Is Linus actually trying to create e waste?

[chocolatekarma]

I love Linus, but sometimes it seriously seems like he's trying to add e waste to a planet that's already choking on it.  It must be a symptom of constantly receiving free hardware for years, and he just has no appreciation for the value of it. 

 

What I'm specifically referring to is how rough he is with hardware.  It seems like he's trying to kill it at times, even if he doesn't drop it.

 

Thoughts?

[Master Disaster]

Context?

 

My understanding is they don't throw anything out unless its broken and what they do throw out gets recycled.

[Moonzy]

which part or video are you talking about? maybe some context helps

[minibois]

That is actually something he addressed in his "I've been thinking of retiring" video, where he mentioned he does understand the gravity of him reviewing the latest tech also encouraging people to always get the latest stuff (and thus making the older stuff less valuable).

[ki8aras]

as he has explained multiple times in videos, they don't have 20 gtx 1080 ti's 50 2080's and 12 3090's, when they do a build video, most of the time they tear the pc apart again and put the parts back on their shelves

[chocolatekarma]

All the videos pretty much.  He's far too rough with things, even when he doesn't drop them. 

[Master Disaster]

2 minutes ago, minibois said:

That is actually something he addressed in his "I've been thinking of retiring" video, where he mentioned he does understand the gravity of him reviewing the latest tech also encouraging people to always get the latest stuff (and thus making the older stuff less valuable).

People upgrading doesn't directly create e-waste though, unless its already FUBAR the vast majority of people would sell it on to someone else.

[Kilrah]

9 minutes ago, chocolatekarma said:

All the videos pretty much.  He's far too rough with things, even when he doesn't drop them. 

When has he actually broken anything?

[WereCatf]

13 minutes ago, chocolatekarma said:

He's far too rough with things, even when he doesn't drop them. 

No, he isn't. Most of the stuff he uses gets featured multiple times over the years in various configurations, very clearly demonstrating that the stuff can perfectly well deal with his handling of them.

[minibois]

14 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

People upgrading doesn't directly create e-waste though, unless its already FUBAR the vast majority of people would sell it on to someone else.

a surprising number of 'normal people' don't realize their computers are actually worth something second hand, but yes that is a fair point; the re-use part of "reduce, re-use, recycle".

 

it's just something I paraphrased from that livestream, where he did talk about sometimes feeling bad about showing off the latest tech, making the older stuff seem bad.

5 minutes ago, Kilrah said:

When has he broken anything?

Didn't dropping that 28 core Xeon kill some memory channels?

And during his PFSense project two motherboards broke, but I am still unsure whose 'fault' that was (the case, the builder, etc.)

And didn't that hydrodipped 2080 Super malfunction after some time, I think the fans were always at 100% because of a broken board in the middle of the fans.

 

But seeing the amount of stuff he gets his hands on, this is a very very small fraction of everything he uses.

[WereCatf]

8 minutes ago, minibois said:

a surprising number of 'normal people' don't realize their computers are actually worth something second hand, but yes that is a fair point

How much that matters depends on the country you live in as well. Here in Finland, you can bring your electronics -- including PCs -- to any store that sells similar stuff and they'll recycle it all for you (it doesn't cost you anything, you just furiously smash your stuff down on the desk and roar loudly that you want it recycled), so many people do just that when they buy new laptops, for example.

[Master Disaster]

5 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

How much that matters depends on the country you live in as well. Here in Finland, you can bring your electronics -- including PCs -- to any store that sells similar stuff and they'll recycle it all for you, so many people do just that when they buy new laptops, for example.

Finland? Are you one of those nutcases who go out on snowmobiles in -15c?

[WereCatf]

Just now, Master Disaster said:

Finland? Are you one of those nutcases who go out on snowmobiles in -15c?

No. I'm a deep-fried nerd: I hide in the basement, avoid people, sunlight burns my skin and fresh air is toxic.

[minibois]

4 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

How much that matters depends on the country you live in as well. Here in Finland, you can bring your electronics -- including PCs -- to any store that sells similar stuff and they'll recycle it all for you, so many people do just that when they buy new laptops, for example.

Recycle or re-use?

Because people where I live (and I'd have to guess everywhere) understand their laptop is not "normal trash" material, so they understand it needs to be disposed of differently.

Some stores here allow for people to bring their laptop for recycling, but that sort of equipment is usually meant to be brought to specific "large trash" places (which sounds very fancy, but is actually a common sort of place).

 

With small electronics (i.e. light bulbs, batteries, etc.) stores that sell these also need to provide a bin to throw them away, so those are very easy to dispose of.

