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Samsung launches free Recycling Direct program for consumers
Hopefully by now you know that the gadget in your pocket or notebook on your lap is full of toxic ooze seeping into your fingers with every tap. This has retailers and manufacturers scrambling to help you recycle those wares, the latest being Samsung with its new Recycling Direct plan. It expands on the company's trio of limited recycling programs that cover only mobile phones, toner, and office equipment. The new program will accept any obsolete or broken product free of charge -- assuming it has a "Samsung" label somewhere on it. (You can recycle other stuff too for a fee.) Partnerships are currently being negotiated with "respected" facilities in all 50 states, meaning you'll be able can lay your old celly or washing machine to rest in person starting next month.[Via Crave]
WoW Moviewatch: There Will Be Cannibalism
It's only been about a week since we posted Gnomechewer's last machinima, Back In Your Head, but he's already back with a new one! There Will Be Cannibalism could be the closest thing to PvP that I'll ever enjoy posting here. It is a parody of There Will Be Blood, with Daniel Day Lewis, set to the disturbing sounds of a Britney Spears tune, Toxic. Given Gnomechewer's track record with the crowd, and his ability to produce quality entertainment consistently, we're thrilled that he abandoned Age of Conan and came back to WoW.If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
Greenpeace dismantles iPhone, discovers "hazardous chemicals"
Apple's no stranger to being slammed by Greenpeace, and while Steve certainly spoke of a "Greener Apple," it seems that the iPhone wasn't included. According to tests arranged by the entity, it was found that the iPhone contained "toxic brominated compounds (indicating the presence of brominated flame retardants) and hazardous PVC," which are said to be disallowed across the pond due to RoHS requirements. More specifically, the independent testing found "brominated compounds in half the samples, including in the phone's antenna, in which they made up 10-percent of the total weight of the flexible circuit board." As expected, Greenpeace wasted no time pointing to rival firms that have received pats on the back for their green efforts, and subsequently shook a finger at Apple while murmuring "tsk tsk" -- but we'll leave the actual politicking to you all in comments, cool?Update: Greenpeace does not claim that Apple is in violation of RoHS.[Via Switched, thanks Laura]
Flea-like robots double as pollution detectors
Developing robots with flea-like attributes seems to be quite popular these days, as researchers at the University of Lucca have apparently created a diminutive bot that was "developed to detect mercury poisoning in the ground and leap from place to place the way fleas or frogs jump." The creature measures in at ten-centimeters long and weighs just 80-grams, and can supposedly cover "vast amounts of land in shorter amounts of time" compared to less efficient pollution-seeking alternatives. Currently, the critters are purportedly being loosed in the wild with "special mercury-deteting sensors," so be sure not to squash any hard workin' mechanical pests if one accidentally hops in your tent. [Via The Raw Feed]
A PC is like an ogre; it's full of toxic layers
In case we haven't told you this in one of our How-tos already: don't attempt to eat your PC. You'll probably break a few teeth trying it, and a lot of the parts that make up your chunky tower or your sandwich lookalike of a laptop are toxic anyway. PC Magazine outlines some of the common toxic chemicals that make up your PC, and it doesn't make for pleasant reading. For example, did you know that your motherboard's Beryllium base could give you cancer, and your LCD's mercury infused fluorescent bulb, brain damage? OK, so you're not really in any kind of risk unless you go against our wise eating advice earlier, but it certainly makes you think -- specifically, that the innocent box sitting under your desk is trying to kill you. C'mon, these thing are already starting to "randomly" explode; how long until our LCD activates its tilt mechanism and starts dripping mercury into our mouth while we're sleeping, or our laptop sneaks in between two slices of bread? Personally, we're going back to pen, paper, and non-robotic carrier pigeon.Read - Toxics in your PCRead - What's inside your laptop
