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Jailbreaking legalization the right choice

timmermans — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 22:02:50 GMT

Every three years the Library of Congress rules on exemptions from a 1998 law that prohibits people from bypassing technical measures like copy-protection on electronic devices that they own. This year they ruled that Jailbreaking your iPhone was perfectly legal because you own the device.

This does not mean apple will suddenly stop making it hard to jailbreak iPhones. The opposite is true actually, as Apple will continually make it as hard as they can to jailbreak. But trust me when I say various iPhone repair companies are licking their chops at a service they can now perform legally. This is a landmark decision in the history of the iPhone Jailbreak.
I personally could not agree more with this decision. Like downloading music, it's something that everyone does. Like downloading music, it does not hurt anyone but arguably the greedy corporate tycoons.

In the land of 'everyone's doing it you should too' this will undoubtedly be the tipping point of jailbreaking. Lots of people were apprehensive because it was illegal and they thought the feds would track them down and throw them in jail. But now, those people can go about their business freely.

Politics of E-Waste still disturbing

timmermans — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 04:27:19 GMT

In case did not know, ewaste is the electronic junk that is piling up in our local dumps. Most of it though is shipped overseas to less stringent standards and higher profits. It is a 'export your harm' approach and the Basel Action Network (BAN) is doing what they can to stop it.

A long awaited policy reform from the Institute for Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) did not go the way BAN wanted it to. They say it does little to nothing to stop the exporting of electronics. As a result, the countries with the least amount of capabilities to properly hand our escraps our handling our escraps.

BAN executive director Jim Puckett had this to say,

"Dumping toxic, problematic wastes on developing countries is an easy way to make money, and the US scrap industry seems hell-bent on perpetuating that practice even when it has been globally outlawed. Not only does this irresponsible practice succeed in exporting poisons to those least able to deal with it, but it means the loss of green US jobs as well."

That is the most frustrating thing, too. Quality jobs in the United State are being lost so large companies can export recycling to nations that can't process it safely.

The Basel Convention treaty forbids any member country from importing wastes from a non-Party like the United States. Therefore, ISRI's policy of ignoring the Basel Convention succeeds in creating illegal trafficking in waste worldwide.

BAN warns people not to be fooled by companies who claim to recycle ewaste but are members of ISRI. If a company wants to recycle your ewaste, do you homework first.

Furthermore, ISRI is controlling a certain segment of the media, thus making many believe they believe in doing what is right. Very frustrating.

What you can do

Many electronic repair shops are popping up all over, with iphone repair leading the way it seems. This is a great thing as people look to reduce ewaste and save money during hard economic times.

It is up to us as consumers to buy less and use our products longer. See if you can install upgrades on your computer to use it an additional two years. When you buy a television, plan on owning it for a very long time. If you get rid of it, sell it to somebody or dispose of your items the right way. Ewaste is incredibly toxic so respect your things and handle with care!

The Green Building Economy Plan

timmermans — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:19:55 GMT

In a recent article published by Reuters, the green building movement has been steadily increasing. However, home owners feeling the financial crunch have been un-decided about going green because of fiscal reasons:

"The green movement is growing in the real estate world, but not without some growing pains caused by the credit crunch and the recession. The nation has a good opportunity to excel in this, said Vincent Cozzolino, of The Solar Energy Consortium, because it has the chance to build a new industry without repeating the mistakes of earlier players in Germany and China, for example."

Even though jobs and industries that once were an American icon have steadily been shipped overseas since the 1970's, the clean energy, green construction and technologies industry could shape the American economy in the 21st century. As the above quote states, although the economic downturn has shifted the attention of most families to simply making sure all of the bills are paid for, there is still room for talk about going green! By implementing eco methods of building with green energy solutions, you will play an important role in the transformation to a healthier home and environment.

The Green Economy Initiative is designed to assist governments in "greening" their economies by reshaping and refocusing policies, investments towards clean/renewable technologies, green transportation, waste management and green architecture.

The Department of Energy concluded that cooling and heating counts for up to 50-70 percent of all energy used in the average home in the U.S. In today's state, this philosophy can also save natural resources. This can be related to the improper and toxic insulation that was used in millions of homes such as asbestos, which lead to thousands wrongfully developing cancer and have fought corporations by receiving mesothelioma compensation. This is a rare illness directly linked to asbestos that was used by several industries around the world because it was cheap and durable.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand, there needs to be greater focus in being the pioneer for these new technologies, which many believe we already have, but have kept it hidden from the public: Greening the economy refers to the process of reconfiguring businesses and infrastructure to deliver better returns on natural, human and economic capital investments, while at the same time reducing greenhouse gas emissions, extracting and using less natural resources, creating less waste and reducing social disparities.

What can you do? Start in your home. By using eco-friendly methods of building, it may prove to be costly at first, but research shows it can reduce annual energy costs by 25 percent! By building green, you will immediately see the multitude of positive health, economic and environmental benefits, such as: conserving natural resources, energy sustainability, increased property value and improve your quality of life.