{"items": [{"author": "Maxwell", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/397416826954030?comment_id=397422670286779", "anchor": "fb-397422670286779", "service": "fb", "text": "Bad for the environment though :P", "timestamp": "1331415753"}, {"author": "Andrew", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/397416826954030?comment_id=397423896953323", "anchor": "fb-397423896953323", "service": "fb", "text": "How bad for the environment?  What is the cost/benefit?", "timestamp": "1331415896"}, {"author": "Maxwell", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/397416826954030?comment_id=397427283619651", "anchor": "fb-397427283619651", "service": "fb", "text": "Probably pretty negligible, especially for something like a tooth brush. But all these redundant goods produce emissions during manufacturing, require the use of natural resources, etc. But like, Mitt Romney was just talking about how his wife has redundant cars for each of their redundant houses. That definitely has an impact.", "timestamp": "1331416304"}, {"author": "Neil", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/397416826954030?comment_id=397444320284614", "anchor": "fb-397444320284614", "service": "fb", "text": "The only the thing that has an extra enivronmental impact here are the extra chargers, and those only because the usually aren't compatible with the next computer. The others while, Jeff may have 3 times as many as he needs will then last 3 times as long. The Romney's redundant houses will on the other have not last that much longer as they are being weathered continually. Betting the cars are garaged at the houses, so they probably do last longer for being driven less...", "timestamp": "1331418402"}, {"author": "Zach", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/397416826954030?comment_id=397456153616764", "anchor": "fb-397456153616764", "service": "fb", "text": "hogwash.  you know romney is not driving his cars into the ground...", "timestamp": "1331419422"}, {"author": "Neil", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/397416826954030?comment_id=397485850280461", "anchor": "fb-397485850280461", "service": "fb", "text": "Yeah, I know that. I also know that he's not dumping them in the lake, or leaving them to rot in his front yard after he decides they're too outdated/worn out for him. He's selling them. Now cars do have some few parts that just wear out with time, not use, so there's some impact there. And yes there is impact from tying up extra resources, but I'd guess it's pretty marginal.", "timestamp": "1331422907"}, {"author": "Lee", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/397416826954030?comment_id=397644123597967", "anchor": "fb-397644123597967", "service": "fb", "text": "Some of this is like buying groceries in quantity, so we don't have to go out to the market every time the toilet paper runs out...", "timestamp": "1331444253"}, {"author": "Kiran", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/397416826954030?comment_id=397730536922659", "anchor": "fb-397730536922659", "service": "fb", "text": "If you buy Macs your chargers will have a long lifetime, and I'd bet that's also true of PCs of the same brand.  I really like the move to USB charging.  But there are other products which persist in having non-standard chargers--I recently decided not to buy a new electric shaver because it had a new charging connector that required a stand and I couldn't use my existing chargers for it.  And the proprietary cables make me reluctant to buy any digital camera.", "timestamp": "1331458459"}, {"author": "Maxwell", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/397416826954030?comment_id=397916396904073", "anchor": "fb-397916396904073", "service": "fb", "text": "Despite my snarky comments above, I actually have two iPhone chargers: one for home, and one for work. It's very convenient! But it turns out that one reason why USB charging is now making headway is because the EU recognized that requiring people to buy new chargers all the time contributes to needless e-waste. Anecdotally, I have both an iPod speaker dock and an iPod car charger which are both totally useless ever since I got my iPhone since \"charging is not compatible\" with the newer device. In addition to being a waste of money, both of those perfectly good gadgets are probably going to end up in a landfill.<br>http://arstechnica.com/.../apples-iphone-micro-usb...", "timestamp": "1331480319"}, {"author": "Neil", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/397416826954030?comment_id=397947136900999", "anchor": "fb-397947136900999", "service": "fb", "text": "China too, but I would guess that the EU rule is having the larger impact.", "timestamp": "1331483400"}, {"author": "Kiran", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/397416826954030?comment_id=398168540212192", "anchor": "fb-398168540212192", "service": "fb", "text": "AFAIK the EU mandate merely specified that the device had a standard connector. USB charging was making plenty of headway even without that, because building a cheap cable was cheaper than building a cable attached to a charger certified by the regulators, and cheaper still if you used a standard connector.", "timestamp": "1331504345"}, {"author": "Neil", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/397416826954030?comment_id=398175523544827", "anchor": "fb-398175523544827", "service": "fb", "text": "China mandated USB something like 5-6 years ago and I don't recall seeing much USB charging before that. If I had to bet it was regulation not economics that made the move. The cell phone sized wall adapters are pretty cheap, but the proprietary plug let you charge $30 for one...", "timestamp": "1331505106"}]}