Amazon Recycle; Amazon Small Electronics Recycling; M2 MacBook Pros; 5G Replacement

Did you know that if you have a small electronic gadget like an old smartphone, Amazon will pay for a shipping label that you can use to send it in to get recycled. According to the verge.com, the program isn’t new, but isn’t well known. Amazon’s recycling program lets you ship your small electronics for free from any UPS dropoff point (you just have to provide the packaging). Amazon then transfers the devices it receives to a licensed recycling facility, and notes that it will remove or destroy any “identifying marks or personal information” during the process. Check Amazon for the list of stuff you can recycle this way. 

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is aiming to increase the agency’s broadband speed standard from 25Mbps to 100Mbps on the download side and from 3Mbps to 20Mbps for uploads. Arstechnica.com reports that the Chairwoman circulated the proposed Notice of Inquiry to fellow commissioners. The proposal requires a vote, and the commission is still deadlocked with two Democrats and two Republicans as the Senate continues its inaction on Biden nominee Gigi Sohn. If she gets on the Commission, the increase in speed would be a boon. The US lags way behind the upload and download speed of other developed nations. 

Apple’s second and third chip releases in the M2 generation could land within months, with a report claiming M2 Pro and M2 Max-equipped MacBook Pro models could arrive as soon as this fall.  According to Mark Gurman’s “Power On” newsletter for Bloomberg, Apple has an aggressive internal schedule for the M2 Pro and M2 Max. Packed into an updated 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro, the launches could occur in the fall, or at the very least, early 2023. Don’t expect any physical changes, though, since the models were just completely refreshed last fall. 

Back in November 2019, the FCC snuffed out ties with Chinese (government-backed) enterprise, deciding that Huawei and ZTE posed a threat to US national security. Congress later allocated funds and required operators using 5G equipment from either or both vendors to “rip and replace” it all. Androidpolice.com notes that the FCC estimated that the procedure would cost nearly $1.84 billion at the outset of the project but, as it’s now turned out, that figure may have been grossly underestimated. Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is now telling Congress that an additional $3.08 billion will be needed to wipe Huawei and ZTE off the wireless grid. The UK is also in the midst of replacing all 5G equipment from those two Chinese firms.