Green PC - Environment Friendly Computer

5 Signs The Computer Industry Is Finally Going Green

2009-10-01T10:42:00.002+05:30

With world leaders currently convening high-level negotiations on how best to address the rising threat of global warming, and public apprehension about the phenomenon at an all-time high, it’s encouraging to note several recent developments coming from the high-tech sector.

It’s about time. Our ever-shrinking world is abuzz with activity attempting to address the manmade rise of greenhouse gases. Eco-visionary James Lovelock published a radical idea in Nature to increase ocean uptake of CO2 through giant ocean tubes. New Zealand has kicked off an ambitious plan to get 90% of its energy from renewable sources by 2025. JC Penny, Office Depot and Kohl’s have announced green building plans. In May, General Electric said it had doubled sales from environmentally friendly products, to $12 billion over, in two years.

One need only take a look at any online discussion thread of green issues to see anxiety, and often outright ridicule, about the sizable ecological impact so many of us web surfers are having. Computers are hard to (and rarely) recycled, and when they are it’s typically in developing nations by people without proper training or safety gear. Often they are children. That’s distressing, because today’s computers are made with a sizable amount of lead, cadmium, brominated fire retardants and plastics that can leach toxic breakdown products.

While processor speed has faithfully followed Moore’s Law, energy use has also swelled, as more and more people are able to afford hardware, and mobile devices have proliferated. Of the $250 billion spent globally each year powering computers, about 85% of that energy was simply wasted idling.

Computers and related equipment have been blamed for causing as much global warming as the airline industry, Pat Gelsinger, senior vice president for Intel’s digital enterprise group, recently told the press.

The industry has been gradually finding a green conscience. True, there have been some eco-pioneers, from NEC’s short-lived PowerMate Eco to the debate over whether a black search engine (e.g. Blackle) would cut back on global power drain. Now we have sophisticated power saver and hibernation modes and laptops that sip rather than guzzle from the plug. The widespread adoption of liquid crystal displays (LCDs) represents a substantial savings over less-efficient cathode ray tube (CRT) technology . But some bright new signs recently coming out of Silicon Valley suggest great green things to come.

1. Dell Going Carbon Neutral

Computer giant Dell continues its ascent up the green path. This week Michael (as he is known on company blogs) announced the manufacturer’s latest goal: to become the first major computer company to become carbon neutral. That means reducing emissions across all Dell facilities and operations, buying renewable power and offsetting the remaining balance (including business travel), at least in part through a cooperative tree-planting program.

As if taking a play from Wal-Mart, Dell will also be requiring suppliers to account for and report their emissions. Michael underscored the firm’s commitment to roll out ever more energy-efficient products.

2. Solar-Powered Workstations?

Lenovo’s new ultra-efficient “Blue Sky” A61e PC can actually be powered with a portable solar panel, namely the Solar-PowerPAC II from Advanced Energy Group. The heavy cart-on-wheels costs $1,229, and likely won’t be widely adopted anytime soon (although Dell has expressed a lot of interest in the concept). It sure stimulates the imagination!

Regardless of the solar panel possibility, Chinese manufacturer Lenovo has much to be proud of under the Blue Sky’s hood (which, incidentally, looks oddly like an old Betamax machine). The PC and its packaging is made of as much as 90% reusable/recyclable materials. Lenovo claims organizations that deploy 50 or more A61es should see energy savings of $1,000 a year, resulting in 10 fewer tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

At $399, the unit is certainly affordable. It received gold status from the Green Electronics Council’s Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT).

3. Green Data Centers

A recent EPA report found that data centers in the U.S. have the potential to save up to $4 billion in annual electricity costs through more energy efficient equipment and operations, as well as management best practices.

According to a recent survey of senior IT executives by data center operator Digital Realty Trust, about 55 percent of companies have already established detailed strategies for improving the energy efficiency of their data centers.

4. USB 3.0 Promises Energy Savings

Last week the “SuperSpeed” USB Promotions Group announced some preliminary specs for the future of peripheral connectivity. According to the group, the two main goals of SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) are to boost the data transfer rate by 10 times and to dramatically reduce power consumption. The USB 3.0 spec is expected to be finalized sometime in the middle of 2008, with initial devices available in 09 and broad deployment by 2010.

5. Industry Announces Sweeping Conservation Targets

Titans Google, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Lenovo, IBM, Microsoft, Yahoo and Sun Microsystems have all joined with the EPA, the World Wildlife Fund and others to develop an ambitious industry-wide goal of slashing the amount of energy computers consume. The Climate Savers Computing Initiative has the goal of reducing computer energy use by 90% by 2010. If there’s follow through, the scheme is expected to save $5.5 billion in energy costs and cut emissions by 54 million tons a year, the equivalent of 11 million cars or 20 coal-fired power plants.

Industry observes have estimated that the energy-efficient technology will likely raise the price of each computer by around $20. However, consumers will save money in lower electricity bills. Some utilities may even offer rebates for new “green” PCs.

Final Thought

The leading edge of the fast-paced tech world has a distinctly green tinge. Not only should that improve reliability and ultimately save everyone money, but it will go a long way to protecting our precious planet. And it should evaporate much of the green guilt of computer users, and silence some of those flame wars on blog discussion threads.

Src: http://www.thedailygreen.com/2007/09/28/5-signs-the-computer-industry-is-finally-going-green/7316/

Why to Buy a Green Environment Friendly PC ?

2009-09-30T11:18:00.003+05:30

As Techsavy become increasingly more environment conscious, PC manufacturers are tending to stay in step with a conscientious approach towards the issue of global warming which encouraged them to come up with a new generation of computers – Green PC.

Aiming at reducing the e-waste in the environment, these eco-machines enjoy a number of advantages that make them superior over conventional PCs. Green PCs or “Eco Friendly Computers” as they are commonly known as, use a fraction of the electricity of a normal PC–energy efficient 45W, contrary to usual 200W.

Green Computers do not contain the hazardous materials like brominated flame retardants, PVCs, and eliminate the dangers of heavy metals as lead, cadmium, and mercury, which are generally used in computer manufacturing. The parts used in eco friendly computers are designed out of recycled steel, aluminum, and plastic. Their screen can also be even made out of wood. This certainly underlines the component of fashion in sustainable living!

One of the biggest factors making computers an environmental menace is its dumping. According to the data showcased by recent surveys, around two million PCs are dumped in UK landfills every year. This causes soil infertility as most chemicals end up in the soil. The situation is worst in Asia, where much of the West’s useless equipment ends up.

As opposed to traditional computer equipment, green computers are easier to upgrade and recycle, thereby making your investment worth the money. Green PCs are no doubt a significant step taken towards the monumental objective of tackling changes in climate.

Using environment-friendly products in an efficient system, green computing solutions attempt to address the factors making a negative impact on environment.

Green computing solutions focus on increasing economic viability of the product, maximizing its energy efficiency, and biodegradability of a futile product. Many IT companies including the prominent names like Wipro have already gone green whereas a few others are in process to come up with their eco-friendly computers.

The introduction of Green PCs is likely to push environmental versions of all consumer products soon. They are more similar to a small piece of a large jigsaw puzzle.

How to Combine Economic Growth and Green IT

2009-09-29T16:26:00.001+05:30

More than a concept or fashionable precept, the ‘Green IT’ phenomenon or preservation of the environment has to be considered as an absolute must by all businesses. In view of the frenzied continuous growth of IT in all type of businesses (including a massive turnover of equipment), the IT sector is turning into a potential time bomb not only in terms of recycling but also in increasing levels of energy consumption.

For instance, approximately 50 million tons of e-waste is produced yearly in the world with a steady growth of 5% in Europe alone. Just think of 239 million PCs sold worldwide in 2006!

But besides these numbers related to manufacturing and recycling, those linked to the consumption of energy speak for themselves. In a recent report, the analyst group IDC has shown that whilst over 10% of the electricity consumption in Europe is directly produced by IT equipment, 80% of companies are still not able to quantify their energy consumption.

It is definitely time that we become aware of the dangers, not only at manufacturing levels but also amongst end user companies. A certain number of software providers, mainly those specialized in IT management solutions have been studying the subject and are now able to offer means to better implement business processes in terms of environment policies, energy consumption savings, leading to better business ROI.

Implementing a set of centralized processes throughout a company infrastructure can lead to a significant contribution towards reducing the costs of replacement of devices and energy consumption. With the right set of tools, a company will be able to identify the state of its IT assets (new, working or failing), to measure the precise sources of energy consumption and to renew the redundant equipment consuming unnecessarily and therefore not only generating cost savings but also transforming its IT business into a Clean Infrastructure.

The WEEE (European Union's Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive) makes equipment manufacturers responsible for disposing of e-waste generated by goods they produce, and the disposal must be ecologically friendly. These regulations became law in February 2003, with member states given until August 2005 for implementation. Including Green IT initiatives into its infrastructure management is therefore a key link to the Protection of the Environment chain, widening the magnitude of the environmental watchdog.

Besides the general trends of control, the simple fact of being able to automatically and centrally switching devices on and off, according to business hours or end users working patterns, is another mean made available by committed software providers.

Representing a real source of savings for companies, implementing such responsible practice reduces their electricity bill by more than 30%. Various studies have shown that the annual consumption of a PC and associated devices averages 800 kWh per end users each year - choosing for the implementation of an ‘automatic on-off’ process would therefore reduce company consumption to 240KWh per users so an average of 24000 KWh per 100 PCs.

It is proven that economical factors lead and accelerate general awareness, allowing quick measurable results. Therefore, it is now a reality that reducing business spending implies a relevant management of assets combined with the implementation of dedicated energy costs saving solutions. On the reduction of equipment depreciation time alone, a saving ranging from 10 to 20% of the buying value could then be achieved, furthermore by complying with these types of practices; companies would improve their competitive positioning by setting themselves as environmental market leaders and vanguards.

In order to be effective and successful, this global approach must be kept within the frame of a strategic plan, lead jointly between the company Board and IT Management.
Green IT is definitely flourishing!

source:cripton

11 ways to turn your computer green

2009-09-22T09:39:00.000+05:30

The fast-moving pace of technology is good news for gadget lovers, but not such good news for the environment. As we acquire more and more electronic products, an explosion in e-waste (electronic scrap) containing toxic chemicals that cannot be disposed of safely is a growing concern. To make environmental matters worse, devices are burning up more energy than they need to through being left on while not in use.

The blame lies with both PC users and manufacturers. Last year saw campaign group Greenpeace take on Apple, slamming its lack of environmental policies and non-existent plan to reduce its eco-impact. Apple CEO Steve Jobs rectified this in May, when he posted environmental targets online.

Other PC makers have been making a lot of noise about their energy efficiency, reducing carbon footprints and cutting non-renewable or toxic components. PC World's carbon-neutral PC has been picking up a lot of press attention, while Intel has been working on energy-efficient Santa Rosa and Centrino processors and rolling them out into various laptops.

Laptops that have flash memory rather than hard disks are another green choice. With no platter to spin, far less energy is required to write data to memory. They're a pricey option at the moment - Sony's Vaio TZ18GN costs $700 (about £350) more than its hard disk version, and has a 32GB capacity rather than 100GB - but we expect to see prices drop as more are launched.

1. Set Sleep Time for your PC

If you don't tap your keyboard for 10 minutes, your PC will often go to sleep. Your PC's screen is probably set to go into power-saving mode after a preset period. Although they're not as power-hungry as old-style CRT displays, you can still save a great deal by having your flat-panel power off in this manner.

To adjust the setting for your PC or laptop, go to Control Panel, Power Options and select a screen power-off schedule to suit. Note that screensavers don't reduce energy consumption. You can also enable PC hibernation but, as with standby mode for other devices, this doesn't completely power down your PC. It's all too easy to assume you're keeping costs and power consumption down, even though the current is still flowing.

You'll see different power scheme options for desktop and laptop PCs. Your laptop can automatically adjust its power options depending on whether you're running it from batteries or mains power.

You'll find a range of energy-use calculators online, such as Energy Star's (eu-energystar.org). The savings you can make depend on how much you use your PC and the size of your screen, but could be £50 a year or more.
energy star

2. Turn it all off

According to a study by Fujitsu, the UK wastes £123m powering PCs left on out of hours. That's not only a lot of wasted energy - it's a lot of money too.

An individual computer left on all the time costs about £37 a year to run. Switch it off at night and weekends and this figure can be reduced to just £10 a year. The energy saved could make almost 35,000 cups of coffee, according to the Carbon Trust.

Some argue that a PC should be left on all the time because turning it on and off causes stress to the computer's components. But if this were the case, the vast majority of PCs would suffer from such damage. They don't.

Another argument against turning off a computer is the energy required to start it up again. To be as green as can be, consider turning off your PC if it's going to be inactive for more than 16 minutes. Beyond this time, the energy needed to run it outweighs the energy required at startup.

If you leave your PC on overnight because you don't like waiting for it to start up first thing each day, set it to turn on automatically a few minutes before you arrive at the office. Restart your PC, hitting the Setup menu key before Windows loads. Tab to the Power Management Options and enable the alarm and select a suitable time for your PC to restart.

You can also schedule your computer to shut down - a good option if you like to leave it on for your backup program to run after you leave the office.

Turn on the printer only when you are ready to print. Printers consume energy even when idle. Similarly, a scanner sucks power in ready mode. Photocopiers are energy guzzlers too. Even when your PC is turned off, a phone charger plugged into your USB port will continue to draw energy.

3. Stop leaking power

It's not enough to just switch off the computer. If you really want to make sure that the machine isn't drawing power from the mains, you need to physically unplug the computer or get out of your seat and switch it off at the wall.

When you shut off your computer and the monitor goes black, your display is actually in standby mode and waiting for the PC to switch back on. Digital cameras, mobile phones and iPod power adaptors that are left plugged in all the time also suck power from the outlet, even after you've disconnected the devices you were charging. When you leave the adaptor plugged in, you're losing an average of 2W.

The simplest way of ensuring that all your computer's peripherals are completely turned off is to connect them to a power strip that you can simply switch off. Several companies have caught on to the publicity surrounding standby energy wastage and offer timer and standby switches.

For home or office use, Micromark's £21 timer plug will soon pay for itself in energy savings, while Bye Bye Standby lets you turn off several devices around the home from a central point.

