What can we blame?

What is the cause of this excess outward flow of computers at MIT? There are three major reasons: Moore's Law, consumer attitudes, and inadequate education about other available options.

Moore's Law is the notion that microprocessor double in speed approximately every eighteen months. This law has basically been adhered to so far in the development of microprocessor technology. It puts quite a bit of pressure on engineers, however, to come out with a new, faster chip every eighteen months because they feel like they need to continue the current trend. However, this continual increase in processor speeds is far outpacing the needs of customers using these products.

Consumer attitudes are such that people always want the newest, fastest, and best technology out on the market, and are willing to pay extra for these new chips. Despite the fact that consumers rarely use their machines for more than word processing, web surfing, and email, they still want the fastest computer on the market and thus the computing power of each PC is far underutilized. Additionally, MIT must keep up its reputation as one of the technological centers of America, and therefore must continually upgrade the computers on campus to have one of the best computer networks in the country.

Education about alternatives to just disposing of computers when the lifetime is up is currently very inadequate. Consumers, companies, and institutions need to be better informed about other options. These other options include: recycling, donating, and reusing old computers.

Next Section: Reuse and Disposal at MIT