Monthly Archive for September, 2009

gGadget » Apple Expands Environmental Disclosures – Green Inc. Blog – NYTimes.com

September 30, 2009, 9:30 AM

NYTimes.com | Green Inc.: Apple Expands Environmental Disclosures

By JOE HUTSKO

Apple last week updated its Apple and the Environment Web site to include a life cycle impact section that, the company says, accounts for its total carbon footprint of 10.2 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

The emissions, organized by category, include those arising from manufacturing (38 percent); transportation (5 percent); product use (53 percent); facilities (3 percent); and recycling (1 percent).

“Because 53 percent of Apple’s greenhouse gas emissions are a result of the power our products consume, we design those products to be as energy-efficient as possible,” the company stated on its new Web site, adding that “Mac OS X even regulates processor activity between keystrokes, saving milliwatts of energy.”

A recent BusinessWeek article reported that carbon emissions for Hewlett-Packard and Dell were 8.4 million tons and 471,000 tons respectively. However, both companies “exclude product use and at least some manufacturing,” the article noted, and those companies “have said that including those factors would boost their carbon totals several-fold.”

Downloadable reports for all of Apple’s existing and recently retired products provide detailed breakdowns of each product’s environmental virtues (or shortcomings) — including whether it uses mercury-free LED displays or arsenic-free display glass. Also covered are the use of toxic substances like brominated flame retardants and polyvinyl chlorides, which are noxious when burned.

Apple says that all of its handheld products — iPhones and iPods — are now “PVC-free,” and that the majority of circuit boards and internal cables in its plastic-housed MacBooks are free of BFRs and PVCs. It also describes its remaining desktop, notebook, display and server products as being “BFR-free” and having “PVC-free internal cables.”

Asked whether any other electronics manufacturers are reporting the CO2 life-cycle impact for entire product lines, Casey Harrell, Greenpeace International’s toxics campaigner, said, “Not the way Apple is.”

“Others are doing some interesting reporting of their supply-chain emissions,” he added, “and HP is doing a lot of work there.”

via Apple Expands Environmental Disclosures – Green Inc. Blog – NYTimes.com.

via gGadget » Blog Archive » Apple Expands Environmental Disclosures – Green Inc. Blog – NYTimes.com .

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iPhone OS 3.1 update available; organize apps in iTunes, download ringtones, MobileMe remote lock, anti-phishing and more

While everyone’s following the blogs covering Apple’s announcements today, I checked iTunes to see if there might be an iPhone update available before the show’s over.

3.1update1

Low and behold, I’m downloading the iPhone OS 3.1 Software Update and installing it on my iPhone 3G as I write this.

Here is what appears in the dialog  after you click Download, or Download and Install:

iPhone OS 3.1 Software Update

This update contains bug fixes and improvements, including the following:

  • Genius recommendations for Applications
  • iTunes 9 support
    • Genius Mixes
    • Organize your apps directly in iTunes
    • Improved syncing options for music, movies, TV shows, podcasts and photos
    • iTunes U content organization
  • Redeem iTunes Gift cards, codes and certificates in the App Store
  • Display available iTunes account credits in the App Store and iTunes Store
  • Browse and download ringtones wirelessly from the iTunes Store*
  • Save video from Mail and MMS into Camera Roll
  • Option to “Save as new clip” when trimming a video on iPhone 3GS
  • Better iPhone 3G Wi-Fi performance when Bluetooth is turned on
  • Remotely lock iPhone with a passcode via MobileMe
  • Use Voice Control with iPhone 3GS with Bluetooth headsets
  • Paste phone numbers into Keypad
  • Option to use Home button to turn on Accessibility features on iPhone 3GS
  • Warn when visiting fraudulent websites in Safari (anti-phishing)
  • Improved Exchange calendar synching and invitation handling
  • Fixes issue that caused some app icons to display incorrectly
  • Products compatible with this software update:

iPhone
iPhone 3G
iPhone 3GS

The update completed just as I finished writing this post, and now when I check Settings > General > About I see Version 3.1 7C144) and Carrier AT&T 5.0. Stay tuned for more details.IMG_0715

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