4. Be an Energy Star

Energy Star stickers used to be seen plastered all over CRT screens that were unusual in having standby modes. Flat-panels use far less energy than CRTs, but buying an LCD monitor isn't the only way to conserve power. Look for the Energy Star logo when buying printers, fax machines, scanners and other products.
Energy Star

To find products which meet strict green standards, look for the Energy Star logo

Energy Star is an initiative that promotes energy-efficient hardware. The scheme saved $12bn (£6bn) on US utility bills in 2005. To get the stamp of approval, products must meet guidelines such as having a low-power sleep mode. At the Energy Star site (energy-star.org) it's easy to find products that meet the guidelines. It lets you search by category, brand and feature.

5. Use a flat-panel display

Next time you're looking to replace your PC monitor you should at least ensure that it's a TFT model. Old-style CRT displays typically use 75W of power, while 25W is more typical of a flat-panel's lighter footprint.

As well as drawing three times as much power so they can illuminate the phosphors that make up the display, CRTs contain a vast amount more lead than flat-panel displays. A typical CRT contains approximately 1.36kg of lead, while some LCDs contain only a few grammes. Philips has gone so far as to eliminate the lead content of some of its screens, such as the 19in 190C8FS.

Thankfully, CRTs are on their way out, while pressure from campaigners mean more and more products will attain certification for the responsible way they have been manufactured and their low impact on the environment.

According to the Energy Saving Trust, a DAB radio uses 10 to 20 times less energy than the same broadcast via a digital TV.

6. Know your RoHS

ROHSThe European Union implemented RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive) in July 2006. The directive restricts the use of lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ether in the manufacture of electronics.

Anything that's available for sale or import within the EU should now comply with RoHS. However, it's not a foolproof piece of legislation. Apple's Steve Jobs claims some companies are using loopholes in the RoHS directive to continue to use toxic chemicals in their products. These companies claim their products meet requirements "because of certain little-known exemptions granted by the EU", he says.

7. Go paper-free

Another way to do your bit for the environment, as well as save time and money, is by going digital. We waste more paper than we do anything else. The average office employee uses up to 50 sheets of A4 every day, according to Envirowise. Much of this paper is thrown away - the group estimates that UK businesses throw away five million tonnes of printing and writing paper each year.

If you can't stop printing altogether, set your device to print double-sided by default or create your own writing pad from discarded printouts. Learn to resist the urge to print out emails and other documents for filing. Instead, read them onscreen and store them on your hard drive. If you need a record, create a PDF file. If you don't already have a PDF creation package, try Backup4all novaPDF Lite 5.1, which can create PDFs of documents from within any Windows application.

Next time you find a web page you'd like to read later, don't print it. Select File, Print, click the PDF pop-up menu in the dialog box and choose Save To PDF. You do need backups of important files, but back them up to your hard drive.

8. Is your journey really necessary?

There are all sorts of ways of offsetting your carbon footprint. The most effective is not to travel unless it's really necessary. Travelling not only requires you to spend money on plane tickets and a hotel, but also includes a hidden cost. We checked out how heavy a burden a couple of intercontinental business trips plus a package holiday break within Europe could be. Our 10,000lb total (according to terrapass.com) is alarmingly high.

Broadband connections, webcams, video-conferencing and webcasting tools, along with email, ought to make many business trips unnecessary. If you have to fly but are concerned about the CO2 you'll create, consider donating to an organisation such as Native Energy or TerraPass. These companies calculate your impact and suggest a monetary donation to go towards projects such as building renewable energy sources.

9. Don't dump your Computers

Dispose of your old hardware responsibly. Consumer electronics and computers contain toxic materials, such as lead, that can seep into the ground if dumped improperly. British Computer Society president Nigel Shadbolt explains: "PCs contain many toxic components, so if they end up in a landfill we are creating a real problem for the future.”

This is bad news, according to energy minister Malcolm Wicks. "Electrical and electronic equipment is the fastest-growing category of waste across the EU, with an estimated 17-20kg per person produced every year. The UK alone generated about one million tonnes of waste equipment last year," he says.

An older PC may no longer meet your requirements, but there are plenty of people who'd love to use it. Many charities will take an old PC and peripherals off your hands, or you can get in touch with Computer Aid, which refurbishes machines for use by schools and in the developing world. You could even sell it on eBay or give it away through Freecycle.

Failing that, recycle it. According to the WEEE directive, electrical and electronic waste has to be dealt with separately from other rubbish so that hazardous elements can be stripped out.

Electronics manufacturers and vendors cover the cost of this; your task is to get them to collect it, return it to them or take it to your council's recycling centre. If you can't transport it, arrange for the council to pick it up.

Many electrical retailers run take-back schemes - check your PC vendor for details about how it is dealing with WEEE compliance. Note that you shouldn't have to pay to return end-of-life goods. But, you can't be too careful where stored personal details are concerned.

10. The sunny side

If you're seeking clean power for energy-hungry gadgets, consider looking to the sun. Solar power is renewable and free - although sunshine can be limited here in the UK. Be aware that you need direct sunlight to get a good charge with these products. Cloudy skies and reflections on windows can cause problems.

Voltaic's £189 Solar Back Pack consists of three solar panels embedded in the outside of the bag that generate up to 4W of power. The bags have 11 adaptors for mobile phones and other devices, but are not designed to charge laptops.

If a solar-powered bag isn't for you, choose a less expensive charger that fits in your hand. The £45 Solio charger from Better Energy Systems gives about one hour of playtime or 10 minutes' talk time from one hour of sunshine, according to the maker. Whether you'll find a whole hour's worth of sunshine within the British Isles is another matter.

Other solar chargers include the Freeloader (£99 from Firebox). If you've got your PC or laptop switched on and have a couple of ports free, you could do worse than power up a pair of USBCell batteries for future use.

Laptop PCs require a little more power: unlimited-power.co.uk stocks Uni-solar Portable Solar Electric Panels that can be used for this purpose. The marketing material states that they can provide power even with bullet holes or in partial shade, which suggests that these are really designed with the army in mind, but they are worth investigating. Prices start at £451.

Wind-up chargers are also available, although their efficiency is somewhat limited. For example, the Multi Mobile Charger (£6 from iwoot.com) gives you eight minutes' talk time on your mobile if you wind it up for three minutes.

But why stop at your gadgets? If you install a renewable energy source - such as solar panels, wind turbines or biomass heaters - in your home, you may be eligible for a grant.

11. Give it away

For all our talk about the digital, paperless office, we've yet to hear of anyone achieving it. As well as saving on ink costs by printing at small point sizes and in draft or economy mode, you can minimise waste by recycling cartridges via organisations such as laserxchange.co.uk. If your office doesn't have a dedicated charity it supports, Oxfam, Childline and ActionAid and a number of smaller charities can benefit from your thoughtfulness.

Similarly, hand back your old and unloved mobile phone handsets. T-Mobile is offering £80 cashback, while Carphone Warehouse tempts you with a more modest £20. If you want to avoid the smooth sales talk, the charities we've outlined can also earn revenue from your philanthropy.

Multicore Processors are Faster and more Energy-Efficient

2009-09-21T16:01:00.004+05:30

Go for Multicore Processors

Designers of processors, unlike PSU engineers, have been working to reduce power draw for years now. The Intel Core 2 Duo desktop processor, for example, is up to 40 percent faster and more than 40 percent more energy-efficient than its single-core predecessor. It optimizes power consumption by selectively powering up processor components only when necessary.

Intel claims that its Centrino Duo laptop technology is twice as fast as previous platforms, yet consumes 28 percent less power. Also very efficient are Intel's Pentium M and Celeron M processors and AMD's Turion 64 and dual-core Turion 64 X2.

Video cards remain energy hogs, however. High-end cards easily exceed 100 watts at full load, and popular dual-card setups for gaming double that wattage. Choosing a graphics card that fits your needs is key. If you don't play advanced 3D games, go with integrated graphics for the lowest power consumption.

You'll also want to evaluate a prospective PC's overall energy consumption by finding out how much electricity it draws when idle and at full power. Look for a desktop that uses 4 watts or less when in sleep mode, and 50 watts or less when idle. For laptops, the ideal is 2 watts or less in sleep mode, and 14 to 22 watts (or even less) in idle mode, depending on the graphics configuration.

Tech Support Firm Expects bump in business from Win 7

2009-09-18T17:30:00.001+05:30

With Windows 7 in the wings, on-demand tech support firm iYogi is expanding its staff to accommodate an anticipated run on its services, especially from those moving off XP.

The New York-based firm, which offers remote technical support to consumers and small businesses, has increased its staff by more than 200 people. The company, which has 90,000 users around the globe, says it is anticipating that XP users will have the most trouble and the most questions.

Leveraging the power of BIRT: View nowUsers moving from XP to Windows 7 who don’t plan on upgrading their PC will have to do a clean install, while users migrating from Vista can simply install the new OS over the old one.

The company said an internal survey with 1,000 XP and Vista users showed that 52% believe they will have issues moving to a new operating system, while 47% said they think a move to Windows 7 will require a call to technical support.

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Those estimations grow out of the fact that XP users who upgrade their machines to Windows 7 instead of buying a new PC will have to re-install applications, device drivers and other software they may have downloaded. In addition, those users will have to recreate custom configurations.

Some of the burden will be removed with Windows 7 Easy Transfer, which lets users retain user accounts, program settings, documents, music, pictures, email, and favorites settings. But even with that technology, XP users won’t get a simple click-to-install button.

Officials at iYogi are anticipating twice as many calls from XP users as Vista users.

“The application migration is what is going to take time and is a bigger challenge than the data migration,” says Vishal Dhar, co-founder and president of iYogi. “What we are doing from our side is looking at technology, how we can enable that through technology, we are testing now how we can make that whole thing streamlined.”

Dhar predicts that the explosion in migration needs will be spread over the next 18 months after Windows 7 hits the market on Oct. 22.

iYogi offers users a $140 yearly subscription for unlimited tech support calls. The service is offered as an alternative to Microsoft support.

The company has 1,000 technical support people, up from 32 just more than two years ago.

source:-http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/091709-tech-support-firm-sees-boon-in-win7.html?hpg1=bn

Microsoft Windows Users and iYogi Predict a Surge in Tech Support for Windows 7 Upgrades

2009-09-17T15:54:00.004+05:30

Survey Shows That Nearly Half of Consumers Think Upgrading to a New Operating System Will Require Technical Assistance

New York, NY- September 16, 2009 – iYogi, the on-demand tech services company with a unique global delivery model, announced today the results of a consumer poll regarding support concerns and predictions for the upcoming launch of the new Microsoft Windows 7 operating system. Based on responses from more than 1,000 Windows XP and Windows Vista users, 52 percent think that moving to a new operating system and moving their data is a hassle, suggesting some real frustrations on the near horizon. Nearly half (47 percent) think upgrading to Microsoft Windows 7 may require a call to technical support - potentially causing a huge backlog of support needs, as up to 40 million copies of Windows 7 are expected to be sold in 2009, according to IDC.

"We predict that more than 40 percent of XP users will generate support calls and inquiries globally this year and even more in 2010 as mass adoption kicks in and people face the prospect of dealing with an entirely new interface," said Vishal Dhar, President Marketing & Co-founder of iYogi. "We estimate twice as many support calls for current Windows XP users than Windows Vista users, since Microsoft Windows XP users will require a 'clean' install including migrating applications, settings and drivers--a potentially arduous, time-intensive task."
Additional survey findings reveal:

58 percent of users think they will or may upgrade to Windows 7, an encouraging number considering some of the backlash surrounding Vista

Only 39 percent of users are aware that Windows 7 is launching soon, suggesting an increased flurry of help questions in the coming months as more people become aware of the upgrade options.

iYogi has more has more than 90,000 annual subscribers and provides thousands of single incident sessions every day on a 24/7 basis. Its Global Delivery Platform delivers on the highest customer satisfaction benchmarks in the industry and gets smarter with every customer interaction, building a powerful knowledge base that provides unique customer insights on predictive needs to tech support.

ABOUT IYOGI

iYogi is a global on-demand services company that provides personalized computer support for consumers and small businesses in United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. iYogi's unique model, including proprietary technology iMantra and highly qualified technicians, is designed to eliminate computer-related stress and keep millions of digitally dependent consumers and small businesses always protected and productive. Only iYogi -- with its proven global expertise delivery model, intelligent customer insight systems, easy-to-use self-help tools and automated PC optimization and computer support services - offers users a simple yet comprehensive path to digital serenity. iYogi has perfected the remote technical support model to overcome the current limitations of in-store, on-site, or call center services to become the fastest growing provider of support in the industry. Major resellers and technology companies are increasingly turning to iYogi to improve customer satisfaction, reduce return rates, and deliver a compelling new-value added offering to customers.

For more information on iYogi and a detailed list of technologies supported, visit: www.iyogi.net.

Media Contact

Derek Kober
GlobalFluency
Tel. 650-433-4233
Email: dkober@globalfluency.com

Contact:

Vishal Dhar
President, Marketing
Tel. : +1-212-229-0901
Email : vishal@iyogi.net

How to Optimize your Computer/Laptop to save energy ?

2009-09-16T16:01:00.007+05:30

Optimize your PC/Desktop/Laptop to save energy

It consumes more energy to leave your PC running than it does to simply turn it off and reboot later. If you're loath to do this because of the lengthy startup time, putting your computer in sleep mode (not to be confused with your screensaver) is the next best bet for energy savings. Surprisingly, however, only about 10 percent of computers today have their power-management features enabled, according to the EPA. It's pretty simple to set up the power-saving options in Windows.

Power consumption in Windows Vista is more adjustable than in Windows XP. In fact, Vista can adjust its performance to fit whatever task you're working on, boosting processing power when you're watching or editing a video, then lowering it when you're just tapping out a document in Word.

To access your PC's power-savings options, click the Start menu, choose Control Panel, then click Power Options (nested under "System and Maintenance" in Vista, if you're not using Classic View). In Vista, you can extend your options by clicking on "Create a Power Plan," then selecting one of three options: "Balanced" (equal parts energy savings and performance), "Power saver" (greater energy savings, but reduced performance), and "High performance" (reduced energy savings, but maximum performance). For further customization, click on "Change plan settings" under the plan you've selected. This takes you to the Edit Plan Settings page, where you can specify how long your PC and monitor remain idle before they enter hibernation. Hit "Save changes" to implement your tweaks.

