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Mar 16, 09 - 02:40 pm Comment from: HMCIV

Ya think they're pressing the Green thing a little far? I mean if USB vs FireWire is the greenest decision you have to make, you're probably already well past a carbon neutral lifestyle.

Green Peace your thoughts?

Someone tell Apple.

Mar 16, 09 - 02:51 pm Comment from: MacSmiley

Someone tell Greenpeace.

When is this "green" fad going to end?

wanna know something interesting? sometimes my shit is green too

I'm so sick and tired of this idiocy. What can I use that increases my carbon footprint to tell these assholes to go fsck themselves?

The green fad will end, when it turns purple and you have to amputate.

Mar 16, 09 - 03:20 pm Comment from: mike_in_helsinki

Fsuking ridiculous. 'Greenest interface'. Hey, cut the horse shit. I am with A ... they can go fsuck themselves.

@Joe: you like grape Koolaid™ too?

Mar 16, 09 - 03:39 pm Comment from: jocknerd

I'm all for it if it can keep Firewire around.

Green is the new burnt umber.

I'm with Eddy and A and Mike in Helsinki. The whole "green" nonsense is getting ridiculous. When a change translates into lower cost, such as because of lower power use, it's fine to be green. When it doesn't translate into a lower cost, it's almost ALWAYS just the APPEARANCE of being green.

not burnt umber, alizeron crimson

Mar 16, 09 - 04:35 pm Comment from: KingMel

Why the outrage against 'green'? When products exists in the hundreds of millions or billions, even a small efficiency advantage can translate into serious reductions in energy consumption worldwide.

Take the power adapters ("wall warts") used for powering and charging portable electronics such as cell phones, laptops, iPods, etc. Some of those waste a lot of power both in use and even when not hooked up to a load because they use the cheapest approach. (See Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_wart).

The upfront cost would be somewhat higher for high efficiency adapters, but the overall value would be higher from a large-scale system viewpoint in which fewer powerplants are required and we reduce fossil fuel consumption and the associated pollution.

I don't know if that analogy applies in this case. But don't be too quick to dismiss small improvements in efficiency. Don't let green hype overshadow the real need to improve our stewardship of natural resources and the environment.

Mar 16, 09 - 05:10 pm Comment from: Greg L

And the airline industry is touting how hard they are working on reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Of course, this also means they are working hard on reducing fuel burn rate. And this means they are working hard at reducing fuel costs. Good Joes, those airline types: so concerned with the environment.

Mar 16, 09 - 05:17 pm Comment from: Think

Hmmm. That volcano in Alaska is about to blow a huge carbon footprint.

Which I want someone to explain how that is not worse than burning fossil fuels for power.


I'm with Eddy and A and Mike in Helsinki and Jake.

Mar 16, 09 - 05:38 pm Comment from: leftofkarlmarx

@kingMel

good insights.

@HMCIV, Eddy, joe, A, Jake, etc.

simpletons!

Mar 16, 09 - 05:50 pm Comment from: Predrag

Let us, for the sake of the argument, temporarily forget about climate change, greenhouse gasses, etc. If you reduce energy consumption at any point in the chain, you are saving someone some money. Boeing / Airbus (and other smaller players) are building more efficient airplanes because airliners would want to spend less fuel in order to move the same number of passengers along the same route, saving themselves some money and thereby increasing profits.

Same with an ordinary consumer. A less power-hungry data interface (or a wall-wart A/C adapter, fluorescent light bulbs, better thermal insulation, etc) would translate to a few bucks' worth of saved electricity (perhaps an equivalent to a movie ticket).

I can't possibly imagine what does any of this have to do with a volcano eruption in Alaska (or anywhere else on the planet). Does the 'Think' person suggest we figure out how to control volcanic eruptions or other natural occurrences???

Mar 16, 09 - 07:31 pm Comment from: Sir Gill Bates

"What can I use that increases my carbon footprint to tell these assholes to go fsck themselves?"

How about ya douse yourself in gasoline and light a match?

Following on from the comment from Predrag, and also for the sake of argument, we forget about global warming and just look at the dirty end of power generation.

It is not just greenhouse gasses which are being produced. Burning fossil fuels also releases nasty toxins into the atmosphere and environment, which finds its way into the food chain, which finds its way into our bodies since we're at the top of the food chain.

Burning fossil fuels and releasing carbon also increases the acidity of our oceans and lakes, whereby carbonic acid is produced. This in turn inhibits the growth of plankton, reducing the ability of the oceans to sustain life from corals to whales and everything in between, and therefore its ability to feed the human population. There is a tipping point where upon the entire ocean food chain collapses which will be disastrous for all life on Planet Earth.

Reduce the energy we consume through efficiency, as pointed out, saves everyone money. Reduce the resources we consume through EOL recycling of all products and materials means less landfill, less damage caused by the sourcing of raw materials. These are the new industries of the 21st century and beyond.

Ever heard the expression "don't shit in your own nest?" We need to learn how to live in harmony with our planet. It's not like we can move to another one.

Now on topic, where the hell is the new super high speed optical interface FW?

This apparently is to use the same Beta plug as FW800 with an optical connector added making it backwards compatible.

Is this why Apple has dropped FW400 and includes FW800 only?

Could FW800 be coming to the next Macbook update?

Actually I drink Grape crystal light knockoff from walmart

@Think:

Apart from Predrags excellent insights, because volcanoes have a miniscule carbon footprint compared to fossil fuels, thats why. Myths claiming the opposite notwithstanding.

Mar 17, 09 - 09:45 am Comment from: HMCIV

@ leftofkarlmarx

I don't think simpletons would appreciate the comparison.
Now excuse me while compare energy efficiency between USB Firewire external drives on for my water cooled Dell XPS. I use it to play Halo or run 10,000 copies of Hampster Dance.