-get-bricked/
AI-driven automation increases #ElectronicWaste, as companies continuously upgrade systems. The #AI industry’s #CarbonFootprint is rarely discussed, yet it directly contributes to #ClimateChange while pretending to be an innovative solution. #AI-powered surveillance is another major concern. Governments use #AI to monitor citizens, tracking online activity, phone conversations, & #public behaviour. Mass surveillance erodes privacy, turning societies into digital panopticons. (11/18)
Consumers would really like Microsoft (and Apple) TO SUPPORT OLDER OPERATING SYSTEMS (and we know they can do it -- older government computers still get updates)!
Microsoft would really like you to replace your old Windows 10 PCs this year
The carrot of "new features" and the stick of "no more updates for your old PC."
Andrew Cunningham – Jan 6, 2025
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/01/as-it-buries-windows-10-microsoft-declares-2025-year-of-the-windows-11-pc-refresh/
#FuckPlannedObsolescence #RightToRepair #RightToUpgrade #Linux #PlannedObsolescence #ElectronicWaste #GreedyCEOs #MakeThemEatComputerChips
EU universal charger rules come into force https://www.byteseu.com/600865/ #Apple #ChargingPort #ElectronicWaste #EUParliament #Europe #EuropeanUnion
A rising tide of e-waste threatens our #health, the #environment & the economy https://theconversation.com/a-rising-tide-of-e-waste-made-worse-by-ai-threatens-our-health-the-environment-and-the-economy-244203
Better ways to recover metals needed for technology from #ElectronicWaste could benefit the #environment and human health
Published: December 3, 2024
"As if our tech consumption hadn’t pushed demand for these metals through the roof in recent years, COVID also helped to make it worse. The pandemic drove sales of new electronics, contributing to more waste as old equipment became obsolete. The change to work-from-home/hybrid working saw more purchases of laptops and mobile phones. People also saw the pandemic as an opportunity to upgrade their televisions and games consoles.
"This has made it all the more important to recover the crucial materials we need from e-waste. One response has been from the Royal Mint, which has opened a recycling plant to recover 450kg of gold from 4,000 tonnes of e-waste per year – potentially enough for around 13 million phones. The average smartphone contains around 34mg of gold, which accounts for over 60% of the value of the metal-based parts of the phone per device.
"The Royal Mint initiative is an important milestone towards adopting a greener approach to metal recovery from discarded hardware. The mint is using an ambient temperature process, which means that precious metals can be recovered at room temperatures rather than being sent to smelters. The same process also allows for the selective recovery of other metals from the waste, such as palladium, silver, copper, iron, steel and aluminium.
Toxic methods
"The Royal Mint initiative is important because the recovery of technology-critical metals from recycled electronics typically employs much harsher conditions. Waste electronics generally first undergo what’s called pyrometallurgy, the extraction and purification of metals involving the application of heat in a smelter. This is done to liberate the metals from their casings.
"Further purification – both for the Royal Mint and other recovery processes – is carried out using methods collectively known as hydrometallurgy. This uses water-based solutions to recover purer forms of the metal, but also produces harmful waste: strong acids, such as sulphuric acid or nitric acid, as well as a group of chemicals called lixiviants, which can include cyanides, may be used to dissolve materials.
"Further treatment is required before these substances can be safely discharged back into the environment. Not doing so risks significant environmental impacts like the reported 'cancer villages' in China, which some have linked to factories and polluted waterways.
"Also environmentally troublesome is what’s known as artisanal, or small-scale, #mining – involving individuals, groups or co-operatives, rather than corporations. This accounts for 12%-15% of the global mined gold supply, accounting for around 2,000 tonnes per year.
"This mining occurs in over 70 different countries. The UN Environmental Programme estimates that artisanal and small-scale mining involve 10 to 15 million miners globally, including 4 to 5 million women and children.
"The cheapest and simplest method of extracting gold from ores, as well as from waste electronics, involves using mercury. This involves boiling off the mercury, releasing toxic mercury vapour into the environment. This can significantly reduce the life expectancies of people exposed to the resulting pollution, as well as causing significant damage to local water-sources and to soil.
"The opening of the metal recycling plant by the Royal Mint is therefore beneficial for various reasons besides being relatively environmentally friendly. It will lead to fewer toxic metals going to landfill that could potentially leach out into water supplies, and it will reduce our reliance on artisanal and small-scale mining for gold, reducing pollution and the risk to human health."
"The artificial intelligence boom isn't just consuming massive amounts of energy and water: It's also creating an unprecedented tsunami of electronic waste.
According to Stanford University, private investment in AI went from $3 billion in 2022 to $25 billion last year, with companies adopting AI tools faster than ever. This surge is forcing data centers to continually upgrade their hardware, discarding still-functional equipment in a race to maintain competitive edge.
This massive use of components to fuel the hardware that runs AI models is throwing off millions of tons of discarded electronic components. A new study published in Nature by a team of researchers from China, Israel, and the UK estimates that large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude or LlaMa alone could generate 2.75 million tons (2.5 million tonnes) of e-waste annually, severely increasing the environmental impact of AI."
The disposable world of capitalism should be legislated out of existence. Humans will trash their own home given the chance by companies seeking profit from suicidal consumers with little incentive to behave with self preservation.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/disposable-vapes-from-a-music-festival-can-power-a-beefy-e-bike-20-miles/
1996 A Burning Tower of Computers
The image depicts a large pile of old desktop computers and keyboards engulfed in flames.
It appears to be an artistic representation possibly symbolizing the discarding or destruction of outdated technology.
Tags: computers, fire, destruction, electronic waste, vintage
https://nocontext.loener.nl/fullpage/06-June1996-Page-073.png
1996
The image depicts a pile of discarded electronic equipment, including computer monitors and keyboards.
The items are jumbled together, with some pieces appearing damaged or broken.
There is visible fire at the bottom of the image, suggesting that these electronics have been burned or are being disposed of in an uncontrolled manner.
Tags: computers, electronic waste, pollution, recycling, technology, environmental issues
https://nocontext.loener.nl/fullpage/06-June1996-Page-073.png