In Mac OS X, you can access power-management options by choosing System Preferences from the Apple menu, then selecting Energy Saver from the View menu. In the Energy Saver pane, you can choose to turn on and off features such as "Reduce processor performance," as well as determine how long your PC should be allowed to remain inactive before going to sleep. For even greater energy savings, select the checkbox next to "Put the hard disk(s) to sleep when possible."

How green is your Ethernet?

2009-09-15T16:20:00.004+05:30

The growing emphasis on energy efficiency in IT has led to plans to reduce the amount of power needed to run a corporate network by changing the way Ethernet switches and adapters work.
Here’s the idea. When a device connects to a network switch at present, it only ever negotiates the speed of that connection once, typically opting for the maximum bandwidth supported by both parties. So why not negotiate the connection dynamically, to enable the speed of the network port and the amount of power required to drive it to vary depending on the needs of the attached device?

For example, if a PC was idle, the switch could put its network port into standby mode. Similarly, it could configure a 10Mbit/s connection when the user was pulling down email and only opt for a full 100Mbit/s or Gigabit link when transferring large files.

Of course, the usual IEEE study group has been established to look into possible mechanisms for what is being called Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE), but that will take a long time to report back, let alone come up with any concrete proposals or standards for developers to aim at. In the meantime, a number of the networking vendors are starting to talk up the concept, with D-Link going so far as to release products already with what it calls “green Ethernet” features.

It won’t be going as far as dynamically negotiating bandwidth, as that would require changes at the device end as well. However, D-Link’s Green Ethernet switches will be able to detect when attached PCs are turned off and power down the associated ports into a standby mode. They will also be able to analyse cable length and adjust power usage accordingly. And the end result could be savings of up to 44 per cent in terms of the overall power needed to run the switch, plus a longer product life thanks to a reduction in operating temperatures.

D-Link intends to deliver this kind of functionality in its managed switches, including the enterprise-grade xStack range, next year.

That is all very well, but cynics like me will question the use of the term “green” to describe this kind of technology. It’s a popular bandwagon on which to throw the concept and it could help save energy; however, to have a real impact companies would have to replace millions of Ethernet ports and that would come at a carbon as well as a financial cost.

I would also argue that simply by getting everyone to turn off their PC when they go home, we could make just as big a saving, if not more, and with none of the associated costs.

Src: http://www.whatpc.co.uk/itweek/comment/2200660/green-ethernet-3520628

Going Green with your Laptops and Notebooks

2009-07-21T13:52:00.009+05:30

How much do you find yourself concerned towards the environmental issues like global warming and the CO2 contribution in today’s environmental constraints?

With making one small change with your computing habit you can contribute and help the environmental concerns, but how? Just by going green, building a green PC to be a part of the global warming solution you can contribute on your part choose notebooks computers that are environment friendly and long on charge.

The "green laptops" have taken the idea of an environmentally friendly notebook computer even further. They are smaller than other notebooks, last longer on a charge, and comply with most environmental regulations. This ultra portable, small footprint, lighter weight notebooks are inherently "greener" than heavier, larger footprint products for a few reasons: They are designed to deliver the desired performance while consuming fewer materials for manufacturing and less energy for shipment and distribution. Packaging requirements are also reduced, saving materials and energy. Laptops don't use as much power as a desktop, mostly because the processor is only drawing about 35W or less, compared to about 65W or more for a desktop CPU. The added benefit is that your electrical bill won't be as high either.

Some of the new laptops in the market which really stand by the Go Green standards are

Lenovo's Thinkpad X300 :- It is the company's first Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) Gold certified notebook. It is among one of the initiative by Lenovo in this direction as going by the records only 15 notebooks have achieved this rating to date.

The X300 uses mercury free LEDs to illuminate its display. This saves energy, and allows for a thinner display. It uses a solid state drive, which is much lighter, more reliable and faster than a conventional hard drive. It also contains a low voltage processor and has improved "battery stretch" software for energy savings. It meets the Energy Star 4.0 criteria and is 25% more efficient than Lenovo's previous generation notebooks. The packaging materials for the X300 are 90% recyclable and the use of toxic materials such as cadmium, lead, and arsenic have been reduced.

Apple has came a long way with its vision for green pc with its MacBook Air. The MacBook Air has a mercury and arsenic free display. MacBook Air has a aluminum case and as aluminum is easily recyclable and highly desirable by recyclers. All the circuit boards are bromide and PVC free in MacBook Air qualifying a Silver EPEAT rating. It's also Energy Star 4.0 certified.

Green Computing Is Here To Stay

Go green is now not only the buzz word the world has taken the things in stride and making it quite clear that Green Computing Is Here To Stay. With time the next generation Laptops will get more efficient, smaller, and safer for the planet. EPA estimates that in the next five years purchases of EPEAT registered computers could reduce hazardous waste by 4 million pounds and save enough energy to power two million homes. So, Is your computer going green?

Building a green PC to be a part of the global warming solution

2009-07-14T12:41:00.000+05:30

The global warming today has taken the word on plunge it is caused by emissions of carbon dioxide, which absorbs heat and did not let it to escape in the atmosphere. The major contributor to these are cars, factories and power plants which do most of the damage, the computer is at least partially to blame.

A computer uses 200 to 400 watts of power supply, depending on its configuration and usage. By comparison, where as a refrigerator uses about 725 watts, but a DVD player uses only 25 watts, and your TV is right around 100 watts. A high-performance gaming rig with a powerful graphics card, multiple hard drives and optical drives, a flash memory reader, and a 30-inch LCD might consume as much as 750 watts! Leave such a swine running constantly and you might see an extra $40 to $50 on your monthly electrical bill. Jesus.

Still the consumption on the end of a PC is only part of the concerned problem. The manufacturing procedure for computer parts also has a consequence. The typical computer these days contains significant amounts of lead, which is used in soldering motherboards, processors, and other parts. Since the average lifespan of a PC is just three years—according to the EPA—the toxic effects of disposal are quite high.

But it is not that we are right there with only the concern to the global warming measures are being taken in Europe, set of laws for lead-free computing such as RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) and WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment), are designed to trim down the effects of hazardous waste. Yet many U.S. PC makers have all but ignored the problem.

That's where you can help. Building a green PC means you can be branch of the solution by using all lead-free parts that are also more energy-efficient.

Global computer Makers Vying for "Green" Crown

2009-06-22T09:51:00.002+05:30

Analysts say going green has become a business plan unto itself for the industry's heavyweights: a way to stand apart from rivals, win over a growing segment of environmentally conscious consumers, & shore up branding worldwide. The two major U.S. computer vendors - Hewlett-Packard Co, Dell Inc, & Apple Inc - argue that customers glean real benefits, for example lower power consumption in green-certified display screens. "It's a green arms race, in which they're trying to two up each other," said John Spooner, an analyst with Technology Business Research. "The good news is they're all working in this direction & that's going to benefit themselves, their customers & the environment."

Personal computer makers are increasingly prioritizing "green" strategies, generating a pivotal point of competition for customers that are becoming more attuned to their financial - & societal - benefits.

While there's differences between the two in areas such as materials, computer power usage & recycling & packaging, analysts & environmental groups say, the green agenda is profiting from the competition between them. Campaigns by interest groups like Greenpeace to praise or tweak computer makers have been effective. "Companies are realizing that consumers do use these environmental considerations as tiebreakers. It does help differentiate their products," Forrester's Sally Cohen said. Around 70 percent of companies surveyed in a recent report by Forrester Research cited product differentiation - the desire to stand out - as a business driver for their environmental strategies. "It has struck a chord with consumers, businesses, stakeholders & NGOs," said Eric Lowitt, a research fellow at Accenture.

Analysts point to certain efforts - such as Dell's recycling program, Apple's moves to remove toxic raw materials, & HP's actions around packaging - as areas of success. But the IT industry still accounts for an estimated 2 percent of global emissions of greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Consumers might have trouble picking out who among the computer makers are making the right moves: Dell says it aims to become the "greenest technology company on Earth"; Apple lays claims to the "greenest relatives of notebooks"; & HP stresses it's a long tradition of environmentalism as well as the market size to effect adapt. TBR recently ranked Dell No. 1 out of 40 technology companies on corporate sustainability. But a recent Greenpeace report ranked Apple best among the major computer makers.

In interviews, Dell & HP - while each asserting leadership - downplayed talk of competition. they pointed out that any good sustainability strategy must be comprehensive, & span the company, right down to its supply chain. Some analysts say what may be more important than companies' actual green initiatives - often highly technical - is their ability to communicate them to the market. Tod Arbogast, Dell's director of sustainable business, said there is actually some collaboration around green initiatives. "I don't think we've reached the tipping point yet, I think we'll continue as an industry to innovate, challenge two another to go further. faster on these efforts," they said. Bonnie Nixon, HP's director of sustainability, said green practices should be integrated throughout the company. HP's "commitment has been there, certainly through the 90's & the fact that society is focusing on green right now is great. We're in an industry that can truly demonstrate" environmental leadership, they said.

Is Your Computer Going Green?

2009-06-19T17:02:00.004+05:30

"I have erased all my files, it's perfectly safe to donate it, " you say. But Consumer Reports says differently after conducting a study of used computers/hard drives purchased on E-bay. In this study, Consumer Reports ran simple & inexpensive application available to somebody to determine what information may still be stored on a computer's hard drive.

Changes in needs for our personal computer, as well as updates & new application occur quickly in our every growing world of technology. As this happens, consumers often decide to "get rid of" their "old computer" & based on their needs & budget purchase another five. Depending on the original cost & condition of the computers, some people offer a trade in to dealers that can be refurbished & sold, some give them away to friends & relatives & others donate them to a charity or school. With the "recycling" of your personal computer, you may feel you have done a lovely deed & helped someone out, as well as avoid waste, making a eco-friendly & socially positive decision of how to dispose of your elderly personal computer or PC recycle. However, no lovely deed goes unpunished, & the risk to your information on your elderly computer may at the least involve identity theft. Identity theft is now the fastest growing white-collar crime & where that information on your elderly computer lands may not be a safe place. You can be sure of one thing, if you left information on your computer, there is probably someone out there that can find it, & use it.

What Do You reckon Consumer Reports Found on Used Computers from E-Bay?

*A Microsoft Word tax document including salary information

* Quicken files with expense & finance data

* A MySpace account, complete with name & password

* Lists of favorite web sites

* Outlook express e-mails

* Love letters & photographs

These computers were all described by sellers as "reformatted" or "wiped cleaned."

In a larger study, a research fellow at Harvard University examined over 1,000 hard drives & found only one third of them were properly cleaned. Microsoft Windows doesn't claim to have an easy or secure way to erase your entire hard drive & recommends using third party program. Mac OS X has a feature to permanently erase Trash files but it's been reported to be slow & only 10.3 or later versions can permanently erase entire hard drives.

Inside Edition also checked out the possibilities & probabilities of identity theft for well meaning citizens who donated their computers to lovely Will. The 25 computers purchased in the east coast hubs for as little as $30.00, as well as one computers picked up from a dumpsite held not surprising but alarming information.

Computer expert Steve Elderkin who examined the hard drives shares that "Of all the hard drives, not one was cleaned of any of the information. Depending on the hard drive itself, you could have all the data in a matter of minutes with no work."

An Arlington, VA resident who believed they had erased all of the information on his hard drive was shocked to learn that within minutes, experts had found both his & his wife's social security numbers. Social security numbers are of work a jackpot for identity thieves who can easily use a social security numbers to connect the dots for identity theft with other easy to access information. A social security number is a winning lottery number to gain access to your financial or medical credit. In addition to social security numbers, the expert found information from previously filed tax returns & passwords.

Before you donate, give away, or recycle your elderly computer, consider options like WipeDrive from WhiteCanyon.com who've been providing security solutions since 1998 or Eraser, which is free at www.heidi.ie/eraser. it is important to thoroughly tidy your hard drives before allowing them out of your hands, if you've used your computer to make purchases, do taxes or finances or monitor bank accounts; even photographs can be much information. Make sure to completely erase your identity before you take the chance of giving it away, along with your elderly computer.

Related Search:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/green/?p=4979

Green Technology : Just Hype or Must-have?

2009-06-17T13:18:00.002+05:30

There is a very crucial question for all we have that the "green" technology been over-hyped? Scientists throughout the world who study global warming have concluded that drastic changes in human energy-consumption are necessary to avert a crisis.

Energy use in IT, like all other technology-intensive industries, thus has been put under a microscope. Computer hardware and software vendors, sensing a financial bonanza and opportunity to appear virtuous, have flooded the market with so-called green products.

It's enough to make some IT managers dismiss green technology altogether, but even those who are concerned about the environment and their own energy costs have a tough time separating product hype from reality.

"There is a lot of hype, and it's hard to discern the difference between things that have been 'green-washed' and things that are really green IT,"

says Forrester analyst James Staten. Many vendors also like to "shine up" old products and sell them with a green tag, which makes it all the more deceiving.

IT vendors might be taking a cue from car companies that boast about selling one or two eco-friendly cars while selling millions of gas-guzzling SUVs. Dell, for example, has lots of ads talking about the greenness of their servers and PCs, Staten notes. While Dell's blade servers are very efficient, on the whole the company's "servers are not a whole lot different than other people's,"

he says.

It's not just Dell. Vendors, such as IBM and HP, are pushing green data-center service engagements that tend to push customers to standardising on either IBM or HP equipment, rather than picking the best from multiple vendors, Staten says. Vendors say, "if you want to go green, you have to go with all my products," he says. "I wouldn't point fingers at one. I think everybody's guilty of this."

Rather than looking to individual vendors, IT pros should turn to industry organizations like The Green Grid for less-biased information, he adds.

In the US for example, data centers consumed less than 1% of total US electricity use in 2000, but that number will rise to at least 2.3% of all electricity use nationwide by 2010, according to the Uptime Institute. Figures in other part of the world can be comparable.

IT departments therefore have a big responsibility," says Derek Kober, director of the BPM Forum. The organisation recently surveyed 150 IT pros and executives, and found that most IT pros are concerned about the IT department's impact on the environment -- or are at least interested in the economic benefits of being more energy-efficient.

In the survey, 86% said IT organisations have a "responsibility to substantially improve efficiency and green activities." Only 41% have any specific green plans in place, however, the survey also found. "The biggest overarching message was that despite concern and despite increasing priorities for improving the environment and greening the data center, IT departments in general are pretty far behind," Kober says.

