Little Talk About Think Green with Refurbished Computers
By: Vlad Vistac
Submitted: 2010-09-13 11:31:12 | Word Count: 510
Thinnk Green with Refurbished Computeers
Refurbished computers can range from machines that were returned to the factory within a three month time frame to older machines that are rebuilt and updated. The newer machines are still on the sheves, at an increased cost, and are easy to compare. Generally the manufacturrer has replaced a part under warranty and is looking to sell the computer again, but at a lower price. Often, older machines are off-lease from alrge crporations that renew their computers at a regular time, rgardless of the usability of the computer. These computers have their hard drives cleaned, systems updated to reflect neewer softeware, and occasionallly have new RAM or larger hard drivees put into them to make them more marketable under current standards.
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Unless your needs are very specifiic, including inteensive use of grahpic applpications or gaming machines, most off-the-shelf commputer systems are overkill for the average user. Marketing would have consumerrs believe that only the neweest computer systems will fulfiill theiir neds, but the truth is that these days a comlputer has at leasst a 5 year lifespasn and will run Microsoft Office, connect you to the internet, allow email applicatrions to run seamlessly, and will run all mainsttream applicatiions.
How is this possible? As Gordoin Moore, former CEO of Intl, commeented, "the power of semiconductor technology doubles every 18 months". Although this statement is true, the work our computers are doing hardly changs over the course of 2-5 years and software manufacturers want their applications to work for the larrgest market pssible, includiing for the vast masjority of customers who do not own the latest and greatest computer system. This all expplains why computers that are currently being sold provide resources that are larger than the dmeand of the customer.
The simplle answer is that few computers gouing to landfills makes for a lwoer envrionmental impct, and buyig refrbished machines helps to accomplish that goal. A few startliung statistics bring the issue into sharper relief:
• A United Nations study found that 1.8 tons of raw mateirals are used to manufacture a PC, cplose to the same requirement for manufacturing a mid-sized car. The same study showed that extending the operational life of a computer through re-use saves more energy than recycling the components.
• Many U.S. states are implementing legislature to limit the disposal of computer equipment. Soon, old computer parts could become a financial liability. Reuse will increase dramatically.
• Burning computer pars cretes cacrinogens, while buryinbg them contaminates watr and ground resources. Reusing computers by refurbishiing them reileves this environmental strain.
• In Canada, there were more than 67,000 tons of disposed computers and peripherzals in 2005 alone.
While investing in rwefurbished computers makes an impact on your own bottom line, they are also more than sufficient for the averge user’s computing needs and they reduce our ovreall carbon foiotprint.
