Sustainable Tech
cross-posted from: https://floss.social/users/be4foss/statuses/112332015705832479
> You don't need a new computer for up-to-date software ... just the right software! > > Come to #Umweltfestival 2024 in #Berlin to learn about the role of independent #FreeSoftware in the sustainable use of hardware. > > 🗓️ Sunday 28 April, 11-19h > 📍 Straße des 17. Juni (Brandenburg Gate) > > \#KDEEco together with #FSFE (@fsfe) and Bits & Bäume (@bitsundbaeume\_berlin) will be there! Some in the #GNOME and #postmarketOS community may be joining as well :) > > @kde > > \#KDE #BMUV #UBA #GermanEnvAgency #OpenSource
cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/3036509
> There is apparently a printer that can use spent coffee or tea leaves to print. I love this idea but I would not buy a printer when so many are being thrown away. I pull them out of dumpsters with intent to repair them. So the question is, can they be hacked to work with coffee or tea? > > Canon actually disclosed how to hack their cartridges as a consequence of a semiconductor shortage due to coronavirus. So this suggests #Canon could be a candidate for this hack. Has anyone tried it? How precisely do we have to match the viscosity of homemade ink to the original ink?
- • 96%solar.lowtechmagazine.com How to Build a Small Solar Power System
This guide explains everything you need to know to build stand-alone photovoltaic systems that can power almost anything you want.
Low tech magazine
- www.bbc.com What does a sustainable smartphone look like?
In a bid to reduce global electronic waste, Fairphone has created a smartphone that owners can repair themselves. What makes its technology so sustainable?
In a bid to reduce global electronic waste, Fairphone has created a smartphone that owners can repair themselves. What makes its technology so sustainable?
- www.theverge.com The right-to-repair movement is just getting started
Apple’s stunning support for right-to-repair isn’t the whole story.
Apple stunned the world when it came out in support of California’s right-to-repair law. But software locks and other obstacles seem to signal that the fight is far from over.
- www.treehugger.com Build This Open Source DIY Wind Turbine for $30
If you're interested in learning how to build your own renewable energy devices, this DIY vertical axis wind turbine is a great place to start.
- solar.lowtechmagazine.com Direct Solar Power: Off-Grid Without Batteries
Using solar panels without backup infrastructure makes renewable energy production much more affordable, efficient and sustainable.
Using solar panels without backup infrastructure makes renewable energy production much more affordable, efficient and sustainable.
- arstechnica.com Swytch DIY e-bike conversion kits: A very, very long-term review
What it's like buying, installing, and riding an e-bike upgrade.
Turn your bike into an electric bike.
- • 68%electrek.co The hidden costs of using an electric bike
Electric bikes might sound like fun, but there are several impacts they'll have on your life and wallet that you might have forgotten about.
- www.theverge.com Google says it’ll support Pixel 8 series with seven years of Android updates
Two seven-year smartphones.
Fairphone shows it's possible for companies to support devices longer than three years. Now it trickles up.
Repost from OSnews.
FWIW, I don't agree just because of the screen but it's still better than anything on the market today.
- arstechnica.com Google says it can’t fix Pixel Watches, please just buy a new one
With no official repair program and no parts, broken Pixel Watches are just e-waste.
Lol. Just buy a Seiko.
- arstechnica.com Calif. passes strongest right-to-repair bill yet, requiring 7 years of parts
Repair shops must disclose if they're using "non-authorized" parts.
- www.theverge.com The Fairphone 5 is a little more repairable and much more modern
But there’s no sign of a US launch.
A little bigger, eight years of support, ability to repair when things break. Still no headphone jack and the AMOLED display is a regression. Expensive but doesn't use slave labor so that's good. I'll stick with the FP4
- www.theverge.com HMD’s repairable Nokia phone initiative lands stateside
The Nokia G310 is releasing next week.
- www.wired.com Open-Source Your Blender to Fight Electronic Waste
Berlin-based Open Funk is tackling throwaway culture with a blender that's as easy to fix as to replace.
An open source, repairable blender.
- www.theguardian.com Say hello to longlife tech that can challenge our throwaway culture
We’ve got used to dumping old devices. But a new breed of firms is making products that they hope you will hang on to
- arstechnica.com Man open-sources the self-repairable AirPods Pro case that Apple won’t make
The AirPods Pro "could have been easily made repairable with minimal effort."
An airpods pro case with a replaceable battery and USB-C charging.
- • 100%www.jordanharbinger.com Siddharth Kara | How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives | Jordan Harbinger
Siddharth Kara joins us to discuss how miners in the Congo die daily to supply cobalt for lithium-ion batteries that power our phones, laptops, and cars.
- www.techradar.com Nokia G42 combines repairability and 5G connectivity in a handsome purple package
Throw in affordability too and you have a potentially winning formula
The G42 continues Nokia’s quest to make at-home smartphone repairs simple, accessible and affordable
- www.digitaltrends.com An inside look at Lenovo's goal to create sustainable tech | Digital Trends
Lenovo has been focused on sustainability for years now, but its recent innovations are going continuing to push forward.
