The first step for make your pc more green

by 

Marco Mazzocchi

Before think to use your pc a tool for save the world start thinking how you computer will impact the environment when disposed.

More the less all the pc's are made with similar technologies, the main boards, the chips, the batteries, hard disk, case etc are made with similar materials with similar environmental impact.

There are some pc that are slightly more environmentally friendly with cases made in solid aluminium instead of plastic etc.. but this does not change the matter significantly, the best  environmentally friendly computer is that you can keep running for years to come...

The matter is simple. On the market you can buy pc's or, worse, laptops for peanuts, offers of laptops for less than 300 euros are in every shopping mall... if the electronic of this stuff will not fail after 2 years sure will fail the mechanics, flimsy plastics and joints doom this product from the very first beginning, simply they are made cheap to sale and to be replaced just after the warranty time is over.

Batteries: buy a cheap laptop and your battery will short it's life in few months, then you will buy another battery (cheap because you don't buy expensive batteries on cheap laptops) that will last few months.. and again.. again. Sometimes I meet people that, the first thing they ask in my meeting room after a glass of water is to plug the laptop because the battery supply energy for 10 minutes.

But good pc's are expensive! Yes, they are, but they cost less than cheap computers, a well made pc can serve you a good many years, my last laptop had a video chip fail after 7 years of daily (heavy) use and the battery was still good for 3 hours work, when I bought it costed almost as twice than a cheap one with similar label features , but considering that the cheap one could last 2-3 years it came out that the more expensive was the cheaper one. My secretary is still working on a very good pc on the run from 13 years (for office work just the right tool for the job), it was an expensive piece of gear 13 years ago but now it came that was cheap to buy!

The bottom line: want to be ecological and environment friendly? Buy better gear and enjoy it for years to come!