OT-Repurposing PDAs

[Jamon Camisso]

Christopher Browne wrote:
> On 8/26/07, matt-oC+CK0giAiYdmIl+iVs3AywD8/FfD2ys at public.gmane.org <matt-oC+CK0giAiYdmIl+iVs3AywD8/FfD2ys at public.gmane.org> wrote:
>> Hi all,
>>
>> As part of my effort to get rid of old clutter, I've come across a
>> couple of dead PDAs.  I hate the idea of them going to waste, but I
>> have a working PDA solution right now, so I'd like to repurpose them.
>> Unfortunately, I appear to have a case of Maker's Block, so I'd
>> appreciate any suggestions for what I could use the following for
>> instead of as a PDA:
>>
>> -Palm M130 (Screen is signifigantly scratched, internal battery is shot)
>> -Cassiopeia (Can't remember which model I have, but I think it's the
>> older one; also, I think I got rid of the dock)
>> -Sharp EL-6890 (256kb Electronic organizer, battery dead)
>> -Sharp ZQ-3000 (32 kb Electronic organizer, battery dead)
> 
> These sorts of things are very much purpose-built; repurposing them to
> new applications is highly unlikely to be worthwhile.
> 
> - Getting them to function as what they were designed to be is likely
> to cost more than they did (e.g. - replacing batteries that are likely
> no longer manufactured for a PDA that is no longer manufactured).
> 
> - Turning them into an "embedded platform" is likely also to be quite
> unsuitable; if you need something for embedding, you're much better
> off buying a board with either an IA-32 or xScale processor new that
> actually satisfies the needs.
> 
> Generally speaking, computer hardware is now *so* cheap that it is
> virtually impossible for fixing it to be of more monetary value than
> just buying a new one.  New disk drives are spectacularly cheaper, per
> GB, than earlier generations.  Likewise RAM chips.  Likewise Flash
> storage.
> 
> Time being money, at some level, if it takes more than a couple hours
> to "repurpose" one of these PDAs, you're *way* better off buying new
> hardware unless some very peculiar circumstances are true, where
> somehow, your time is, strangely, NOT of any value to you.

Time may not be, but I think we all value the environment to some degree 
or another -- it's of value to all of us. Even the Government of Canada 
agrees, and that was in 2003: 
http://www.ec.gc.ca/envirozine/english/issues/33/feature1_e.cfm

I can't imagine the e-waste we're generating has been reduced between 
now and then, so the issue remains.

> It's something of a shame that this hardware is so obsolete that it's
> essentially worthless.  Except when you consider that part of the
> reason for that is that newer, spectacularly more powerful stuff is
> now cheap.  Life's short enough that I decline to have too much regret
> for this...

It isn't necessarily worthless, just look at the prosperity of the 
Chinese city of Guiyu, which is a major electronics recycling and 
reclamation center. Someone there thinks there's value and derives a 
profit recycling our obsolete electronic goods. Albeit as scrap 
material, and at the cost of the health of the workers and local 
population:

Even the Washington Post thought it was worthy of commenting upon:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A56653-2003Feb24

Some disturbing pictures, things like open air copper smelting:
http://www.ecologicliving.ca/ArticleRead.aspx?id=29

PBDEs (flame retardant) in Chinese electronics-recycling workers:
http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2007/july/science/kb_china.html

 From that article: "Toxicology studies conducted with animals show that 
BDE–209 can impact thyroid hormones and alter brain development."

Note: *everyone on this list would benefit from taking the time to read 
this next article*:
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1913570

An excerpt from that article: "Observation of e-waste processing. The 
primitive e-waste recycling procedures in Guiyu were mainly as follows: 
a) Old electronic equipment was dismantled (Figure 2) with electric 
drill, cutter, hammer, and screwdriver into component parts such as 
monitor, hard drive, CD driver, wires, cables, circuit boards, 
transformer, charger, battery, and plastic or metal frame that are sold 
for reuse or to other workshops for further recycling. b) Circuit boards 
(Figure 3) of computers and other large appliances were heated over coal 
fires to melt the solder to release valuable electronic components, such 
as diodes, resistors, and microchips. c) Circuit boards of cell phones 
and other hand-held devices were taken apart by a electrothermal machine 
(Figure 4), which was a particular environmental and human health 
concern in the processing of e-waste in Guiyu. d) In acid baths (Figure 
5), some microchips and computer parts were soaked to extract precious 
gold and palladium, from which the waste acids were discharged into 
nearby fields and streams. e) Wires and cables were stripped or simply 
burnt in open air to recover metals. f) Printer cartridges were ripped 
apart for their toner and recyclable aluminum, steel, and plastic parts. 
g) Plastic [e.g., polyvinyl chloride (PVC), acrylonitrile butadiene 
styrene copolymer (ABS), high-density polyethylene (HDPE)] was sorted by 
workers according to rigidity, color, and luster. Plastic scraps that 
cannot be sorted visually must be burned and classified by burning odor."

So yes, everyone, go ahead and buy new electronics. We're doing everyone 
a favour by reinvesting in technology companies that will make our 
current technology obsolete, such that it will end up being "recycled" 
into the next new piece of kit that will revolutionize the way we do 
business. Environment is irrelevant right?

And hey, what better way to ensure we stay on the top of the global 
capitalist pile along with the U.S. and E.U. than by shipping off our 
waste to other countries like China and India and letting those people 
contract whatever horrible disease our precious flame-retardant 
cellphones cause when they're burned anyways, and where the type of 
plastic is checked by a person smelling the smoke.

Now Linux may not be able to solve that problem, but damnit, if it runs 
on that old pda, or you can make use of it in some fashion, then do it. 
You'll get geek points and good karma.

Ok, I'm done. But please, everyone, at least think about what happens 
when you throw out that old crt or tower; you owe it to yourself and to 
the rest of us who live on this planet.

Jamon
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