Apple Moves To Smaller Connector For Charger on iPhone 5

iPhone 5 Gets a 19 Pin Connector Port

 The iPhone 5 will be getting a smaller charging port. Technology is moving on from the the current port with 30 pins. What does this mean for you. Well, technology moves forward bigger faster smaller and all of that. But at the end of the day you need to buy new chargers new speakers unless of course you all ready have a Blue tooth speaker system. All of those external products that you were able to connect to your iPhone for what the last 10 years or so. You really can't blame Apple as this is just how things in technology go. Hey if you make this connector smaller they might be able to give you a bigger battery etc. But, The bigger issue with this is how many of these products now end up in a landfill somewhere? They would have ended up there anyway right but now this just speeds their demise and further production of more products. You can't even use your current case on  your new iPhone 5 because the earphones will connect at the bottom so even that is out. The only positive is you might get a great deal on the iPhone 4S when the iPhone 5 comes out
What Will You Need To Replace If You Buy An iPhone 5?
In some ways there is a whole list of things but the good answer is for a few years a couple anyway I am sure Apple will have to put out some sort iPhone 4S iPhone 5 Adapter but even that will not cure all the problems. So most people have some sort of speaker system to connect to their iPhone. If that will accept the adapter then your set but if not, if it's too tight of a fit you may need to replace it. The companies and individuals that have gone to Blue tooth speaker systems were really ahead of the game on this, no connectors or adapters or anything else for them. Now what about the chargers in your cars and at the office etc. Those are easily replaced but probably at a cost of about forty dollars or so. I wonder what the true cost of this change is to the average iPhone user in terms of dollars after they buy the new iPhone. How much do they spend on new adapters, new chargers, new speakers, basically a whole new ecosystem for apple products.
Great For Manufacturers
This is great for manufacturers. I mean think about we are wondering how much all of this will cost us. The manufacturers are wondering how much all of this will make them. Think about it everything needs to be replaced. That will be a boon for the manufacturers of these products from cases to chargers to speakers to connectors for your car system etc.
My Hope For Apple
My hope for Apple is that they eventually embrace the micro USB charging as so many other high tech companies have done on their high end tech devices. This would be great for Apple's consumers as well as for the company since it is a much greener option. However Apple has never been known to be a company that follows the crowds and I guess that's why so many of us love their products.
 iPhone-23.jpg, a photo by ThiagoMartins on Flickr.

Ways To Conserve Water

Some Ways To Conserve Water
We all know the ways to conserve water around the house. They have been taught to us since we were children. But, how many of us really put them into good use. The simple ones are easy to do and keep up on right, like turn off the water when you brush your teeth that's pretty simple to remember and do. What are some other ways that are not so simple and some ways that make it easier to remember? First of all do you have an old fashioned toilet?
How To Save Water With Your Toilet
If you have an old fashioned toilet you know that every time you flush it takes about 5 gallons of water to flush the toilet. Newer models it only takes about 1.6 gallons per flush. Big difference right. Well, how many times do you flush the toilet per day? Now, how many times does your family flush the toilet per day? You could spring for a modern toilet but that is very expensive. Another option is to simply place a brick in your toilet tank and see if your toilet still flushes normally. If your toilet still flushes normally place another brick and so on. Basically what the brick does is displace water in your toilet tank so it fills up faster and flushes less water with each flush. You won't get down to 1.6 gallons per flush like a high efficiency toilet but your toilet wasnt' made to flush with such a little amount of water. Another way to save water with your toilet is to test to see if your toilet valve is leaking.
Check Your Toilet Flapper Valve For Leaks
One way you can be using a lot of water with your toilet without even knowing it is with a leaking flapper valve in your toilet. What is the flapper valve. Take off the back of the toilet. Push the flush lever do you see the rubber valve connected to the end of that chain at the bottom of the toilet tank? That rubber stopper looking thing is your toilet flapper valve. The way to see if it's leaking is to put some food coloring in the back of the toilet tank and see if it appears in the toilet bowl. If it doesn't then no problem your flapper valve does not leak at all. If food coloring does appear in the toilet tank then you need to replace the flapper valve on your toilet. Don't worry it's a very simple procedure. Flush the toilet and turn off the water. Don't worry it's clean water so you won't get dirty. Now disconnect the chain from the flusher handle and disconnect the flapper valve from the plastic tube in the middle of the toilet and remove the flapper valve. Buy the correct flapper valve and replace it the same way you removed it. Congratulations.
How Your Kids Can Save Water In The Tub
Kids love taking a bath and they love filling the tub to the brim with water and that can be 50 or 60 gallons of water. If it's a large soaking tub it can be a lot more than that. So one way I have found to keep the water use down for baths with small children is to put a sticker of some animal they like at the level of water I want them to use most times. So basically when the water gets up to the starfish or the turtle shut it off. But, once in awhile you can let them fill it up and just enjoy it. Hey, kids need to be kids too right.

UC Davis Named Nations Coolest School

UC Davis Has Been Named Nations Coolest School

In the annual rankings of Sierra magazine's greenest campuses once again University of California at Davis comes out at the top of the list. Their efforts to be a green campus have paid off and have been noticed. One of the first things you notice when you go to Davis and not just the campus but the actual town of Davis is that it's bike town USA. I mean there are bike here and there and bikes everywhere. One of the things highlighted by Sierra magazines publishers is the transportation system that includes about 20,000 bikes on campus. That is a huge number of bikes. Not to mention the new development of the West Village. West Village is a planned community that is the country's largest zero net energy community. Big things are happening in Davis. This only will get bigger as more and more students go through this University with so much emphasis placed on these green initiatives this will stay with these students as they leave campus and go off into their new lives and hopefully establish themselves elsewhere but take with them all these green ideas they learned at Davis.

Do You Go To A Cool School?

What I mean by that is what does your school do to help the environment? Do you have a large biking community? Do most people car pool to class or live on campus. Do you have a large community that is that is zero net energy? In other words should your campus be on this list next year. If not maybe you should get working. It only takes a few dedicated students and faculty to get something like this started. Davis didn't start with 20,000 bikes on campus they started with a couple hundred a few years ago or so and then students demanded more bike access and administrators allowed it and approved it. So it always starts small. So leave your campus better than you found it in four years. Good Luck.

Via Sierra
 Composting sign, a photo by Julien_V on Flickr.