Monday, July 13, 2009

Secure Data Eradication

Many companies share the goal of going “green”. However, there is hesitation to actively pursue this goal due to concern for their intellectual property being accessed or distributed around the world. A recent article in PC World magazine stated that IT managers were "twice as concerned about data security as they are about being green" since any neglect in data security could potentially cost a company millions of dollars in damages.

Raident Technology has acknowledged such fears when developing the service of data security. The company not only provides data eradication of hard drives but also provides complete destruction of proprietary materials such as: hard drives, memory and motherboards.

Account Manager Aisha Wahab stated that “Raident’s solution of destruction is the most secure way to provide data security due to our secure facility and the ability to go on site for the customer’s benefit since the material does not have to leave the property while being destroyed”. She goes on to say that “all the material that Raident receives is recycled and destroyed with the most stringent environmental standards in mind”.

The company’s state of the art data eradication lab provides the added benefit of the possible reuse of the hard drives after the data has been removed. Wahab mentions that “the lab incorporates advanced technology which allows clients to see the movement of their assets from pick up to final disposal.” Raident has understood and addressed this common concern to ensure that IT managers are able to contribute to society as a “green” company without any fears.

Source: PC World.com, March 29, 2009

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

How the companies line up

We first released our 'Guide to Greener Electronics' in August 2006. The guide ranks the 17 top manufacturers of personal computers, mobile phones, TV's and games consoles according to their policies on toxic chemicals, recycling and climate change.

10 is the best and 0 is the worst rank.

7.45 Nokia -- Scores top marks for leading competitors on toxic phase out.
7.1 Samsung -- Holds second position for commitment to reduce absolute emissions.
6.5 Sony Ericsson -- Up two places with better product energy efficiency reporting
5.7 LG Electronics -- Up two places but needs to eliminate hazardous chemicals from all products
5.5 Toshiba -- Moves up two places with an extra point for promising to cut GHGs
5.5 Motorola -- Scores higher and climbs two places because of use of renewable energy
5.3 Philips -- Falls from 4th to 7th position and needs to put its commitment to responsible recycling policies into practice
5.3 Sharp -- Rises from 9th to joint 7th place with its energy efficient products
4.9 Acer -- Put 16 new models of a monitor that are almost free of hazardous chemicals and climbed two places from 11 to 9 but still need to sort out the power cord
4.9 Panasonic -- Advance from 12th to 10th place for energy efficiency and pvc free product range but still bad on e waste
4.7 Apple -- Drop one position to 11th with no change in scores but get kudos for their green macbook
4.5 Sony -- Plunges from 5th to 12th place for inadequate commitments on eliminating hazardous chemicals, e waste policy and cutting GHGs
3.9 Dell -- Stays at 13th place because of backtracking on toxics phase out
3.5 HP -- Is at 14th position and has no products on the market free of toxic substances
2.5 Microsoft -- Loses a point for a poor recycling policy but stays in 15th position
2.5 Lenovo -- Down two places with no set timeline for toxics phase out on all products
2.4 Fujitsu -- Debuts second from last with no products that are free of hazardous chemicals
1.0 Nintendo -- Stays put in last position with a glimmer of hope with partially pvc free consoles

###

Source: Greenpeace, July 1, 2009

Light at the end of the tunnel for consumer electronics?

Market research firm Gartner Inc. is predicting that the consumer IT sector should begin to recover as early as the fourth quarter of this year, with sustained recovery emerging in the second half of 2010. PC shipments are on pace to be six-percent lower in 2009, coming in at a projected 274 million units; however, the company believes the PC market has essentially bottomed out and should post positive growth in the last quarter of the year.

Reduced prices for new PCs and increased demand for lightweight notebooks, netbooks and smart phones are buoying the consumer electronics industry. In fact, mobile phones are projected to be the first to see a sustainable recovery in the first half of next year, according to the company. Mobile PC shipments for 2009 (notebooks and netbooks) are expected to increase 4.1 percent over 2008, reaching 149 million units worldwide. Comparatively, shipments of desktop units are predicted to be down 15.7 percent, due both to consumers' growing preference for portability, and business' reluctance to upgrade IT assets during the recession.

A particularly bright spot in this trend involves Acer, as the Taiwanese manufacturer is poised to overtake Dell this year, snatching the number two spot for PC sales. Thanks in large part to a 2000 shift in company strategy to focus on portable computer and retail partnerships, Acer's market share grew to 11.6 percent in the first quarter of the year — within striking distance of Dell's declining 13.6 percent.

Also on the horizon, the much-anticipated arrival of Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system is unlikely to jumpstart sales of new units and PC upgrades, unlike the release of previous operating systems. Although most PC users are eager for a replacement for the widely-panned Vista OS, Windows 7 utilizes virtually identical system requirements, meaning no new hardware is necessary for the upgrade.

###

Source: Resource Recycling, July, 2009