Some IT shops view green technology as too expensive upfront, but Kober noted that many businesses save money over the long run by consolidating systems and replacing old processors with newer, more energy-efficient models. Because of these long-term savings, economic benefit rather than environmental concern is the initial driver that gets IT departments thinking about efficiency, Kober says.

Forrester's Staten shares this perception. "IT administrators define green as that rectangular dollar bill rather than something that is environmental," he says. "They don't really make a lot of decisions around what's environmentally responsible or not."

The Greatest Green Event Ever

2009-06-05T15:50:00.003+05:30

Today is World Environment Day. Today a movie being released worldwide by producers as "the greatest green event ever", a high-budget documentary to save the planet from Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

From New York's Central Park to the Champs de Mars by Paris Eiffel Tower, the French photographer known for the "Earth From The Air" books and "Seen From The Air" on TV, is releasing the green-awareness movie "Home" in over 100 countries simultaneously.

"More than a movie, Home will be a major event,"

the producers said.

Shot from the air in a chopper, the environmental documentary will be available across the globe June 5, mostly free of charge, in open-air spaces as well as theatres, TV, DVD, and the Internet.

"The idea is to explain what`s happening to the planet by beginning at the beginning, by the miracle of life on earth,"

the photographer-director told reporters.

Kicking off with stunning aerial views of the earth's natural wonders before focusing from the air on polluting factories, airfields and oil platforms, the message translated into more than a score of languages is: "It's too late to be a pessimist."

"Although there's a general trend towards an awareness of ecological issues, concrete action is still too little, too slow,"

he says.

"In 200,000 years on earth," adds the film, "humanity has upset the balance of the planet. Humanity has barely 10 years to reverse the trend."

The commentary, narrated by Glenn Close in English and Salma Hayek in Spanish, was submitted for editing to 2007 Nobel-prize winner Al Gore and Lester Brown, the US environmental guru.

It took almost three years to finalize the mega-movie, shot over 217 days in 54 countries, providing 488 hours of footage.

"We have the power to change so what are we waiting for?" it asks.

French movie mogul Luc Besson is distributing the 10-million-euro movie, a huge sum for a documentary put up by the luxury consortium PPR headed by Francois Henri Pinault.

"The massive and free distribution of the film will enable anyone, anywhere, to see it, whatever their income," Pinault said.

Speaking to reporters, Arthus-Bertrand said it was time to call a halt to a world where 20 percent of the population consumed 80 percent of the planet's riches.

"I explain what is happening, I don`t offer solutions," he said. "But we all have solutions within ourselves."

"We would live better by consuming less and sharing more, and we need more courageous policies".

"The idea is to convince people to push politicians to action."

Ways to Restore Old Machines to their Former Glory

2009-03-24T11:35:00.002+05:30

Just because your computer is playing up doesn't mean it's time to throw it away. Toby Green discovers five easy and inexpensive ways to restore old machines to their former glory

There are following steps:

Smarten up your security

If you feel your computer slowing down, this could be a sign that it has been breached by malevolent forces. "One of the symptoms of becoming infected is that your system starts to go down," says Con Mallon, a director at Symantec, producer of Norton security software. "It has a split personality where it's doing the things you want it to, but it's also doing what the hacker or the malware writer wants it to."

Running a virus scan regularly should pick up any nasties, but run the updates program so it has the best chance of detecting every virus.

"Anyone using a Windows PC online should have an anti-virus tool, firewall and anti-spyware utility," says Allen. "You can get all three for nothing." He recommends AVG Free (free.avg.com ) or Avast (www.avast.com ) for anti-virus; the ZoneAlarm Free Firewall (you'll need to disable the Windows version); and, for an anti-spyware program, Ad-Aware Free (www.lavasoft.com ).

Boost your memory

The amount of memory your computer has isn't only about the number of photos or songs you can store on your hard disk. Alongside that you also have RAM (random access memory), which is used by your computer temporarily while it is running programs.

The more RAM you have, the more programs your computer can cope with running. "Adding more memory is one of the best ways to boost a PC's performance," says Allen. "The more memory, the better, although the standard versions of Windows XP and Vista have an upper limit of 3GB. www.crucial .com/uk and www.kingston.com/tools can tell you how much memory your PC can handle and what type to get."

Prices vary, but you could pay as little as £15 for 1GB of RAM – in terms of a minimum to aim for, Microsoft say Windows Vista can run on as little as 512 MB, while GB would provide optimum performance.

As well as being good value, extra memory is also easy to install yourself, though any computer store can do it for you. As long as you have the right memory for your motherboard, it should be a case of popping the old memory out and slotting the new memory in www.computeractive.co.uk has tutorials for desktops and laptops.

Let a program do it for you

There are a huge number of commercial programs that claim to clean your machine at the touch of a button. One area where they can help is the registry – where settings for everything in your computer are kept. It is so important to the running of your computer that you should never attempt to edit it yourself unless you're 110 per cent sure of what you're doing.

But some of the tasks that these programs do you may find you don't need. "System clean-up utilities are ten a penny and we've found that many of them simply automate tasks home users can perform," says Allen. Not all of them have to be paid for – Allen recommends CCleaner (snipurl.com/ ba4ln ), which includes a registry cleaner.

Before you buy or use any program do your research – with so many available you need to be confident that what you use won't damage your PC, so go for a big brand or something recommended by a reviews site you trust. Make sure your registry is backed-up before editing it, even if you're confident about the program you're using – Microsoft's Help and Support website (support.microsoft.com ) gives a step-by-step guide.

Call in the experts

If you don't have the time or confidence to mess with the inner workings of your computer you may decide to call in the experts. There are independent computer shops and numerous high-street stores you can bring your PC in to, while many offer home-visits.

Tim Fairs of TechGuys, the technology experts who offer their services in branches of PC World, says that such a service can give you peace of mind. "You get the plumber to come round or hire someone to service your car. I think the same these days is true of technology in that a lot of customers would much rather have someone else do the work than take the risk."

Of course, this all costs money and Allen believes it's often unnecessary. "Everyone should at least give it a try themselves before paying for a homevisit or in-store service."

However, if you are unsure in any way about what you're doing, always consult an expert first.

Source: independent.co.uk

Features of Energy Efficient PC

2009-03-23T12:04:00.002+05:30

A typical desktop computer, together with a monitor and printer, can consume as much electricity as five or six powerful incandescent household light bulbs.

If left running for long periods of time - or even 24 hours a day - a computer can easily cost you more in electrical bills than its original purchase price.

While you can use the power-saving features built in to today's operating systems to put a computer into a sleep mode when it's not being used or simply turn it off, many people don't.

Computers in Internet-connected households or in the workplace are frequently left running non-stop so that they're always available for research or play.

That's why it pays to look closely at how much electricity a computer is likely to use when you're on the hunt for a new machine or upgrading components within your existing one. Computers today run the gamut from power-sipping misers to unabashed energy hogs.

And it's not always clear from the packaging which one you're signing up for.

Notebooks

Notebook computers are built from the ground up to consume as little energy as possible - and therefore to save you money over desktop machines. Not all notebooks, though, are built with power- saving in mind. Models that are touted as 'desktop replacements' typically are built around the same components that appear in full- sized PCs, and they therefore consume as much electricity - and cost almost as much to operate.

Under the hood

Whether you're evaluating a notebook or a desktop computer, the components in it determine how miserly it is, so it pays to know something about the power needs of the parts that make up any computer you're evaluating.

Central processing units (CPUs) - the main chips around which PCs are built - often use more energy than other components. While most processors today go into a low-power mode when they're not being taxed heavily by the demands of software, the maximum power usage is telling.

Intel's flagship Core i7 processor, for example, requires 130W of power, and AMD's Phenom X4 Quad-Core uses 140W. Intel's Core 2 Quad chips use 95W, while most of the Core 2 Duo chips consume significantly less, at 65W. What this illustrates is clear: today's powerful processors are also power-hungry, and the more powerful chips consume significantly more electricity and will therefore be costlier to operate.

Processors designed specifically for notebook computers fare much better. Intel's high-end Core 2 Duo chips designed for notebooks, which generally run at 2.1 GHz or better, consume either 25W or 35W, depending upon model. The Core 2 Duo U7700, which runs slower at 1.33 GHz, needs only 10W of power, while AMD's Sempron for notebooks runs at 1 GHz and requires just 8W of power.

Video cards

Today's fastest processors are typically paired with today's beefiest graphics cards, which use so much electricity and throw offso much heat that dedicated fans are required to keep them cool.

The graphics cards from Nvidia and ATI, built for running today's games and 3D applications, can consume anywhere from 117W when idle to well over 300W under load. 'Under load' refers to the power draw of the cards when rendering complex objects or powering through a game, while 'idle' refers to the power required just to have the video card turned on.

Hard drives

Hard drives are on or at the ready almost always when a computer is powered up. So they're always drawing energy. As with other components in a computer, higher performing hard drives - those with rotational speeds of 10,000 revolutions per minute (rpm) or higher - consume the most electricity. To save money, look for hard drives - either desktop or notebook - that spin at 5400 or 7200 rpm. Western Digital's 'green' drives, for instance, spin at a variable rate to conserve energy, and they consume about 40 per cent less power than comparable non-green drives.

Solid State Disks (SSDs) are increasingly popular as replacements for hard drives, both in desktop and laptop computers. While many assume that SSDs consume less power than traditional spinning- platter models, recent tests have shown that their power usage is about the same.

Monitors

If you're still using an old cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor, ditch it. Its power requirements are probably twice that of a similar-sized LCD panel. Most LCDs use fluorescent back lights, which are energy efficient. What's more, when in sleep mode, many LCDs consume just 2W or less. Better yet, monitors are easy to turn off completely. Do that if you won't be using it for a while.

Final decisions

The bottom line is that the energy efficiency of any computer - and by extension the cost of running it - boils down to how much power the individual components consume. In today's world of mix- and- match PC purchasing or building, you have a great deal of control over how energy-efficient your computer will be when armed with the knowledge of how power-hungry its parts are.

Source: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/tech/features/article_1465958.php/Buying_an_energy-efficient_PC__Feature__

D-Link announces Green Technology solutions

2009-03-20T15:28:00.002+05:30

D-Link has announced its second-generation 5-Port Gigabit Desktop Switch which provides up to 73% reduced power consumption without sacrificing network performance.

The DGS-2205 is one of four environmentally friendly small office/home office (SOHO) unmanaged gigabit switches that will ship this year with newly enhanced power-savings.

The Green technology of D-Link conserves energy by recognizing when a port is active. It is also capable of altering power usage in relation to the length of its cable, conserving energy use for both the user and the environment without any loss of performance.

Even, when a computer is shut down, switches often remain on and continue to consume considerable amounts of power. Through D-Link Green technology, the new switches can detect when a computer is turned off and will respond accordingly by powering down.

Normally, switches send full power to cables regardless of the actual length. Through D-Link’s Green technology, the switches are able to analyze the cable’s length and adjust the power accordingly.

The incorporation of D-Link Green Technology into these DGS-2200 series switches re-emphasizes D-Link’s strong commitment to protecting the environment, leading the development of eco-friendly products that comply with RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) and WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) directives.

D-Link commitment to making its products more energy efficient is being appreciated by leading industry-watchers, such as PC Magazine and Laptop Magazine, which recently named the D-Link Green initiative the most innovative of 2008.

Steven Joe, president and CEO or D-Link Systems, Inc. “Our goal is to maintain industry leadership as a pioneer of Green networking technology by building in even more energy-saving features into our products without sacrificing performance.”

“We plan to continue the momentum of success we’ve realized with our first generation Green products as we seek new avenues that protect the environment and help our customers save money in the process,” he added.

Power saving equals cost saving with the new second generation D-Link with MSRP prices set at $59.99 for the DGS-2205 and $79.99 for the DGS-2208. MSRP pricing of the DGS-1016D and DGS-1024D are $219.99 and $249.99 respectively.

Source:http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2009/0320/1224243120934.html

Apple's New Green Computer

2009-03-19T18:22:00.001+05:30

If you are in the market for a new computer or laptop there are now greener options. Computers and laptops that are manufactured normally contain harmful chemicals, including brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), in the circuit boards, internal cables, connectors, insulators, and adhesives. Apple has worked to remove these chemicals from the aluminum-based MacBook family by launching green computers.

The new MacBook Pros are the greenest ever. Made with arsenic-free glass, BFR-free internal components, Mercury-free LED-backlit display, PVC-free internal cables and highly recyclable aluminum and glass enclosures, Apple’s laptop range can now be recycled a lot easier than the earlier versions. On top of all this, the battery in the new 17-inch MacBook Pro lasts up to five years or 1,000 recharges. This means that the laptop uses just one battery in the time that typical notebooks use three. Apple is also committed to using between 34% - 37% smaller packaging for the notebooks.

Apple also created the new Mac mini desktop computer which uses a combination of highly recyclable aluminum and polycarbonate, and is only 6.5 by 6.5 by 2 inches, making it a fraction of the size of a typical desktop tower, which requires less packaging and allows more units to be transported at a time.

On the technology side of things, the new Mac mini uses an advanced power management system that allows it to use up to 45 percent less power at idle than its predecessor, making it the most energy-efficient desktop computer. According to the Apple website, “Mac mini meets the stringent low power requirements set by the EPA, giving it ENERGY STAR certification. In addition, Mac mini meets the latest efficiency requirements of ENERGY STAR Version 5.0 Specification for Computers before its July 2009 effective date.”

Source:http://www.examiner.com/x-4443-Philadelphia-Green-Living-Examiner~y2009m3d15-Apples-new-green-computers

Facebook New app Encourage Towards Green PC

2009-03-18T11:46:00.003+05:30

Popular social networking website face book is now in Green Technology. Face book new application promises greener PC, which encourages to save environment as well as energy. It also encourage environmental and energy conservation. Many offer obvious advice like to use green technologies, save environment, use LED bulbs, but a new app offers to green up the PCs Face book members rely on to access the social networking site.

"Green Your PC," developed by Redwood City, Calif.-based SupportSoft, Inc., offers to help configure settings including your computer's monitor timeout, disk timeout and standby mode so that they comply with Energy Star and Carbonfund.org recommendations. Users can do this either by downloading a piece of SupportSoft software (an .exe file) that automatically performs the configurations or by following a tutorial written by SupportSoft that instructs users on how to change their PC's configurations themselves. So use green PC to save energy, save environment as well as money.

