sbdude

thinkman100000000 said:

Just can't get enough blather about vaporware that might or might not be real within the next 5 to 10 years. Ooooh, I can hardly wait    

Also can't wait for news sites to update their photo of the now verging upon the obese Ives. That might be my cheap shot of the day…… might!

Xed said:

doggone said:

longfang said:

williamh said:

I saw the finewoven case at the Pentagon City Apple Store on Friday and it seemed not that high quality and overpriced.  I'd prefer the silicone case to finewoven.  

Honestly asking, what is the environmental issue with the leather case?   The leather cases are reusing the wrapping from my beef, it's not like cows are produced to use for iPhone cases and the meat is an afterthought is it?   Is the process of making the leather and using it worse than just composting the cow hides?  What is it?  I know my tone might seem snarky but seriously isn't there just an enormous amount of cowhide out there?  Wouldn't an iPhone case be better than tossing it?

The chemicals and water used during the tanning process would probably be a big part of it.

I agree, leather is a by product of the food industry.  It also is a natural product and ages extremely well.  I've had the Apple leather case for 2 years and it is only now starting to break up at the edges after a lot of abuse.
I will be looking for a leather case from another provider.  Any suggestions?  I saw someone mention Nomad

That isn't quote correct. The hide is a byproduct of the food industry, but the tanning process to make leather is a different story and I don't know of a single mass producer that has used so-called "natural" methods for tanning these days. Even if we did use some old-timey "natural" methods, like scraping oak bark for its tannins, that has a cost. What is the ratio of cut oak trees for its various uses in lumber to the amount of bark obtained? Is there a chemical option that can be created that would do a better job at a lower cost? What other ingredients and byproducts are created to create leather? How much of the tanned leather is wasted (something I've noticed happens so that the material is consistent for the entire piece needed)?

I can't say whether leather produced at an industrial scale is or isn't better for the environment than reusing discarded plastics, but I can't say it's better simply because one initial aspect of it is a byproduct of another industry or that someone calls it "natural". There's a lot of date to crunch to get an informed answer.