Word: coppered
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...every household fast Internet access along with video-on-demand, interactive TV and the ability to flash Libraries of Congress around the world at whim. Amazingly, the sellers of this dream overlooked the fact that many homes and offices connect to the 21st century fiber network with twisted-pair copper wires--late 19th century tech. These could hardly keep up with the bandwidth demands of the Napster...
...recycled PC, on the other hand, is literally a gold mine. Pentium and other processors have golden tips. A computer's main circuit board, fashioned from copper and fiber glass, is studded with silver and gold connectors. A steel frame keeps the unit sturdy, and aluminum or copper heat sinks prevent the cpu from overheating. The outer plastic case can be recycled to make everything from pothole filler to pencil holders. Even the cords dangling from the back have rich copper wiring that can be reincarnated as pipes, pans or furniture...
...stories high. A hulking blue machine swallows PCs and mainframes whole, grinds them up and a few minutes later spits them out in quarter-size pieces. A system of magnets, screens and electrical currents separates out aluminum and steel, while the remaining mixed metals go to Noranda Inc., a copper smelter in Quebec. The metal scrap HP produces by the ton has a higher percentage of copper than ore excavated from the ground, according to Bob Sippel, Noranda's vice president of recycling. Last year the Roseville operation retrieved more than $5 million worth of gold, copper, silver, aluminum...
...recycling ramps up, computer manufacturers are discovering new ways to make the process more efficient. Metal screws are being replaced with snap-open panels for quicker dismantling. Lead solder used to fasten parts to circuit boards is giving way to safer tin, silver and copper alloys. Spray-on flame retardants, which can be toxic when recycled, are being replaced with metal paneling. And those annoying plastic shipping peanuts are being replaced with packing material made of water-soluble starch...
...time being, we wish our copper-feathered friend the best of luck. He'll need it. Dodging the watchful eyes of the military (and the hapless pursuit of 'Poonsters) will be enough to keep him busy in the People's Republic. How long he will remain there is uncertain...