The app became available earlier this month for Facebook members using PCs (a Mac version is in the works). SupportSoft, a provider of third-party helpdesk services, got the idea for the app from a free service it's been offering its customers since last year. The company offers that service when customers call up with other information technology support needs, but Facebook opens up a much broader audience, which SupportSoft hopes "Green Your PC" will serve. (Previous ScientificAmerican.com coverage of Facebook apps has included one written for Burger King, which Facebook later disabled.)

"We're doing something that the majority of users don't know how to or don't think to do on their own," says Anthony Rodio, SupportSoft's executive vice president of worldwide operations. Rodio says he has no plans to offer the app through MySpace or any other social network.

It's unclear exactly what impact computer energy settings will have on the environment. But Carbonfund.org, a non-profit that advocates for renewable energy, estimates that if 100,000 computers and monitors reduced electricity use to the level set by the "Green Your PC" app, it would save more than 11 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually (roughly the same as emissions from burning 13,000 barrels of oil).

Source: http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=facebook-app-promises-greener-pcs-2009-03-17

Donate Your Old Computer Equipment to A Good Cause

2009-03-13T14:02:00.002+05:30

Donate Your Old Computer Equipment to A Good Cause. Why Recycle When You Can Re-Use?

We have to donate all electronic garbage so that it can be further recycle thus use it again for good purpose. By doing so we can save environment, earth as well money. So, take steps to save energy. Got any old computer equipment lying around? You could recycle it, or you could put it in the hands of someone who will get some good use out of it.

That's the idea behind Computers With Causes, a charity that accepts old computers from individuals and small business, refurbishes them, and gives them to people or organizations who need them.

This reduces e-waste, cuts down on clutter, and puts perfectly good electronics back to work where they can help change the world for the people or groups who receive them.

According to their website, "Computers with causes evaluates each and every donation on a case by case basis. Whenever financially beneficial, computers with causes will repair, refurbish, and properly prepare donated property for placement into an educational environment or other cause we support. The ultimate goal being to maximize the benefit of your donations both financially and through educational purposes to the communities in which we live."

Functioning computers will be put back to use in the community. Non-functioning computers can even be useful, as they'll get donated to schools to help teach computer repair.

Anything Computers With Causes receives that can't be used gets recycled, using what they call a "zero landfill" process.

Donations earn you tax deductions, and some donations can even earn you a free vacation!

Source: http://www.riverwired.com/blog/donate-your-old-computer-equipment-good-cause

How to make your PC Efficient?

2009-03-12T14:56:00.002+05:30

It costs hundreds of pounds, but your PC may have a surprisingly short life. Fresh out of the box, it runs like a dream, but after only months of use, it can become frustratingly slow. It takes ages to start up, browsing online becomes tortuous and running multiple programs at once is impossible. Plus, it could begin crashing with alarming regularity.

In more financially stable times, we might have simply bought a new computer, but this has become less attractive as household budgets tighten. There is an alternative though; perform some simple tasks and install a few upgrades and you could get your PC firing on all cylinders again.

There are two Windows utilities that Allen recommends. The first is the Disk Cleanup program, which prompts you through a series of steps to get rid of computer clutter, such as desktop icons for programs that you don't use. The next is the Disk Defragmenter – this organizes the data on your hard-drive so the computer doesn't have to work hard to access it.

Another easy task is to fully delete any installed programs that you don't need. "These eat up hard disk space and slow down the speed at which Windows starts," says Allen. "Check the list of installed programs in Windows XP by clicking the 'Start' button, opening the Control Panel and selecting 'Add or Remove Programs'." In Vista, open the Start menu and type "programs" into the search bar, then select "Programs and Features". Go through the list and select the programs you no longer need for removal."

Just don't be too gung-ho. "If you don't recognise a program, leave it be," warns Allen. "Windows and security applications store updates here and these shouldn't be removed."

Smarten up your security

If you feel your computer slowing down, this could be a sign that it has been breached by malevolent forces. "One of the symptoms of becoming infected is that your system starts to go down," says Con Mallon, a director at Symantec, producer of Norton security software. "It has a split personality where it's doing the things you want it to, but it's also doing what the hacker or the malware writer wants it to."

Running a virus scan regularly should pick up any nasties, but run the updates program so it has the best chance of detecting every virus.

"Anyone using a Windows PC online should have an anti-virus tool, firewall and anti-spyware utility," says Allen. "You can get all three for nothing." He recommends AVG Free (free.avg.com ) or Avast (www.avast.com ) for anti-virus; the ZoneAlarm Free Firewall; and, for an anti-spyware program, Ad-Aware Free (www.lavasoft.com ).

Boost your memory

The amount of memory your computer has isn't only about the number of photos or songs you can store on your hard disk. Alongside that you also have RAM (random access memory), which is used by your computer temporarily while it is running programs.

The more RAM you have, the more programs your computer can cope with running. "Adding more memory is one of the best ways to boost a PC's performance," says Allen. "The more memory, the better, although the standard versions of Windows XP and Vista have an upper limit of 3GB. www.crucial .com/uk and www.kingston.com/tools can tell you how much memory your PC can handle and what type to get."

Prices vary, but you could pay as little as £15 for 1GB of RAM – in terms of a minimum to aim for, Microsoft say Windows Vista can run on as little as 512 MB, while GB would provide optimum performance.

As well as being good value, extra memory is also easy to install yourself, though any computer store can do it for you. As long as you have the right memory for your motherboard, it should be a case of popping the old memory out and slotting the new memory in www.computeractive.co.uk has tutorials for desktops and laptops.

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/how-to-make-your-pc-last-longer-1641868.html

LTA Saved Over $5.55 million Through Green IT

2009-03-10T12:31:00.003+05:30

SINGAPORE’S Land Transport Authority (LTA) has saved over S$8.56 million (US$5.55 million) since embarking on its Green IT initiative.

One of the first government agencies in the island state to launch a green IT initiative, LTA had been successful in its earlier pursuit of going paperless with its e-services and online transactions for motorists and industry partners, which helped the agency gain more than $5 million in productivity improvements and $3 million in cost savings.

A joint task force between LTA and IBM’s Strategic Outsourcing division developed a green programme to fit LTA’s environment, covering the areas of Business Operations, Infrastructure and People. Initial pilots in the past 12 months have yielded savings of about S$560,000 (US$363,000).

The pilots include: • The replacement of ageing IT assets with Energy Star (ES) compliant devices which can reduce energy consumption by 50 per cent or about 500kg of carbon emission per PC annually. This amounts to S$150,000 (about US$97,000) in cost savings per annum.

• The adoption of Green Guidelines for the procurement, deployment and disposal of IT equipment ranging from desktops to servers. The guidelines were adapted from several international standards including EPEAT, IEEE 1680, IEEE 1621 and the European Union RoHS (Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations) Directives.

• The assessment of data centre energy efficiency with the use of thermal imaging technology to identify airflow efficiencies and hotspots. This has since resulted in the layout re-alignment of LTA data centres/control centres, reducing energy consumption by 20 per cent and achieving a cost savings of S$150,000 (US$97,000) per annum.

LTA also collaborated with a local polytechnic and IBM to develop an Energy Monitoring System to track and manage energy usage of all computing devices. When fully implemented, the system will be able to help reduce energy costs by at least S$100,000 (US$65,000) per annum.

Source: http://www.futuregov.net/articles/2009/mar/10/singapore-agency-saves-millions-through-green-it/

Asus First Green Wireless Monitors

2009-03-09T16:29:00.003+05:30

Today at CeBIT, Asus not only unveiled its new "green" series of LCD monitors, but the world's first wireless monitor as well.

Earlier this morning, Asus revealed two different LCD models, each offering unique features that very well may cause buyers to pull out their hair. In one corner, Asus offers the energy-efficient Green monitors, the VH192C and the VH196, designed to conserve energy and protect the environment. However, in the other corner, Asus has brought forth a mighty contender, the world's first wireless LCD monitor utilizing a new generation of EzLink technology. It's certainly easy to be indecisive: take the cool wireless route, or save the world and pick up a Green LCD monitor?

While the decision-making process may drive some consumers to drink, buyers may appreciate Asus' direction in creating an environmentally friendly LCD monitor. Asus said that it kept the environment in mind during the design process, utilizing low levels of mercury during construction and just two lamps to save more than 20 percent in power consumption. Both the Green Asus VH192C and VH196 make good use of an advanced optical film that provides brilliant image performance without sacrificing brightness. The Aspect Control feature even offers a 4:3 aspect ratio or full screen playback without distortion. Additionally, the Green Asus VH192C incorporates the Color Shine glare-type panel, "enriches" image color density and saturation, clarifies borders and improves image clarity.

As for the EzLink wireless monitor, Asus provided very little detail, nor did it say when the monitor would actually become available on the market. However, the EzLink technology will enable users to connect displays either through a Wireless Host Controller Interface (WHCI), or through a Wireless USB HWA (Host Wire Adapter) which delivers the same performance as a conventional display. The EzLink series is ideal in the business environment, eliminating the need for professionals to worry about connecting a monitor to a PC or notebook.

Source: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/LCD-Wireless-Green-Asus,7204.html

Recycle Old Electronics for Free

2009-03-06T15:40:00.004+05:30

Spring cleaning, like our warm spring weather, is coming early this year!

Start by cleaning out and decluttering your home of old, unused, unwanted and outdated electronics by taking them to be recycled for free at the Live Green Electronics Recycling Event.

This Saturday, March 7th from 7am to noon the recycling event hosted in part by Denver Recycles is taking place at 5 locations in the Denver Metro area where you can bring old electronics.

You can recycle for free: computers, CPUs, televisions, computer monitors, VCRs, stereos, computer peripherals, keyboards, home and office phones, printers, photocopiers, cell phones, fax machines and consumer electronics.

The locations are:
Pepsi Center
1000 Chopper Circle
Denver

Southwest Plaza
8501 W. Bowles Ave.
Littleton

The Orchard Town Center
14697 Delaware St.
Westminster

Town Center at Aurora
14200 E. Alameda
Aurora

Comcast
183 Inverness Dr. West
Englewood

What is not accepted for recycling at this event:

• Non-decontaminated medical equipment
• Dehumidifiers
• Microwaves
• Thermometers
• Smoke Alarms/Detectors
• Any unit with sludge or liquids
• Fire Alarms/Detectors
• Large Appliances ex. Refrigerators

Because electronics recycling is expensive and can cost on average around $25 for a television and $12 for a monitor this is a great opportunity to take advantage of this free recycling event. Plus, any excuse to clean or decluttering the home is a good one.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-522-Central-Denver-Real-Estate-Examiner~y2009m3d5-Recycle-old-electronics-for-free

Dell Launches New 24-inch Green Monitor

2009-03-05T14:04:00.003+05:30

Recently Dell Launches New 24-inch Green Monitor. One of the biggest places that you can save on your power usage in your home or business is by cutting off devices like TVs and PC LCDs that draw power even when they aren’t being used. Dell has announced a new 14-inch LCD that has features for green power savings.

The display is called the G2410 24-inch Wide Green Flat Panel monitor. Typically, 24-inch LCDs have a resolution of 1920 x 1200, but dell cuts the G2410 back to 1920 x 1080, plenty for full 1080p movies and content. However, the gamer out there will be disappointed by the lack of full resolution.

Still the display is rather cheap for the screen size at $349 and it supports 16.7million colors with a 1000:1 contrast ratio. The panel has a response time of 5ms, a bit slow compared to other LCDs but that should be plenty fast for gaming. Dell equips the LCD with features for power saving called PowerNap and Dynamic Dimming, though the computer giant doesn’t describe exactly what the features do.

Related Post: Dell Shows Its Green Stripes At Greener Gadgets
New Green Cases for Green Computers

Source: http://www.slipperybrick.com/2009/02/dell-whips-out-green-24-inch-lcd/

Dell Shows Its Green Stripes At Greener Gadgets

2009-03-04T16:49:00.002+05:30

Last Friday, at the Greener Gadgets conference in New York City, EcoGeek had the chance to sit down with Michael Murphy, Dell’s senior manager of environmental affairs. Mr. Murphy was at the conference to participate in a panel discussion entitled "Measuring Your Hue of Green" – where he talked about how consumer electronic businesses can lead and are already leading the industry in green corporate practice.

Over the last year, Dell has been embarking on various green initiatives, the most prominent of which was their announcement that the company was, officially, 100% carbon neutral. Some critics questioned this title, pointing to the fact that a large part of that “carbon netural” tag came from carbon offsets. When asked to address this, Mr. Murphy pointed out that Dell’s Austin headquarters were entirely run on renewable energy, as were the offices in Oklahoma City. He said that Dell was committed to running on renewable power wherever it was available, and that the offsets are only for those geographies where renewable power is not feasible.

He also made it clear that Dell’s products rightfully deserved to be called green. One of Dell’s big pushes was to build laptops whose displays used LED back lights. LEDs make a laptop more power efficient, and they contain no mercury. More importantly, though, power-sipping LEDs give what all customers want the most – longer battery life.

According to Murphy, the LED move summarizes Dell’s green philosophy: make a better product, and it will naturally be greener. A green computer is not a computer that skimps on performance. It is a computer that is built out of better materials, in a smarter way, will last longer, and will cost less.

Dell has also been taking steps to consider the overall lifetime of the computer. Dell offers the only free consumer recycling and take back program across the globe, and they also have developed a program called Reconnect with Goodwill Industries. This program not only allows people to donate their old computers rather than throw them away, but also provides jobs for people in the recycling industry. Mr. Murphy pointed out that Dell had become so involved in these recycling programs that they were making changes in the way they designed machines -just so that the recycling could be done more smoothly and efficiently.

Dell is doing a lot. Some may take issue with the term carbon neutrality, or with offset usage in general. But it is clear that Dell is delivering when it comes to leadership. They are not only working to embody green values, but are teaching the lessons of responsibilities to all their partners, at every step in their supply chain. As Mr. Murphy’s put it, Dell is learning a lot by trying to make its own facilities greener, and they see it as their duty to share what they learn with the rest of the industry.

