So what does AD and Facebook have in common? Well nothing… yet. That is, what could any large technology software based company have with AD? Perhaps Google has done for software (turned hardware) what others may do in the future. RIM (BlackBerry) too has been ‘kind of’ successful at doing both… well almost if it wasn’t for of late.

Competition is rising for social media products as is for the hardware presented. Markets are shrinking and costs of production have reached bottom and trended upward over the last year. And this is due to commodity costs. Critical materials, especially rare earth elements and precious metals cost much more than a few short years ago. Even the oil required to make the polymer components has doubled. Sustainability is as much to do with purchasing power as it does with that purchased.

What if Facebook designed a cell phone, a tablet or a computer that was sold, returned and remanufactured in the West? What if the remanufactured goods were designed in such a state that by using in situ components, production costs could be slashed?

I’m not saying it’s cheaper or practical yet, it isn’t when currency valuations make production so cheap in S.E.Asia. But how long will this go on for? The possibilities are endless. Industrial Design, Engineering, Active Disassembly, Design for Disassembly, Eco Design, Remanufacture and Facebook could have an answer – just saying.