Microsoft’s recent announcement that they will be releasing a 3-dollar Windows software suite might sound like a charitable gesture, if it weren’t so wrapped in context:
- In addition to any outstanding antitrust suits, Microsoft has now embarked on new lawsuit frontiers for its marketing of Vista.
- The 3-dollar version of Windows in question is severely feature-limited. Yes, even more so than Vista Home Basic.
- It’s also based on seven year old technology — Windows XP, which Microsoft has pledged to stop supporting for consumers by January 2008.
- The announcement comes at a time when the Classmate PC and One Laptop Per Child projects are bringing Linux to developing countries.
Is Microsoft (a) Engaging in a timed public relations campaign; (b) Trying to make money and increase shelf life for now obsolete software; (c) Tapping into emerging markets identified by competitors; or (d) Trying to thwart the spread of Linux?
I would guess (e) All of the above. No well-considered initiative is ever single benefit.
If Microsoft were truly the benevolent entity it would like us to perceive, it would never have released Vista. Consider that the upgrade cost to even the most feature-limited edition of Microsoft’s new OS costs $100. Should you want to enjoy the benefits that one would normally expect with an “upgrade”, expect to pay substantially more. Consider also the fact that the hardware requirements for Vista are steep. Windows users looking to upgrade to Vista should have a minimum of a 1.0 GHz processor, 1 GB of system memory, and an Aero-compatible graphics card with at least 128 MB graphics memory and supporting DirectX 9 with Hardware Pixel Shader v2.0 and WDDM driver support.
The implications of this are serious. Many of the computers running XP are now functionally obsolete under Vista, and where will they end up? At best, they will find their way to a computer recycling facility where they will be resold to enterprising individuals who can use them in computers powered by more lean operating systems (like Linux or BSD). Other components and systems may be shipped overseas to run computers in developing countries — at least in theory.
Investigation by Jim Lehrer at PBS found that many of these donated systems are melted down for their metal ingredients — copper, aluminum and gold — with many toxins like arsenic, mercury, and lead released in the process. Worst of all, much of this work is done by children. A hospital in Bangalore, India found that over half of children were lead-poisoned.
And what of the computers and components that aren’t donated? They may find temporary refuge in attics and basements, wasting away the usable lifespan they still possess. Ultimately they will end up in the garbage bins behind millions of homes because there is a cost of to safely disposing of these materials. Dumping is free — though the environmental costs are high and long term.
The Utah Department of Environmental Quality estimates that 314 million computers will be thrown away by the end of 2004, containing 1.2 billion pounds of lead, 2 million pounds of cadmium, 1.2 million pounds of hexavalent chromium, and 400,000 pounds of mercury.
As of 2005, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated that 45 million computers become obsolete every year. I’m curious to see how that will change once the environmental impact of Vista is taken into account over the next 5 years.
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