Source: http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2598/73/

Zero Watt Green PC Launch by Fujitsu Siemens

2009-03-03T13:42:00.001+05:30

Sunday at the CeBIT trade show in Hanover, Germany, Fujitsu Siemens said that it was set to launch by mid-year a PC that uses zero power green PC when it is powered down.

In reality, much like your TV, most computers use one to four watts on average unless it’s disconnected from power or attached to a shut-off power strip. PCs remain “active” for functions such as remote power-on.

Speaking of which, many corporations send updates and the like during off-hours. How would this work, if the Esprimo 7935 system is truly powered down?

Fujitsu Siemens has a setting that wakes the PC during a predefined time slot during which updates can take place. Once that time passes, the machine returns to zero-watt mode until it is turned on.

Realistically, there is no way it can be completely powered down, if it can still wake itself up. However, the way they describe it, they could power the machine into a sub-one watt mode.

According to the company, the PC has still more “greenness,” including a power supply that is 89% efficient and motherboards with no halogen or lead. The Esprimo 7935 meets the Energy Star 5.0 standard, which will come into use mid-2009.

Expect the PC to cost between 700 and 800 euros, or $755 and $881, according to Fujitsu Siemens, when it releases mid-year.

Source: http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/6510

4 Green Technology Tips That Will Save You Money

2009-03-02T14:45:00.002+05:30

Save energy. Save the environment. Save money. Sounds good, huh? Savvy use of technology can help you do all three.

These days it's not uncommon for laptops to serve desktop duty. But here's the rub: If you leave the battery inside the system 24/7, it'll keep drawing power, even when fully charged. That's not only a waste of energy and money, but also bad news for the battery: Constant charging will reduce its capacity to hold a charge and its overall longevity.

Fortunately, there's a fast and simple solution: Pull the battery out. Most notebooks can run off AC power when there's no battery present, so take the latter out of the equation. It'll stay in pristine condition and save you a kilowatt or two.

PCs and landfills go together like oil and water--or, more accurately, like mercury (which can leak out of computer circuitry) and groundwater. Unfortunately, more and more unwanted computers and monitors end up in landfills every year, and the environmental impact is considerable.

Before you consign your unwanted system to the dump, consider giving it new life. One option: Wipe the hard drive and install a Linux-based operating system like gOS, which has such modest system requirements, it makes even a six-year-old Pentium 4 feel like a modern Core 2 Duo. With that done, the system could go to a student, a tech-challenged senior, or anyone with basic computing needs.

Alternately, an aged PC plugged into a router can double as a fine file and/or print server for your home network (see "Get More Out of Your PC"). If you're willing to spring for a TV tuner, you can install free media-center software like Media Portal and turn the old girl into a DVR--no monthly TiVo fees required.

Bills that arrive via snail mail represent a massive waste of resources (paper, printing, hauling, postage) on both the biller's part and yours, if you're still mailing back written checks. Maybe security concerns kept you from switching to electronic bill-pay services early on, but financial institutions have had plenty of time to work out the kinks, so there's no excuse for continued use of paper checks, envelopes, and postage.

Banks do charge for online bill-pay service, but some will give it to you for free if you do enough business with them. If not, take a look at MyCheckFree, which lets you pay many major billers free of charge. Alternatively, set up automated bill pay with the many utilities and banks that will happily collect their monthly fees, credit card, and mortgage payments via direct withdrawal from your bank account.

Game controllers, kids' toys, digital cameras, and other electronics chew through batteries faster than beavers chew through balsa wood. Consequently, they chew through your wallet as well: A four-pack of Duracell AA batteries sells for around $6. Buy just one pack per month and you're out $72 a year.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/01/AR2009030102378.html

PC Plug Green Solution For Home Computing

2009-02-26T15:28:00.000+05:30

A PC Plug? Better believe it. Home appliances are getting above their station today: first we saw a washing machine that shows your clothes in 3D, and now Marvell has unveiled a PC that’s a plug. It may sound daft, but the Marvell PC Plug could be the green solution for home computing - find out why, after the jump.

Dubbed the SheevaPlug, the Marvell PC Plug is the company’s attempt to come up with a green alternative to home servers that have to be left on all the time, running up large leccy bills - this one’s far more power efficient, which ought to alleviate some green guilt.

Specs wise, the Marvell PC Plug is scarily impressive: a Linux OS, a 1.2GHz processor, 512MB of memory and storage practically put it on a par with the original Asus Eee PC, albeit without the screen. You can lash it up to the network with ethernet, and slap on an external hard drive via the USB port too.

With power like that, there’s a lot of scope. Marvell is selling development kits for it, so who knows: it could put Sonos out of business. What do you reckon though? Daft or delightful? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: http://www.electricpig.co.uk/2009/02/25/the-pc-plug-so-green-it-doesnt-have-a-screen/

QSC gives 65 Green Computers to the Eid Charity

2009-02-25T12:53:00.002+05:30

(QSC) handed over 65 Green Computers to the Eid Charity yesterday. The green computer project launched eight months ago aims at utilising computer parts which are discarded by users and recycling them to make new ones.

“The effort was launched with the help of Microsoft and many other companies who had handed over their unwanted PCs to be recycled,” said Hassan Abdula A Al Abdallah (sixth right in the picture), secretary-general, QSC, and the chairman of Green Computer Project.

“In this way we have made computers which are ready to be used as new. 65 of them have been handed over to the Eid Charity. The computers will be given to children who cannot afford computers either in Qatar or abroad,” he told The Peninsula.

The project is environment-friendly as it recycles the various parts of the computer. Muhammad Hammoudi (third left), of Microsoft Qatar also attended the function held at the QSC yesterday.

Source: http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=February2009&file=Local_News200902242248.xml

British Experts Develop "Green" Software

2009-02-24T12:49:00.001+05:30

A team from the University of Liverpool says it's devised a program that automatically shuts down computer systems after usage.

And members estimate it's saving larger organizations the U.S. equivalent of nearly 20-thousand dollars a month in electricity.

The researchers found that universities with PC centers in 24-hour libraries could be losing more than one million hours of unused computer power each month.

Systems experts say new software called "PowerDown" automatically shuts down computers if left unused for half an hour.

Using the University of Liverpool as a test model, the team discovered that 16-hundred (1,600) library-based PCs alone used 20 thousand kilowatts each week unnecessarily - equating to over four thousand dollars in electricity costs.

PowerDown has so far recovered 24 million hours of PC inactivity within the university, say the scientists.

They estimate an average PC left on round-clock but used for only 40 hours a week uses about 17 kilowatts of electricity - of which about 13 is wasted.

That figure doesn't consider other energy usage such as air-conditioning required to remove heat created by active computers.

Source: http://arkansasmatters.com/content/fulltext/news/?cid=194081

Wonderful 3 G's: Google, GE and Green Energy

2009-02-23T14:30:00.003+05:30

In a fear-filled 24-hour news cycle, it's necessary to break away from all that negativity and read about some positive news. As you know, there are some very smart people in our country doing some great things and we need to hear more about them...especially these days.

There are many green energy initiatives taking place. I recently read about a particularly interesting effort that I think you'll find interesting too. Did you know that Google is investing a lot of money - in the millions - to change the country’s energy infrastructure more into the likes of the Internet, making energy decentralized and distributed, and possibly saving you and I lots of money?

Partnered with GE in many green initiatives, the company envisions a smart electric grid that would be controlled and monitored by a vast computer network that would determine prices based on real-time supply and demand. If this happens, it will change the way that you and I use and pay for electricity.

For example: Suppose the hot and humid summer months in Georgia creates a spike in electricity usage, and therefore prices. Instead of automatically being hit with higher energy prices, you'll have a device with a user-friendly interface that allows you to click on an icon and power down several of your appliances. GE already has a smart-grid lab that's working out the details of such a scenario. Or how about having a wireless system in your home, car, etc., that would automatically shut down appliances and devices if prices hit certain preset levels? In addition to the above, there's hope that you'll be able to select your own energy plans that are more customized to your needs.

Google's motivation to reduce its energy costs is commendable. And after getting hit with some pretty high electric bills myself during the summer, I'll say I'm pretty giddy about such ideas. Maybe we can find ways to heal the planet and add a little more money in our wallets.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-2938-Atlanta-Web-Examiner~y2009m2d21-Hip-Hip-Hooray-for-the-Gs--Google-GE-and-Green-Energy

Going Green On "E-Recycling"

2009-02-20T12:54:00.002+05:30

With the switch to digital television coming in June, many of you will be buying new TV's. But with lead, mercury and other poisonous materials lurking inside, what do you do with your old one?

For years, Pueblo County officials have been trying to find ways to keep residents from dumping their old electronics in ditches, alleys and fields. But now, thanks to the Eden Transfer and Recycling Center it's easier than ever for you to go green.

"They can't go to the landfill, they can't be disposed of in the dumpsters around town," said Jack Pendleton, owner of Eden Transfer and Recycling Center.

Pendleton has started a one of a kind program to Pueblo County.

"Right now, there is no other place in Pueblo County for people to take their e-waste, or electronic waste, their TV's, computers and monitors," explained Pendleton.

However, being kind to the plane does come with a small fee.

"The price ranges anywhere from 5 dollars to 50 dollars," he explained. "It's finding a place to be able to get rid of the TV's in an environmentally safe way."

Wednesday was the programs first day and already people have brought their TV's and computers to the center and Pendleton hopes, the trend will continue.

"We expect this to take off, and hopefully we will have a place for everyone in the community to bring their TV's," he added.

And if for some reason you can't bring your electronics to the center yourself, no need to worry. Just call Eden Transfer and Recycling and they will arrange to come pick it up for you.

You can reach the Eden Transfer and Recycling Center at (719) 546-3478

Here's a short list of the fees:

Desktop Computer W/ Monitor - $15.00

Computer Tower Only - $5.00

Lap Top Computer - $10.00

Printer/Fax/Scanners - $8.00

VCR/DVD Player - $5.00

TV (up to 20") - $15.00

TV (21" - 30") - $20.00

TV (31" - 40") - $25.00

TV (41" and larger) - $40.00
Flat-screen TV up to 40" - $20.00

Source: http://www.krdo.com/Global/story.asp?S=9868366

Green Calculators

2009-02-19T12:35:00.001+05:30

It’s well known that going green saves money as well as dwindling resources. But how much green, of each kind, is saved?

If you’re not the math type, never fear – several vendors offer "green calculators" that will do the hard work for you. While doing some research for a sister publication, I came across a number of different calculators for finding out how much green you can save through virtualization, and other common-sense steps.

# Novell’s PlateSpin, which makes a number of green technology virtualization products, has a detailed 'go-green' consolidation-based calculator. Simply input factors like number of physical servers, average power consumption per server, cost per kWh, processor utilization before and predicted utilization after consolidation, etc. The calculator spits out at the other end savings in kWh and dollars.

Note that these are rough estimates only. Your mileage can, and almost certainly will, vary, perhaps significantly. But it serves as a good benchmark.

Other large virtualization vendors have similar green calculators, including VMware, which is more basic than PlateSpin’s.

# Avaya has an interesting take on going green. It offers a calculator to tote up the environmental savings by turning commuters into telecommuters. It claims that working from home three days per week saves about 200 gallons of gas per year.

# IT consultancy 1E has an "Energy Savings Calculator" that computes the greening of your business from the simple act of turning off computers not in use. It even translates the savings into reduced carbon emissions and trees.

# The Uptime Institute bills itself as a vendor-neutral organization concerned with increasing efficiency in enterprise settings. It publishes a “True TCO Calculator,” which acts as a guide for building a high-density, high-performance, green data center. This would be of more value to companies starting from scratch, rather than those making changes to an existing data center.

# Many computers already have power-saving measures built in, but not activated, in the form of Energy Star-approved computers. The Website Greener Computing has an Excel spreadsheet available to calculate how much greener each computer could be if the power-saving features were activated.

# On a personal level, Google has started the "U.K. Carbon Footprint Project." Going through its calculator gives you an idea of how much pollution you and your household contribute to Great Britian. Then, you can input your location and statistics, and compare your usage vs. others who have done the same. Different-colored balloons separate the good from the bad -- from the ugly. Very cool.

Source: http://virtualizationreview.com/blogs/weblog.aspx?blog=3469

D-Link Expands Green Technology Initiative

2009-02-18T13:08:00.002+05:30

In recent years, networking solutions provider D-Linkhas been greening technology to the computer networking space, and now its Green switches have gotten a bit greener.

The Fountain Valley, California-based company has expanded its role in the development of energy-saving products and initiatives by introducing green technology to computer networking through the introduction of its second-generation D-Link 5-Port Gigabit Desktop Switch (DGS-2205).

Steven Joe, president and CEO or D-Link Systems, said the DGS-2205 provides up to 73 percent reduced power consumption without sacrificing network performance.

"Our goal is to maintain industry leadership as a pioneer of Green networking technology by building in even more energy-saving features into our products without sacrificing performance," said Joe.

D-Link Systems is an end-to-end networking solutions provider for consumer and business, and the first company to introduce green technology to computer networking, according to Joe.

The DGS -2205, which is already shipping, is one of four “environmentally friendly” small office/home office (SOHO) unmanaged gigabit switches from the company that will ship this year with newly enhanced power-savings.

"We plan to continue the momentum of success we've realized with our first generation Green products as we seek new avenues that protect the environment and help our customers save money in the process," said Joe.

The next-generation D-Link 8-Port Gigabit Desktop Switch (DGS-2208); the 16-port (DGS-1016D) and 24-port (DGS-1024D) unmanaged gigabit switches will also receive enhanced power-savings later this year.

The computing initiative follows a greater trend throughout the technology industry that has seen an increased effort to bring “green” products to market. D-Link Systems says it focuses on manufacturing environmentally-responsible products, eco-friendly packaging, optimizing devices for ENERGYSTAR certification, and providing consumer education and recycling programs.

The DGS-2205 Green desktop switch can, when used for 10 hours and then powered down for 14 hours over a 24-hour period, and connected via Ethernet cables, represents a 66 percent energy reduction, according to the company.

Source:http://green.tmcnet.com/topics/green/articles/50638-d-link-expands-green-technology-initiative.htm

High-performance PC successfully developed in China

2009-02-16T13:43:00.001+05:30

The Dawning PHPC100, the first high-performance personal computer independently-developed in China, was officially launched in the Hi-tech Green Industry Base of Huayuan Software Park under the Tianjin Hi-tech Industry Park (THIP). To date, orders for the PHPC100 have gradually reached nearly 30.

