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View Full Version : Apple's Green Initiative Falling Flat?

Vincent Ferrari
12-03-2008, 08:00 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.jkontherun.com/2008/12/think-apple-rea.html' target='_blank'>http://www.jkontherun.com/2008/12/t...-apple-rea.html</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"If you live in the U.S., you've probably seen the latest Apple ad spot on television by now. The company is touting the new unibody MacBook as "green" for the environmentally conscious. I'm in that group myself with a hybrid car, a solar-powered attic fan and as a fanatic about recycling. No scrap of paper in our home is safe from the recycling bin, not even the puny little ATM and purchase reciepts I get at WaWa. We're getting ready to start composting in the near future as well. From my perspective then, it's nice to see Apple's green take on the new MacBook. That's why I was flabbergasted to see my Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter today packaged in a box that's at least as big as the one my MacBook came in."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/at/auto/1228309920.usr18053.jpg" border="1" /></p><p><em>Photo credit: Kevin C. Tofel, JK On The Run</em></p><p>The box on the left is for <strong>one</strong> MiniDP adapter.&nbsp; One!&nbsp; It's bigger than the box for the MacBook!&nbsp; I'm sorry, Apple, but this counts as bonehead packaging to the tenth level.&nbsp; It's even more ridiculous when you visit JK On The Run and see the size of the adapter compared to the size of the MacBook.&nbsp; There's just no reason for this whatsoever.&nbsp; <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?ie=UTF8&amp;docId=1000276271" target="_blank">Amazon</a> has taken on the annoyingly difficult packaging problem.&nbsp; Maybe it's time Apple took on it's overpackaging issues.</p>
Phronetix
12-03-2008, 08:45 PM
These are two separate issues.

If you order a MacBook, you don't get the MacBook box shipped to you. The box gets placed inside another box, so that the MacBook box arrives at your door in perfect condition as well.

When Apple has MacBooks shipped to them, they get large boxes and crates full of the Macbook boxes, and if those are smaller, then they can fit more per large crate.

Same with the adapters. They come in display boxes, and I bet when an Apple retailer receives them, they order them in boxes of 6 or 8, probably fitting in that same small box that was sent to the guy on this site who ordered one.

It isn't hypocrisy. It is just the fact that Apple likely doesn't have smaller boxes at their shipping site.
doogald
12-03-2008, 11:18 PM
If you order a MacBook, you don't get the MacBook box shipped to you. The box gets placed inside another box, so that the MacBook box arrives at your door in perfect condition as well.

Also so it is not obvious to a potential thief that the box contains a Macbook computer . . .
Spooof
12-05-2008, 06:06 PM
In comparison to other suppliers that box is pretty small. You should see the ridiculous packaging I receive for Oracle, Dell, etc. Oracle send me a box about the same area with two dvds. Dell has send small items like thumb drives in these huge boxes packed with a mountain of crumpled up paper and one or two of those plastic pillows. I think that I will start taking pictures.

I realize that Dell and Oracle are not touting how green their packaging is; however the size of Dell notebook packaging compared to HP or Apple is about three fold.