Blog #3: Why PC Hardware is Controversial

I used yahoo as my search engine; I used it a long time ago and hadn't recently so I wanted to see if it had improved or disproved since I last used it.

I searched using the terms:

• "PC waste and its effects on the environment"
• "environmental effects of e-waste"

The websites I found most helpful were:

• http://www.tfpgroup.org/ewasteinfo.htm
• http://www.recyclingforcharities.com/environmental-effects-of-e-waste.php

 I thought the first website included good information about what kinds of chemicals and toxins are harmful to the environment and humans, but what really drew me into the first website was its video. I thought the video was concise and to the point about how computers can affect humans and where the parts actually go. Where I don't think it will be as helpful determining which computer parts specifically harm humans or the environment, I think we will definitely want to use a video like this one in our presentation. This organization stands for "technology for people group" and they are a small recycling group that was put together in 2008. They recycle and refurbish  computer parts and want to help start the movement toward making ethical decisions with electronic waste. I think it is a good starting point and like I said, the main attraction was their concise video that could be helpful later on.

The second website I thought was more helpful in determining the effects on human health when electronics are not properly recycled. It offered a well organized chart of the element that is harmful and what its affects could be. With this, we would first look up what elements are in which computer part, and then determine if that computer part has one of these harmful elements in it. "Recycling for Charities" is a nonprofit organization that allows for people to recycle their electronic parts as donations, and then those donations will continue on to a charity of the donators choice. This organization doesn't recycle computer parts, but the elements they list and their effects are the same as what you might find in the computer parts we are analyzing.

Blog #2 How the PC works

I used Bing this time as my search engine because I had never used it before and I wanted to try it out.

I searched using the terms

• "main components of the computer"
• "how computer parts can harm the environment"
• "computer parts that contain toxins"

The two websites that I found most useful were

• http://www.cleverace.com/main_computer_components.htm
• http://freegeekvancouver.org/en/computer_toxic_waste 

          The first site I used was called "Clever Ace", and it's main purpose was to provide as much information about the modern day PC. On its "about us" page, it states that its main targets are for those who need any basic information about various aspects of computers; from the equipment to the software. They are a helpful site providing any basic information regarding the computer and are fairly reliable since they  updated the website as recently as 2011 (no specific date provided).
          Within the website, I selected the "Main Computer Components". I chose this website because it didn't provide too much information about the parts of the PC, which can get overwhelming at times. Rather, they provided the essential parts such as the central processing unit, memory, hard drive, video and sound cards, computer cases, and power supply units, which are appropriate for this assignment. In addition, they offered pictures for what a typical component of the computer may look like, which would be helpful for our presentation. Within the pictures, they have prices for what each component of the computer may cost.It doesn't offer any description about how each part can be harmful to the environment, but that is what I found in my second website.

          The second website I used was to determine how computer parts might harm the environment. Once I knew the main parts of the computer form the first website, I researched "how computer parts can harm the environment". That search specifically didn't provide too many relevant results; they were mainly about why I should recycle my computer parts. So, I searched specifically for the toxins that are contained in the average computer hardware. This website provided good information about what toxins are in computers and how they can be harmful to humans if put into landfills or burned or just not recycled in general. The "Free Geek"  is a nonprofit organization, which aims at reducing environmental harm induced by the impact of electronic waste.
           For this post, I am referring to one website for all of the environmental damages that are possible from all computer parts. It is a good start, but not specific enough to use for the presentation. For the presentation, what I will probably do is search for the toxins contained within each computer part so it is clear what the parts are, and what they consist of that will harm the environment. I just didn't do that here because I didn't want to provide 10 additional websites.

Blog #1: How Technology Emerged

 I used google as my search engine because I was most familiar with it.

 I searched three times using

• "history of the pc" 
• "early development of the computer"
• "development of the pc"

The two websites that I found most helpful for researching the historical development of the PC were

• http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/130429/computer/216019/Early-history
• http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/?category=cmptr

       The first site is Britannica, which is an encyclopedia company and is one of the leaders in online encyclopedias. Its mission is to be one of the leaders in learning, and they take pride in being one of the most reliable sources of information. They are mainly funded by advertisements. The information is very current; it was last updated April 6, 2011.

       It is very useful if you are researching all of the factors that went in to the development of the computer. They explain what the computer is today and what it is composed of. In particular, they offer how every facet of the computer has evolved ever since the early development stages of computing with the abacus in 1100 B.C.E. All of these details are extremely helpful, however, there is almost too much information. It is hard to just scroll through the article because there is so much there and you can't just start reading anywhere. There is a table of contents where you can select what section you wish read, which makes it a little more helpful. 

       For our project in particular, this posting doesn't offer any information regarding the pc and its affects on the environment. This sight, and the other sight, are mainly useful for finding information about the technology development of the pc, not its current environmental side effects. This would certainly have to be researched to complete the project.

       The second site is a website for the Computer History Museum. They are a nonprofit organization which was founded in 1999 on the basis of celebrating computing history and preserving artifacts and information about the computer. They are funded through donations and revenue from their museum and have been growing steadily ever since opening. The information is fairly recent (2006), but that isn't as necessary because the history of the computer development shouldn't be expected to change all that much. 

       This website is pretty helpful in the sense that it offers a timeline with pictures so it is easy for people to see the images if they aren't familiar with the terminology in the timeline description. There isn't an overflow of information like Britannica seems to have, but there also isn't any information about the environment or any side effects of the computer development just as Britannica lacked. In addition to these helpful sources, further research about the environmental impact of pc hardware needs to be done.