This computer, only twice the size of a normal desktop computer, has a maximum computing speed of 250 billion times per second, equivalent to the combined computing speed of 40 ordinary desktop computers. The launch of the PHPC100 will accelerate the popularization of high-performance computers that were previously scarcely available, enabling more people to own their own high-performance computer.

Source: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/6592410.html

5 reasons to consider PC power management

2009-02-13T11:55:00.003+05:30

The rolodex of Green IT projects available to IT leadership is seemingly endless. But at some point, prioritization is necessary, and IT professionals tend to gravitate to those projects that produce an acceptable financial return with the path of least resistance. And in recent interactions with Forrester clients, it’s becoming clear that PC power management — the act of powering down PCs when not in use (e.g. nights, weekends) — is one of those projects IT leadership are willing to act on.

Do I agree? In short yes. And here’s why: PC power management can reduce costs, cheaply and effectively, while at the same time help justify more strategic IT investments and improve your green “credentials.” Let me elaborate:

1. Save money — and lots of it. The top motivation for pursuing greener IT is to “reduce the energy-related operating expenses of IT.” And PC power management can do this very effectively. By powering down PCs during periods of inactivity, Energy Star estimates that firms can save $25 to $75 per PC per year. Take AT&T as a real-world example. By powering down their 300,000 PCs during non-working hours, AT&T expects to save more than 135m kilowatt hours of electricity – assume an average U.S. price per kilowatt of $.095, savings top $12.8m per year.

2. Reduce costs without capital expenditure. While more energy-efficient equipment and computing architectures are a surefire way to reduce energy costs and environmental impact they require capital investment. So if you’re seeking effective cost-saving tactics with zero to little investment, get familiar with green PC power management. There are a variety of tools to assist in implementing power management organization wide. Many of these tools are free while some are license fee based, but include added features, such as reporting or advanced provisioning and power management settings.

3. Address your most energy-consuming environment. What consumes more energy: your data center, or the IT assets outside of your data center? According to a recent Forrester survey, IT professionals report that more electricity is used outside the data center by a margin of 10%. While every organization is different, recognize that your energy reduction efforts in the PC environment might offer a larger payoff than in the data center.

4. Justify investments in client management suite technology. One of the biggest challenges IT ops professionals face is managing an increasingly distributed and heterogeneous client environment. Client management suite technology can help by automating software distribution, patches, and general systems management. And some vendors — such as 1E, BigFix, LANDesk, and ScriptLogic — are even starting to offer PC power management capabilities. So if you’re struggling to justify budget, reallocate the dollars saved from PC power management to improving the ROI on client management suite investments.

5. Demonstrate your commitment greener business practices. While the primary motivation for Green IT is financial, the second most popular driver is to “doing the right thing for the environment.” And curbing the energy consumption of your PC environment in turn cuts emissions related to global climate change. To paraphrase the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, the average desktop PC wastes half of the energy it consumes and by turning on energy-saving features you can reduce your CO2 emissions by nearly half a ton.

Source: http://blogs.zdnet.com/forrester/?p=149

Computer Recycling Program Launched by Dell & Goodwill

2009-02-12T12:24:00.001+05:30

Arkansas is one of six states being added to a computer recycling program. Reconnect" is a joint effort of computer maker Dell and Goodwill Industries.

The free drop-off program for consumers who want to responsibly recycle any brand of unwanted computer equipment was announced in Little Rock today.

“The program is another great example of Goodwill Industries of Arkansas’ triple bottom line, of people, planet, and profit,” said Brian Itzkowitz, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Arkansas. “By finding environmentally safe options for the end of life of computers and computer equipment, Goodwill is demonstrating its 82 year history in Arkansas of recycling initiatives that keep products out of landfills. More importantly, with the unemployment rate for people with disabilities in Arkansas over 50 percent, the program offers work activity to our participants with disabilities who would not have a job without Goodwill. The revenue generated by the program helps fund our job training programs and employment that helped 1,300 people in 2008; and, 267 in January 2009 alone.”

Today’s announcement brings the total number of participating Goodwill retail stores to more than 1,000 nationwide. In keeping with its mission of job creation, Goodwill plans to hire additional staff to oversee the expanded recycling program.

“Today we’re making it even easier for environmentally-conscious customers to do the right thing,” said Mike Watson, senior manager of Dell Global Recycling Services. “Every technology provider has a responsibility to provide free, easy and responsible recycling to consumers worldwide. We hope 2009 is the year that brings the industry together around this shared principle.”

“In addition to free and responsible computer recycling, the Dell-Reconnect partnership is enabling job creation and skill training at a time when both are very much needed,” said Jim Gibbons, President and CEO for Goodwill Industries International. “We commend Dell for setting a leadership example for the rest of the industry and for playing an important role in the creation of green-collar jobs.”

Program goals are to divert used computers and computer equipment from area landfills; and provide consumer education on the importance of environmentally-responsible computer disposal. Reconnect can also help create job opportunities for individuals who have barriers to employment or independence.

Consumers can drop off used computers at participating Goodwill stores and donation centers across the region. Goodwill will accept and sort the donated computer equipment and Dell's product recovery partner will recycle and remarket the recycled materials.

Consumers are responsible for removing data from hard drives and other storage media before donating to Goodwill. Consumers can also request a Goodwill receipt at time of donation.

Other states that are now a part of Reconnect include: Iowa, Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon and Vermont. Additionally, Akron, Ohio, Frederick, Md. and New Haven, Conn. are being launched as new Reconnect cities.

Click here for a list of participating Goodwill locations in Arkansas.

Source:http://arkansasmatters.com/content/green_is_universal_Fulltext?cid=190161

Canon's Green Printers

2009-02-11T11:55:00.002+05:30

Canon’s latest offering in the home printer market has taken a green printer with the use Auto-Duplex ADF, which allows double-sided printing, thus halving paper consumption.

The Pixma MX860 also allows double-sided copying and scanning of documents, eliminating the need to manually turn over pages and re-feed the document. It also has individual ink tanks, which allow users to replace just the colour that runs out.

For the first time, a PIXMA Office All-In-One printer has built-in Wireless/Ethernet connectivity, which allows users to print and scan easily from anywhere in the house. An added benefit is that users don't need a computer to print; simply insert a memory card and print directly using the huge 2.5-inch TFT LCD screen to view images and navigate controls. For added convenience, users can also scan documents and save them as JPEG and PDF data directly to a memory card or USB flash memory.

The unit prints at 8.4 ipm in black and 5.6 ipm in colour, and copies at 6.8 ipm in black and 3 ipm in colour. In addition, the built-in fax can store up to 250 pages of data, which means there won't be any time wasted following up lost documents should the fax run out of paper.

Also released at the same time are the PIXMA MX330 and MX320, which have the same efficient and convenient quality features, however the MX330 can view photos or documents before printing thanks to a built-in 1.8-inch LCD screen.

The PIXMA MX330 and PIXMA MX320 print at 7.5 ipm in black and 4.5 ipm in colour, and copy at 5.5 ipm in black and 2.2 ipm in colour. In addition, high-quality, long-lasting documents and photos are ensured due to Canon's Chromalife 100+ ink and paper system.

The PIXMA MX330 and PIXMA MX320 also have a built-in memory in the fax, allowing up to 50 document pages to be stored should the ink or paper run out.

Related Articles:

HP Introduces Eco Friendly Printer
Canon Pushes Eco-Friendly Green brand

Source: http://www.smarthouse.com.au/Home_Office/Printers_And_Multi_Function/P9L7P5T3

NDTV's Greenathon all Set to Take Off: Give Green

2009-02-09T12:40:00.002+05:30

Taking forward its 'Open Up Tomorrow, Today' campaign to save our planet, NDTV supported by Toyota, will be telecasting a first of its kind 24-hour nonstop programming -THE GREENATHON- urging Indian citizens to take a pledge towards a greener tomorrow. The Greenathon starts across the NDTV network on the 7th of February 2009 at 7pm. The programming will showcase a series of on-the-ground activities such as round-the-clock clean up drives in Mumbai city and Yamuna Ghats in Delhi; a 24-hour marathon run by Milind Soman; a musical extravaganza by renowned Bollywood stars and simultaneous green activities taking place across the country.

The Greenathon will be inaugurated by Dr. R.K. Pachauri, Nobel-prize winner, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Director-General of TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute), and Dr. Prannoy Roy, Chairman, NDTV, while the 24-hour programming will be hosted by NDTV's Vikram Chandra and Preity Zinta, who is also the campaign ambassador. VJ Cyrus Broacha will keep viewers entertained for 24 hrs with his witty humour.

Give for Green

The Greenathon has raised over 2 crore for TERI's Lighting a Billion Lives campaign that aims at solar powering villages across the country. We thank you for your overwhelming support. The journey is not over yet..we will continue to strive for a better, cleaner environment. Donate for the cause and help bring the change.
To Donate

* Pay online: Find out how »
* SMS "[donate] [space] [amount]" to 56388
(For users in India only. Standard VAS charges apply).
* Send a cheque/dd in favour of 'The Energy and Resources Institute' payable at New Delhi, mail to Greenathon, NDTV, Archana Complex, GK 1, ND-48.
* Call 011-66176299, 18004194360 [Toll free]

Source:http://green.ndtv.com/greenathon.aspx

Ways to Go Green and Save Green

2009-02-09T12:24:00.003+05:30

Going green is all the rage for a lot of reasons. Although some of this green talk is hype, a lot of it is the real deal. There are a number of things that you can do in your business to easily and cheaply jump on the green bandwagon and saving your organization a few dollars at the same time you help reduce your impact on the planet.

Green desktops. Most PC vendors today have an option for more efficient power supplies in desktop PCs. These power supplies reduce heat waste in your computers and can help to lower your overall energy costs. For example, Dell's Studio Hybrid consumes only 26W when idle and 44W at full load. In contrast a typical desktop computer can consume two, three & four times this amount. At the same time, make sure that power management is enabled on desktop PCs so that power consumption is, for example, greatly reduced by turning off a monitor after 20 minutes of idling.

Go to the cloud for your desktop services. Does your small business have relatively simple needs limited to email, word processing, spreadsheets and Internet access? CherryPal offers a service that can reduce energy costs related to desktop computing by up to 98%! CherryPal's unique PC consumes just 2W of power, although you will still have to power a monitor separately as you do for another other PC. CherryPal desktop computers have very minimal software installed and rely on users making use of Internet resources, such as GoogleDocs, although an open source word processor is installed on the unit.

Virtualize. If you have any kind of significant server infrastructure in place in your organization and you haven't virtualized everything humanly possible, do it today. Stop reading right here, go virtualize your servers and then come back and pick up where you left off. Seriously - it's almost the easy if you use a product like PlateSpin, which automates the process of converting physical machines to virtual servers. With the number of options out there for virtualizing hardware, there is no reason at all anymore to default to a physical server support for anything, unless absolutely required due to hardware compatibility issues or sheer processing needs. Virtualizing your server hardware to fewer boxes will save you money both in hardware and in energy savings.

Ditch your phone system. If you're large enough to have your own phone system and it's reaching the end of its useful life, look for a replacement that uses less energy. We recently replaced our outdated phone switch with a unit that uses half the energy. Obviously, we didn't replace the system just to save energy as the cost/benefit would have been way off, but it's a nice benefit.

Force duplex printing. Do you printers have duplexing units that allow you to print on both sides of paper? If so, force the printers to print duplex by default.

Consider recycled toner cartridges. This one is tricky as using the wrong vendor can ruin your printer and voice your warranty and there are a lot of scam artists out there. We've located a great recycled toner cartridge vendor local to Westminster College and we've had outstanding success... less toner waste goes to the landfill and we're saving a ton of money to boot. Do you research, get references and test!

Put your PCs on power strips. Even when they're not on, desktop PCs consume a small amount of electricity. By putting your PCs on power strips and asking your employees to turn their computers off at night by flipping the switch on the power strip, you'll eliminate this trickle of power. Be warned, however, that going down this road will also eliminate your ability to perform automatic nightly maintenance on desktop computers since they will be unable to receive any communication from the network.

Unplug the chargers. When your employees aren't charging their cell phones and other devices, ask them to unplug their chargers. Even when not actively charging anything, chargers do consume power.

Consider work-from-home arrangements. Do your employees perform work that must be handled from a central location or can they work from anywhere? If possible, consider allowing your employees to work from home and provide them with laptops. By doing this, you avoid having to have space for as many people; this is space that you have to light and heat. Further, your employees themselves will have less of an environmental impact since they won't be on the road as much.

From: http://www.itworld.com/green-it/62228/9-ways-go-green-and-save-green

QSC-Microsoft Green PC Initiative All Set to Take Off

2009-02-06T12:34:00.001+05:30

THE first batch of refurbished computers is ready for distribution to the underprivileged under a joint initiative launched by Microsoft and Qatar Scientific Club.

“The recipients are to be identified by a charity organization,” Microsoft country manager Mohamed Hammoudi told Gulf Times.

The Green PC initiative, launched last month, involves soliciting donations of older personal computers and laptops, which are refurbished and given away.
“Microsoft is supporting Qatar Scientific Club (QSC) by putting software onboard, primarily Windows and Office,” Hammoudi explained.

The official recalled that an announcement made by Microsoft for old computers resulted in good response with a number of organizations coming forward.
The project, a part of the IT giant’s corporate social responsibility programme, will also benefit the environment by helping to prevent the premature disposal of computers that can be re-used.

“As a next step in this regard, Microsoft is also assisting Qatar Scientific Club to make it an IT academy and develop a digital library,” Hammoudi pointed out.
This venture provides essential training tools and information on Microsoft’s latest technologies, which would give QSC members the opportunity to enhance their ICT skills and capabilities.

Though technology upgrades and organisational changes at many companies are creating an enormous surplus of older but usable PCs, only a small portion are redeployed to serve the educational and training needs of underserved communities, the official observed.

He said that millions of potentially useful PCs are going to waste and with them, opportunities to expand digital inclusion are being lost.

“With the help of Qatar Scientific Club, the Green PC initiative increases the availability of low-cost usable PCs to communities in Qatar that helps in the creation of new social and economic opportunities in the country”, Hammoudi added.