With large electronics (i.e. washers, dryers, fridges, etc.) we use to (from '99 to 2011) had to pay a "removal fee" when buying the product, which subsidized the whole recycling business around these electronics. Now manufacturers and importers of these products are responsible for the cost.

 

Aaaanyways, I provided that context just to say "people know how to throw their stuff away, but often not how to re-use it", which I think that is what OP's main point is: "encouraging people to buy the latest and greatest [by showing it on-screen in YouTube videos] makes e-waste much more common".

Whether that is the case is up for debate and Linus has talked in the past about how his actions of showing the newest tech does influence this.

[Quackers101]

Drop waste, there goes another one!

[chocolatekarma]

2 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

No. I'm a deep-fried nerd: I hide in the basement, avoid people, sunlight burns my skin and fresh air is toxic.

Sounds like me.

[mousesnob]

Arent the majority of people in the west over consuming anyway

[WereCatf]

1 minute ago, minibois said:

Recycle or re-use?

Recycle.

1 minute ago, minibois said:

Some stores here allow for people to bring their laptop for recycling, but that sort of equipment is usually meant to be brought to specific "large trash" places (which sounds very fancy, but is actually a common sort of place)

I didn't mean the stores do the recycling themselves, they just handle the part where the old electronics is properly forwarded to proper recycling-plants, so people don't have to do that themselves. It's both more convenient for people to be able to bring their junk to any store they like and then more efficient for the stores to deliver all the junk in larger batches to the plants.

[podkall]

Linus is only excited to touch and work with the stuff,

so he rushes stuff and in the end can accidentaly drop something or yank or something.

 

It's not roughness it's just overexcitement. tbh

[Quackers101]

Tech should have focused a long time on making tech easier to recycle in general (less mixing of metals etc, for less e-waste to env waste).

But I guess it's too expensive and takes up a lot more space to have an item to be easier to recycle.

[podkall]

1 minute ago, Quackers101 said:

Tech should have focused a long time on making tech easier to recycle in general (less mixing of metals etc, for less e-waste to env waste).

But I guess it's too expensive and takes up a lot more space to have an item to be easier to recycle.

Some parts work better if they are certain material, and some parts can't be made out of same material as others also.

[LogicalDrm]

So this is bit more complex thing. Linus as tech user and company owner is probably on the better side of recycling etc. He has whole video series about buying used hardware dirt-cheap for capable systems. He has had whole company spending couple of days on local recycler, and probably still donates them any too old or actually broken stuff. They do sell anything with market value and which isn't useful to them.

 

All of that is much better than your average kid coming here to ask how he should brig his laptop to beg new computer from parents. Or someone asking what to do with old rig in general. The first thing in their mind when it becomes useless isn't to take it to recycling, but to throw it into dump. Thats actual e-waste, the one which will leak into ground and groundwater.

 

Yes, then there is the other side. With cutting edge of technology and promoting that. With phones, wireless stuff and anything which is pretty much doomed in 2-4 years. But is them promoting the actual issue there? I don't think so. Its more about manufacturers, the culture promoted people much more influential than Linus, and people who enable that (= parents).

[Colty]

I don't think you should talk about Linus, LMG, or pretty much any of us "normies" who don't run any sort of manufacturing facility about e-waste. At least not in this context.

 

Do you realize how much e-waste is created by things like Apple's right to repair issues? By Walmart and BestBuy selling cheap tablets/TVs that are expected to fail within 3-5yrs? How much straight up waste is made by things like over the top packaging? *cough* Amazon *cough*

Whatever small amount Linus/LMG has contributed is likely made up for in folds by the huge amount of people he has inspired to keep an old machine running, buy used hardware, and recycle properly through freegeek or other means. 

[Morrie Sells Wigs]

I mean, Linus doesn't make the stuff, so the "waste" isn't something he creates or profits from.

 

He's just a consumer, ultimately, like the rest of us.

 

If he ceased to operate there wouldn't be one less GPU, one less motherboard, whatever, in existence. 

 

As for his "rough" treatment, perhaps he's doing what we aren't willing to do with expensive components - which is push them, bend them, drop them, and generally test their build quality and durability the way any other person would who is regularly testing consumer items.

 

Or, maybe, he is a little spoilt and doesn't appreciate the fact that it comes across slightly off.

 

After all, he gets it all free.

 

However, he's built a business and a channel that allows him that privilege. 

 

ATEOTD, I don't think he's going to change...so why waste time worrying about it?

[WkdPaul]

Linus isn't rough with the tech he handles, has anyone here worked in the IT department of a large company ? Regular users are FAR worse than anything you'll see in a LTT video, including him dropping stuff.