It looks like Framework lit a fire at Lenovo.
>Called Project Aurora, it remains in the concept phase, but is Lenovo exploring methods of execution.
Nothing tangible for consumers yet, but for the past decade Lenovo has been on this march towards consumer-hostility. First with DRM on batteries; then with keyboards built into the topcase, followed by integrated batteries; and now with some series soldered memory, network cards, and only a USB-C option.
As more traditional ThinkPad enthusiasts look at Framework and other brands, it looks like Lenovo is having second thoughts about their road towards planned obsolescence.
Even if Lenovo can get back to where they were in 2011 with repairability, it would be great.
Going a step further -- allowing us to upgrade parts and motherboards over the years, would be amazing but I wouldn't count on it.
The EU's Press Release on User-Replacable Batteries
>Batteries are key to the decarbonisation process and the EU's shift towards zero-emission modes of transport. At the same time end-of-life batteries contain many valuable resources and we must be able to reuse those critical raw materials instead of relying on third countries for supplies. The new rules will promote the competitiveness of European industry and ensure new batteries are sustainable and contribute to the green transition. -Teresa Ribera
- www.theverge.com Making sense of the EU’s fight for user-replaceable smartphone batteries
The smartphone battery legislation is… complicated.
"“A portable battery should be considered to be removable by the end-user when it can be removed with the use of commercially available tools”"
Additionally, the manufacturer should make batteries available for SEVEN years after release.
A step in the right direction, IMO. Now mandate software support for that duration.
- fosstodon.org Jeremy Soller 🦀 (@soller@fosstodon.org)
We will be moving Virgo laptop PCB design to this public, GPLv3 licensed project: https://github.com/system76/virgo/. This will be the most open, modern x86 motherboard design I know of.
system76 has produced laptops for years that support Linux, but they have always been rebrands of Clevo. Now that they will be designing their own in-house laptop, Principal Engineer Jeremy Soller has announced that it will be completely open, and licensed under the GPLv3.
Soller: >This will be the most open, modern x86 motherboard design I know of.
- arstechnica.com Fairphone 3 gets seven years of updates, besting every other Android OEM
Fairphone proves the usual excuses for ending Android support aren't valid.
Today, Fairphone tweeted that it will be supporting the Fairphone 3, released in 2019, until 2026. That's seven years of updates on the stock OS, unheard of in the Android world.
Fairphone 3+ is an upgrade for Fairphone 3 with a better camera module; it can still be purchased new from resellers, and refurbished directly from Fairphone in the EU.
I'm on a Fairphone 4, but this is really neat. 5 years should be the minimum for a phone, and we should be striving towards 10 years of use total.
- forum.turris.cz Wi-Fi 6 upgrade packs are now available to buy
Dear Turris community, Our philosophy is always to support our customers during the life cycle of our devices. We stand by our philosophy. When others would encourage buying a “new” version of the device every year, we want to keep our devices up to date with hardware and software upgrades. If you...
The Turris Omnia continues to be an incredible return on investment. I bought this in 2015; plugged it in, and it stays up to date.
In 2023, I purchased a Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) upgrade kit and updated the internal card myself thanks to the YouTube video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79H0FxW85qg
Just an FYI. This router is probably going to be usable for another decade.
- • 100%
Repeat turns electronics industry on its head with high-end, sustainable and modular headphones
www.brightvibes.com Hear, hear! Repeat turns electronics industry on its head with high-end, sustainable and modular headphonesThe Repeat headphones turn the electronics industry on its head with their modular design, durability, top-notch sound, and comfort.
- time.com The World Has an E-Waste Problem
Less than a quarter of all U.S. electronic waste is recycled
This 2019 article introduces the audience to the growing problem of electronic waste. 50 million tons of e-waste were generated in 2018.
- www.laptopmag.com Framework Laptop 16: The last laptop you will ever buy
The Framework of something special
The 16" Framework Laptop will include both Intel and AMD options, and will allow upgrading and replacing parts over time.
- https:// www.nokia.com /phones/en_int/nokia-g-22
Announced February 2023. A lower-end phone, but maybe more viable than the FairPhone.
- arstechnica.com Fairphone 4—the repairable, sustainable smartphone—is coming to the US
Fairphone teams up with the developer of the /e/ Android fork to enable US sales.
Today's announcement is that Fairphone will be officially sold in the US, complete with a warranty and deGoogled OS.
- solar.lowtechmagazine.com How and Why I Stopped Buying New Laptops
As a freelance journalist – or an office worker if you wish – I have always believed that I should regularly buy a new laptop. But older machines offer more quality for much less money.
A classic article from the infamous solar powered LowTechMagazine; the author describes their journey and how they ended up on a laptop from 2006.