VIA Demos Eco-Friendly Education at Green California Schools Summit

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator and developer of power efficient PC platforms, today showcased a range of contemporary computing systems for the education market at the Green California Schools Summit, being held from December 4-6 at the Pasadena Conference Center in Pasadena, California.

With California at the leading edge of the green movement, the Green California Schools Summit will focus on the strategies, technologies and services that will ensure that schools can focus on eco-sustainability and provide a healthful learning environment for students. At booth 410, VIA will demonstrate client/server, desktop, notebook and ultra mobile partner systems that combine performance and affordability with industry-leading power economy.

Efficient computing with VIA’s pioneering processor platforms not only lowers electricity bills compared to traditional PC platforms, it significantly reduces computer-generated ambient heat, making the school environment quieter and more comfortable as well as cheaper to keep cool. It also extends the lifespan of internal components for greater system reliability, and as much as doubles battery life in mobile devices for practical education application. Of course, lower power consumption also eases demand on the current fossil fuel-burning power generation infrastructure, thereby reducing climate-warming carbon emissions.

“Power grids across the globe, and particularly in California, are under increasing strain as our need for electricity continues to grow,” said Richard Brown, Vice President of Corporate Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. “We see the Green California Schools Summit as a great opportunity to show some of the most important institutions in the country that there are real, affordable products that help manage the power problem and fully meet their next-generation education needs.”

Innovative, Efficient Computing for Schools
Perfectly suited to classroom-based teaching and with measurable benefits in manageability, security, reliability, scalability and lower electricity bills, thin clients from both Devon IT and HP will be on display at the summit. Around 50% of the thin client market is powered by VIA, with the power saving VIA Eden and VIA C7 processors specially designed for ultra compact, quiet systems with no moving parts, allowing for enhanced client performance. The VIA booth will also showcase the EPEAT Gold award-winning Zonbu PC, which delivers all the power of a traditional desktop computer but uses a fraction of the energy: an average of just 12 watts.

Additionally, see how Ultra Mobile Devices (UMDs), like the Samsung Q1b and TabletKiosk eo v7110, are being used to great effect in educational settings. VIA is a clear leader in the ultra mobile space, with over 30 partner products in the market and many more exciting designs on the way. The extreme energy efficiency of the VIA C7-M ULV processor, specially designed for ultra mobile handheld PCs, extends battery life to as much as double that of devices based on competitor platforms.

The VIA C7-D Processor and Carbon Free Computing
Traditional desktop PCs are still highly relevant in educational as well as office settings, but VIA has pioneered a green approach to this market too. With an average operating power of just 2 watts and an absolute maximum of 20 watts, VIA’s flagship desktop processor, the VIA C7-D, is designed to cater to a new breed of computer users interested in limiting their impact on the environment. Working with environmental experts, VIA calculated the electricity used by the VIA C7-D processor, and from that determined how much carbon dioxide will be produced as a result of electricity provided by power plants burning fossil fuels, and is working with regional organizations to offset that carbon dioxide.

Offsetting the carbon dioxide created through use of the C7-D processor is done through regional projects which fall into three broad categories:

* Reforestation: Planting trees that absorb (sequester) carbon dioxide as they grow, in different areas around the world
* Alternative Energy: By implementing projects utilizing alternative energy such as solar power, power plants don't need to burn as much fossil fuel, thereby reducing the amount of carbon dioxide released into the environment
* Environmental Conservation: Projects aimed at protecting our environment through donations to recognized, reputable groups that work to preserve carbon-absorbing wetlands and other necessary ecosystems

“Since the introduction of our first processor in 2001, VIA has led the industry in the design of energy-efficient x86 platforms and has enabled new generations of low power computing devices,” said Richard Brown, Vice President of Corporate Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. “By offsetting the CO2 from what is already a very power efficient component, we hope to provide a sustainable computing solution by which governments, schools, enterprise and consumers can effectively reduce their carbon footprints.”

VIA’s most recent investment is in a 30.4MW wind farm in Turkey: Anemon Enerji. The new construction consists of a grid connecting 38 wind turbines and has anticipated electricity output of 108,000 MWh per year, which is expected to reduce the equivalent of 74,700 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year. In the absence of income generated from investments such as that from VIA, operation of the wind farm and resulting environmental benefits, would be unachievable.

Anemon Enerji has been certified by The Gold Standard, a certification scheme that recognizes the best projects in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), Joint Implementation (JI) and voluntary offset markets. Over 49 non governmental organizations, including Greenpeace, REEEP, and WWF International, endorse the Gold Standard method.

VIA has also invested in reforestation projects in the UK, and established several solar powered ICT centers around the globe, such as in Ulutogia, Samoa and Bourem Inaly, Mali. These projects not only benefit the environment by reducing the amount of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere, but serve the local communities with access to information, going some way towards bridging the information divide that exists in developing nations.

For more on VIA’s carbon free projects, please see the Green Computing Initiative pages on the VIA website: http://www.via.com.tw/en/initiatives/greencomputing/ .