The new iMac's green cred

Steve Jobs unveiled the fourth generation iMac today. Not many surprises, the design is fairly true to the original form, just a bit sleeker and skinnier. It's got some pretty impressive specs and is, of course, quite beautiful. That's what Mac is all about these days.

But what of their recent pledge to green up their act.

 

In his keynote, Jobs touted the recyclability of the new iMac because it uses a heck of a lot less plastic. The frame is aluminum; light-weight, strong and easily recyclable (but also energy intensive to create) and the screen uses glass instead of plastic. Similarly easier to recycle, but harder to create.

On top of that, it is energy efficient for the level of performance you'll be getting. They've not had any problems matching the standards of the EPA's new, more strict, Energy Star guidelines. But the word ins't yet in on what the new machine's EPEAT rating will be.

My vote? Hang on to your current machine for as long as you can...and see if you can hold off to the fifth generation :-).