EBay Takes Aim at Old PCs and 'E-Waste'
Plus: Google Chat
Aug. 26, 2005 —
In this week's "Cybershake," we take a look at how eBay is partnering with others to try and turn the tide on the growing flood of old computer gear headed for the scrap heap. Plus, we note Google's latest step to move beyond being just another online search engine.
Escalating Eco-Alternatives to E-Waste
Your cell phone service provider throws in a new phone for renewing a two-year contract. Your child returns to school with a new computer and leaves the older, less powerful one behind. These and other situations are creating a growing problem.
"Over 400 million PCs will be replaced in the next three years and & on average, a cell phone gets replaced every 18 months," says Stephani Regalia, senior manager of eBay Computers. "And 75 percent of the systems end up stockpiled in garages, closets or offices."
That wouldn't be so bad -- if all those unwanted pieces of digital gear stayed hidden. But eventually they end up cluttering local landfills and municipal dumps, where the toxic materials such as lead, cadmium and mercury leech out of the trashed machines and pollute the air, land and water.
"It's estimated that although Americans know that throwing away electronics is damaging to the environment, only about 15 percent of them know that there are ways to dispose of them properly in their area," says Regalia.
That's why earlier this year, eBay joined forces with several other tech companies and environmental groups to create the "Rethink" Initiative. The program is designed to teach and help consumers find better get rid of unwanted electronics.
At the program's Web site, www.Rethink.eBay.com, consumers will find virtual pages of information on how to sell, donate or recycle old digital gear. Some of the program's partners even provide online tools that help consumers determine which course of action makes sense.
For example, the site has "trade-in calculators" provided by Dealtree that help Web visitors determine the resale value of an old piece of equipment. And if consumers think it's worth selling an old laptop, there are also links to other useful tools -- such as an online program that can be used to completely erase a computer's hard drive of all private data.
Other helpful sections on the Web site include an extensive list of local electronics reclamation centers and recycling organizations. People new to the "green" movement can find those groups using the so-called "geo-locators" on the Rethink page.
"That [geo-locators] allows you to type your zip code in and find a list of recyclers in your immediate area," says Regalia.
Regalia says that since eBay launched the site earlier this year, online traffic has been growing steadily. Hopefully, that means more consumers are looking for environmentally-friendly alternatives to ditching their digital gear.
-- Larry Jacobs, ABC News
Going Beyond Net Searches
Most of us know Google as that ubiquitous Internet search engine. But among the Net-savvy, the Web company has become so much more.
Some have already been using the company's Gmail, a free Web based e-mail service with more than one gigabyte of storage -- a move that others quickly copied. But now Google is expanding into other online communications: instant messaging and computer-to-computer voice chat.
"Google is offering what you would call peer-to-peer chat," says media analyst Alan Weiner of the market research firm Gartner in Stamford, Conn. As with other chat services offered by Microsoft, AOL and Yahoo!, Weiner says, "You can connect by voice to other people who have the IM client."
However, Weiner notes that Google's new IM and chat services are built on an "open" platform. That means its IM and chat services will work with other, smaller networks based on the same technology such as Gaim, Jabber and XChat.
And that is a big differentiator from others IM systems which connect members only with others on the same IM network. AOL IM users can't chat with Yahoo! Messenger users, for example.
"An open platform is inviting or, dare I say, challenging the others to do the same," says Weiner.
Another big difference: Google's new chat features are -- for now -- available only to those using its Gmail service. And Net users can set up a free Gmail account only if invited by another member or if they have a cell phone capable of receiving text messages.
Google says by limiting access, it can more easily work out any kinks that develop in the systems before they make them widely available to anyone on the Net. And Weiner says the registration via cell phone trick also ensures its system, for now, won't be abused by Web bad guys.
It "makes sure that these automated 'bots [software programs] don't go on to their Gmail registration and grab hundreds of accounts for purposes of spamming," says Weiner.
-- Richard Cantu, ABC News
Cybershake is produced for ABC News Radio by Andrea J. Smith.