Idea: awa, hsa; dan, ssi; first published 2017-06-19

Redmond (dpo) - Windows is finally going green: there is now an update available for Microsoft’s Windows 10 which will introduce waste separation to domestic computers for the first time. Environmentalists have long criticised the fact that all computer files are disposed of in the same recycle bin regardless of format.In the updated version, five differently coloured containers are visible on the desktop instead of that one notorious recycle bin. There is one each for photographs, videos, sound files, text files and general waste. Users are asked to dispose of the appropriate data sustainably.Files ending in .jpg, .png, .psd, .tiff, .gif, .bmp and .svg, for example, belong in the photo bin.Files with the extensions .doc, .docx, .pdf, .txt, .xls and .xlsx are wastepaper.Files ending in .wmv, .mp4, .avi, .mkv and .flv should be disposed of in the video bin.Files with the extensions .wma, .mp3, .wav, .flac, .alac and .m4a are destined for the music bin.Most other files go in general waste.Now when you empty the recycle bin, the data in it will not simply be deleted, but recycled – the colour from old photographs, for example, can be used to fill up the colour bucket in Microsoft Paint, thus saving resources. Old Word documents are transformed into new, slightly greyish Word documents.However, some especially toxic files cannot be recycled. These include computer viruses, GILF porn videos and Justin Bieber music. Users can no longer dispose of these via a click on the desktop. Instead, they must be saved to a USB stick and sent on by post to Microsoft’s hazardous waste management centre.Read the German version HERE