Ethical motherboards / graphics cards

[Mark R]

Does anyone know anything about which manufacturers make an effort to source ethical components?

A few years ago there was a rash of publicitiy about 'conflict capacitors' in computers, 'phones and other devices, whose cost in terms of human suffering and oppression was substantial.

Does anyone have any up-to-date information about the state of the industry?

 

[Canai]

Links? Sources? google didn't turn up anything useful, and I have no clue what you are talking about.

Do you mean like capacitors are being made in sweatshops Nike style?

 

[Seekermeister]

From what I have read (no links), good manufacturers attempt to use only good capacitors, but even the best of them sometimes ends up with inferior ones. I think that it is a matter of going on a company's reputation.

 

[pkme2]

Me too, no go.

 

[Mark R]

Ah. I think I must have just invented the term 'conflict capacitors'.

I've check it up again, the issue is the mining of tantalum ore (coltan) in Congo - tantalum is used for the manufacture of tantalum electrolytic capacitors. Which are highly prized for their small size, very high reliability, and very high performance.

I'm not too sure if tantalum caps are used on motherboards - but I've not seen any relatively recent ones first hand, so couldn't tell you for sure. Graphics cards - seems more likely, but I don't have one that I can pick up to check.

 

[Grimner]

"Ethical" as in that tiny, crucial part of your mobile phone coming from the Congo? Or the endless fun you get when trying to dispose of broken electronics in (at least) an environmentally neutral way?

On both counts, nobody is advertising their ethics - only price, speed and features, which should tell you that things are bad.
I recently read a survey in England on the recycle of computers and shiny Apple didn't do too well...

And come to think of it, the only thing I've ever cared about is price, speed and features - which puts you way ahead of me in the ethics game

 

[slpaulson]

I can't say I know of any.

I believe the op is talking about sweatshops similar to foxconn's ipod factories for apple.

 

[jedisponge]

Basically it's similar to the "blood diamonds" that people have been talking about, where African tribes are killing each other for possession of the ever shrinking known deposits or potential deposits of diamonds. The same with Tantalum. These conditions are similar to the 16th and 17th centuries when slave economies were just developing, as African tribes fought amongst each other to enslave their opponents and to sell them in the slave trade to the European colonial powers.

My opinion, is that you kind of have to take morality out of some things. It's unfortunate and it definitely bothers me, but it's up to a point where you have to grit your teeth and bear with it. It's similar to the energy crisis, where the money oil rich countries in the Middle East are making from their sales might fund things that some other countries wouldn't be too happy about. But they have to keep buying the oil, as it's basically what economies and for the most part, way of life is pretty much reliant on to function.

So the question is, how much are you willing to sacrifice for your morals? While I'm sure everyone would want to be a Ghandi or Confucius (I know, maybe they're not great examples but it's all I can think of at this moment), are you willing to lower your standard of living for it? If so, how much?

 

[DasFox]

Well there are good points being made here, but if we all knew the computers we worked on and played on, were getting people abused, and killed what would we think, would we really care?

Hmm I personally think that is quite bothersome when I sit at home at night playing out some F.E.A.R. and then thinking that people suffered so I could have this box, I personally don't dig that idea at all.

One day if this ever really becomes a MAJOR issue, unless it has, I think PC geeks around the world should unite and stand up against this sort of thing. I believe it's really, "THE PC GEEK" thing to do, because where else in the world of technology is brotherhood, comaradary found?

I'll tell you, none that I know of when compared to the world of computing, and those that share this computing ground.

Honestly I've never considered this till now, so PLEASE keep us posted if there is any REAL info out there to shed light on this.

ALOHA

 

[Seekermeister]

I am no Ghandi, but I do not feel responsible for what some other people do for money. If it weren't tantalum, it would be something else. When people can turn on their own for money, they will do it for any number of other reasons. I would be more concerned if the money that they made was used for purposes such as funding terrorism elsewhere.

 

[DasFox]

Seekermeister you made a great point which you left OPEN. How do you really know what is going on with this money, and who is doing what to whom, and at what extent?

It's not the attitude that if it's not here, then it's going to happen somewhere else that matters.

It's knowing as consumers WHEN something happens we simply don't buy. Yes we might not be able to stop everything, but if when we know things going on, we at least don't put forth our efforts as consumers, then we're saying this is ok, but when you say I'm not going to buy, then we send a strong message that we won't tolerate this, otherwise we can't have some impact to help a little.

HELPING to make a little change is better then NO change!

Most people figure, well as long as it's not my friends and family, then who cares. Yes who cares if it's just some poor third world black people right? :Q

ALOHA

 

[Seekermeister]

I agree with you about not buying a product in which the funds gained are being used perversely. But, if we apply that rule to anything that has such a connotation, we would be limited in buying only American products, made in America, with only American components...that has become almost impossible these days. If we boycott anything produced by forced, oppressive labor, we would have to do this with China, first of all. Like it or not, that would not be easily done. I believe that there are other means to "voice" our feeling, which are more likely to have an effect.

 

[DasFox]

Originally posted by: Seekermeister
I agree with you about not buying a product in which the funds gained are being used perversely. But, if we apply that rule to anything that has such a connotation, we would be limited in buying only American products, made in America, with only American components...that has become almost impossible these days. If we boycott anything produced by forced, oppressive labor, we would have to do this with China, first of all. Like it or not, that would not be easily done. I believe that there are other means to "voice" our feeling, which are more likely to have an effect.

Yep true, well we need to figure it out.

ALOHA

 

[cmdrdredd]

when buying computer hardware the ONLY things you should ever look at is performance and price. Ethics do not belong here.

This isn't a soap box for you to push your beliefs on people like a political activist.

 

[Seekermeister]

A soap box on every corner, if it would make the world a better place. Obviously, performance and price are very important in computer hardware, but nothing is more important than ethics. However, ethics put out of focus does no one any good.

 

[cmdrdredd]

So you'll be content to buy the slowest piece of junk hardware that fails because you won't buy something that "may" use some part mines or farmed from "supposed" unethical means?

 

[jgis19]

Actually,who gives a big rats azz!

 

[Seekermeister]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
So you'll be content to buy the slowest piece of junk hardware that fails because you won't buy something that "may" use some part mines or farmed from "supposed" unethical means?

Apparently, you either didn't read, or didn't understand what I posted previously, or you wouldn't ask such a question. Therefore, I won't attempt to explain it further, because you probably wouldn't understand that either.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
when buying computer hardware the ONLY things you should ever look at is performance and price. Ethics do not belong here.

This isn't a soap box for you to push your beliefs on people like a political activist.

It's a perfectly valid topic.

For future reference if you don't have anything useful to contribute don't bother posting and keep you shallow minded opinions to yourself.