A Faster, Smarter, Greener Apple

I am a huge fan of Apple and while I write this post on a PC (still saving for my dream computer) I follow Apple closely. While Steve Jobs can improve in some areas, his company does make some impressive products.

A popular seed on Newsvine today was about the release of upgraded MacBooks or the rumors of... Yes they are true. MacBooks now contain 1 Gigabyte of RAM and a 2+GHz processors (depending on model). While it is a modest increase, the machine will run smoother.

To follow-up however, I went to apple.com, and while front and center was the clear confirmation of the seed. The small green apple in the bottom left corner was what really caught my eye...

Steve Jobs decided to publicly identify the efforts that Apple has taken to improve the construction of their products through the removal of harmful "ingredients" and continued efforts to further reduce the harmful chemicals in the future. They have also had a recycling program in effect since 1994, and while there is no established industry standard to date, the numbers show that the participation is improving each year.

I'll take the numbers with a grain of salt as they are being reported by the company itself. Greenpeace has received the news well and improved their rating of the company based on the transparency that is now being offered.

The world has slowly been moving away from paper, improving the impact on the environment as more people gather information on a screen as opposed to hard copies. The whole time there has been a cost due to the construction and operation of these machines with the harmful chemicals and outgassing that occurs.

By making these machines more compliant with environmental standards and improving their footprint, we can further encourage the reduction of paper and usage of an electronic screen as an information/communication mechanism.

Glad to hear that Apple is touting this as it further validates the green revolution that is occuring in the business world and the consumer world as a whole. It makes me yearn for a MacBook even more.