Source: http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=269572&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

New Green Cases for Green Computers

2009-02-05T18:51:00.004+05:30

Apple may have cornered the market on cool chic designs for wrapping its computers in but they aren’t the snitz when it comes to the green movement. No sirree Bob. Never mind all that brushed aluminum is for the artsy fartsy Web 2.0 crowd. Us real folks we’re into a whole new way of boxing up our computer goodies and we’re earth friendly to boot.

Yup folks the new green for computer cases is really cardboard brown in colour as evidenced by the two example I bring to you. The first is Francesco Biasci’s Cardboard green computer Case; which was a top entrant in the Greener Gadgets Design Competition recently. With this design you get the steel wool in name only instead of being used to make the case.

Which on the inside is made up like this

Next up on the cardboard front we have the Recompute which was also a part of the same competition.

This might be a cool way to show off how ‘green’ you are but I’m not sure about the real usability of them.

Source: http://www.inquisitr.com/17355/cardboard-brown-is-the-new-green-for-computers/

Environmentally Friendly Green Media PC

2009-02-03T12:03:00.001+05:30

The Green Media Centre PC is perfect for those wanting a PC based environmentally friendly Media Centre without the carbon footprint of a concert venue.
This beautifully designed PC will look perfectly at home in your entertainment centre. With a 250gb harddrive, 1 gb of ram, 8 USB ports(4 front, 4 rear) a powerful yet energy efficient AMD Dual Core Energy Efficient 2 x 1.9GHz processor, HDMI and remote control. This being the specifications of the 'budget' model.

The 'entertainer' model comes with more options for network, TV and Sound cards as well as a AMD Athlon X2 AM2 4400. This model also comes with a number of options for different case styling.So , we can save energy as well as money by using green PC.

Source: http://www.squidoo.com/Green-Computing#module8663802

Samsung Developed Green Memory Chip

2009-02-02T13:24:00.002+05:30

Samsung developed a green memory chip that consumes less energy,less power tapping into a growing demand for green energy-efficient servers.

Samsung claimed the world's highest-density dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chip - 4 gigabit (Gb) double data rate (DDR) 3 DRAM chip - which consumes 40 percent less power than conventional 2Gb DDR3 DRAM.

Like its predecessor, the 4 Gb DDR3 DRAM chip is manufactured based on fine and cost-efficient 50-nanometer level processing technology. But the new chip doubles storage capacity and supports a lower voltage of 1.33 V, which helps save energy.

Samsung is the world's top maker of DRAM, which is used for primary storage in PCs, servers and others.

The development came as energy efficiency is increasingly important in the IT sector and demand is growing for larger data storage among server and PC makers.

"For the new generation of green servers, the 4 Gb DDR3's high density, combined with its lower level of power consumption will not only provide a reduction in electricity bills, but also a cutback in installation fees, maintenance fees and repair fees involving power suppliers and heat-emitting equipment," Samsung said in a statement.

"Low power DRAM used to be just nice to have, but now it's a critical requirement from major PC/Server OEMs," Jung Tae-sung, senior vice president of Samsung said at a forum last month.

The new chip not only enables lower power use and higher density, but also faster speed.

It achieves transfer rates of 1.6 Gbps (gigabits per second) at 1.35 V, 20 percent faster than the current industry standard of 1.333 Gbps at 1.5V.

Samsung seeks to leverage its technological prowess to widen the gap with its rivals at a time when global memory chip makers are struggling with tumbling demand due to the global economic meltdown.

The 2 Gb-or-highter DDR3 DRAM will represent 3 percent of the total DRAM market in 2009 and 33 percent in 2011.

From: http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/01/30/200901300061.asp

LED Lighting Lowers Operating Costs with an Eco-Friendly Solution

2009-01-30T12:53:00.001+05:30

The cost of energy, energy security, and global warming have become primary topics driving the national agenda. While businesses attempt to curb their energy costs and limit their contributions to GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions, they have to accomplish these goals while remaining profitable enterprises. Business owners are now challenged to implement sustainable initiatives that also lower their operating costs.

Lighting's role in solving these challenges is significant. According to the Energy Information Association a department of the DOE, lighting accounts for 18% of all energy and 25% of all electricity consumed. U.S. buildings consume almost 40% of all energy produced, and lighting accounts for as much as 25% to 40% of the energy consumption in the commercial building sector. Since most electricity is generated from coal, lighting accounts for a large portion of current GHG emissions. The 2007 McKinsey Report states that converting commercial fluorescent lighting to LED offers 110 megatons of GHG abatement potential by 2030. For every ton of GHG abatement achieved with LED lighting there is a potential savings of $87 by 2030. In comparison, car hybridization offers only 90 megatons of abatement potential, and will cost $100 to $140 per ton. Improving lighting efficiency is one of the easiest ways for businesses to lower their energy costs, save money, and help the environment.

Of almost equal cost and perhaps greater "pain" than the energy bill, is the constant maintenance all traditional lighting requires. Depending on usage, LED lighting systems last over 5 times as long as fluorescent. Unlike residential installations where changing a light bulb is relatively easy, the cost of changing a bulb in many commercial building is substantial. Maintenance costs can soar into the $1000's for lamps in hard to reach places that require lifts and multi-person teams. Savings and productivity improvements from reduced maintenance have a positive impact on operating costs and profits.

The best way to save energy in any lighting system is to turn lights off. Motion and light level sensors can provide 50% to 75% additional reduction in energy consumption. Although energy savings from motion sensing can be realized with numerous lighting technologies, fluorescent bulb lifetime is reduced 25% to 50% under the constant on/off cycling. What good is saving energy if motion sensing drives maintenance costs up? Fortunately, LED lighting lifetimes are increased with motion and light level sensing. LEDs and be cycled on/off indefinitely without adverse affects. Additionally, LEDs can be dimmed, over the widest of ranges, and unlike fluorescent get more efficient as they get dimmer. Dimming and improved efficiency are great benefits for daylight harvesting (utilizing natural light during peak hours of sunlight while turning unnecessary interior lights off) applications.

A new and growing cost associated with fluorescent lighting is the legislated need to recycle bulbs. All fluorescent bulbs contain mercury which is a deadly neurotoxin. Even small amounts can have adverse effects and the EPA recommends immediate and thorough actions when a fluorescent bulb is broken. California has legislated that bulbs containing mercury must be disposed in a separate waste stream. The $1 to $2 cost of recycling fluorescent bulbs hurts profits and exposes personnel to serious health risks. With over 510 million fluorescent bulbs entering the US waste stream every year the potential recycling cost to American businesses is a staggering $1 Billion dollars. LED light fixtures contain no mercury and eliminate the costs and hazards associated with recycling.

Source: http://www.industryweek.com/articles/led_lighting_lowers_operating_costs_with_an_eco-friendly_solution_18227.aspx?SectionID=2

150 ENERGY EFFICIENT PC's TO BE WON PLUS ENERGY SAVING MONITORS FOR YOUR HOME

2009-01-29T15:06:00.001+05:30

Following on from our fantastic green giveaway where we gave away 2 FREE energy efficient light bulbs to every Daily Mirror & Sunday Mirror reader...

Every day for the next 5 days E.ON, one the UK's leading energy companies, and the Daily Mirror are helping you to save money on your energy costs.

We're now giving away ONE HUNDRED AND FIFITY energy saving PC's with PC Powerdown and home energy saving monitors in our fabulous competition STARTING TODAY.

HUNDRED AND FIFTY readers will win one of these fantastic prizes, comprising

- Advent Eco PC. A unique PC designed to consume much less energy than a convential PC while still offering incredible performance it comes with an Intel® Core 2 Due processor, 160GB hard drive, 19" monitor and pre-loaded with Norton 360 all-in-one security
- PC Powerdown. A clever computer multi-plug that automatically switches off any equipment linked to your PC, such as a printer or scanner, when you shut down
- E.ON Home Energy Saving Monitor. This handy device will help you see the immediate effect of switching to your new low-energy bulbs and make other small changes which could save you money.

GET ENTERING NOW for your chance to win one of today's 30 ENERGY SAVING PC packages & Home Energy Saving Monitors.

PLUS there's another 30 packages to be won each day this week until FRIDAY.

E.ON If you are elderly, disabled or living on benefits you can call the Home Heat Helpline to access free home insulation, cheaper energy tariffs and practical advice on reducing your bills. Call 0800 33 66 99 or visit www.homeheathelpline.org.uk."

THE HOME HEAT HELPLINEE.ON is one of the UK's leading energy companies with over five million electricity and gas customers. They're working with us to help more people take control of their energy usage and save money on their bills.
For more information about E.ON, please visit eonenergy.com/giveaway

HOW TO ENTER

Correctly answer this question BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT for a chance to win :

Electric current is measured in _______
a) centimetres
b) metres
c) amperes

Competition

To enter online, you will need to open an account and register with click&buy to pay for online entry to the competition. You simply register once and then you can use your unique username and password to pay for all future Mirror competition entries. Your click&buy account can be settled later using direct debit, debit cards, credit cards or your BT phone bill. Please read the click&buy terms and conditions before opening an account.

For More info: http://www.mirror.co.uk/fun-games/competitions/2009/01/26/day-1-150-energy-efficient-pc-s-to-be-won-115875-21072754/

AMD Launches More Energy Efficient Server Chips

2009-01-28T16:53:00.002+05:30

AMD on Monday delivered latest installment of its 45 nanometer quad-core Opteron line–a high efficiency extension of its flagship server chips.AMD Launches More Energy Efficient Chips.

The company said that five Opteron HE processors are available in servers from HP and Rackable with Dell, Sun and others due later in the first quarter (statement, Techmeme). AMD outlined its plans for high efficiency Opterons when it launched its revamped server chip lineup last year.

AMD said its family of chips run at 55-watts with speeds between 2.1 GHz and 2.3 GHz. AMD reckons that the Opteron HE lineup can offer 20 percent lower idle power consumption.

The chipmaker also said that it has launched two quad-core Opteron SE processors that run at 2.8 GHz for high-performance data centers.

Like Intel, AMD has been struggling amid weak demand and paring costs. AMD reported a hefty fourth quarter loss, announced layoffs, sold non-core assets and has been cutting perks to save money. Its planned spin-off of its manufacturing unit will help AMD’s balance sheet, but the company’s resources can’t compare with Intel’s.

Source: http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=11625

Building a Greener World with PC Virtualisation Tools

2009-01-27T14:12:00.002+05:30

'THERE is no obstacle that can stand in the way of millions of voices calling for change." US President Barack Obama's inauguration words are a noble call to us all to rise to meet the best in ourselves. But many of us are wondering: "How do I tangibly effect change in my life? Or in my organisation?"

Obama built his campaign on the promise of economic stimulus and aggressive green PC support for green technologies. Recently, he selected alternative energy supporter and Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Chu to head the Department of Energy. He's loading his guns and locking in his economic stimulus package. He's poised to begin executing his gleaming mission.

Are we ready to execute ours?

The realities of the economy are daunting. We have organizational goals to meet, and smaller budgets with which to meet them. Businesses are closing; people are losing jobs and homes. And amid all this, our planet is increasingly evidencing the spectre of radical climate change. The need for change is breathing hot in our faces, yet the challenges we face seem insurmountable.

As Confucius said: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." If so, then what tangible solutions are available that can help us produce change in our organizations now and help us meet our goals while lowering costs and reducing the environmental impact?

The functional area where organizations can most effectively — and immediately — cut costs and produce environmental change is in IT. For example, using powerful, low-cost desktop virtualisation tools, you can reduce your IT maintenance and support costs by up to 80 per cent while also reducing electricity use and electronic waste by up to 90 per cent.

Desktop virtualisation technologies leverage the unused computing power of a single computer, creating an efficient alternative to traditional desktop-per-user computing.

I have evaluated many companies hawking products and the one I've been most impressed with is Userful (userful.com). Putting it plainly, Userful doesn't talk; it just walks. In an age when rampant rhetoric still rules the virtualisation market, those who let their demonstrated commitment to serving their customers and creating organisational change speak the loudest of all.

Userful's PC sharing and virtualisation technology turns one computer into 10; allowing up to 10 users to work on a single computer by simply attaching extra monitors, mice and keyboards. It delivers full PC performance, including full-screen streaming video, for a fraction of the cost of using a PC-per-user solution. Userful also enables users to manage and monitor their desktops through a central administrative website, allowing them to control their desktops from a simple web browser, and generating significant savings in administrative tools.

Because of the radical reduction in electricity and electronic waste, Userful's solutions are eco-friendly. A recent deployment in South Africa — which delivered 2205 virtualised desktops to 105 South African schools using only 315 computers — saves the equivalent of more than 4000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions; the equivalent of taking 700 cars off the road. And with more than 30,000 desktops now in governments, schools, libraries, businesses and military in more than 100 countries, Userful's virtualisation tools are a proven market leader.

Perhaps change begins with a simple intention. And renewal begins when a simple intention becomes a single step, multiplied. With Obama's call to us all to be the change we wish to see — and his commitment to stimulating the economy and supporting green technologies — companies like Userful are well prepared to help organisations that also embrace the call to change.

Source: http://www.businessday.com.au/business/building-a-greener-world-with-pc-virtualisation-tools-20090126-7q1g.html

How to Buy a Green Business Desktop

2009-01-23T13:22:00.001+05:30

While energy efficiency PC is important to home users, it's vital to the owners of small or medium-sized businesses. Electricity is a major expense these days, and with rising oil prices, the cost of electricity is sure to rise in the future. Buying an energy-efficient desktop is the first step for the owner of a new or expanding business. If your current PCs are too slow to support your business, the latest crop of energy-efficient desktops should be on your shopping list.

Look for buzzwords like EPEAT and Energy Star 4.0. Both are standards that point you to systems that have been certified as environmentally friendly and energy efficient. PCs like the power-sipping Apple Mac mini use very little juice compared with the behemoths that people bought only a few years ago. In fact, these systems use less power when idle than the incandescent work lights on many desks.

We looked at a couple of configurations for this story: the small-form-factor PC (the HP Compaq dc7800 Ultra-Slim Desktop and Lenovo ThinkCentre a61e) and the tower PC (the Dell OptiPlex 755). All three of these business-oriented Windows systems are available in multiple chassis configurations, but use the same internals (CPUs, motherboards, on-board graphics). This enables you to use the same software on the towers as you do on the small desktops. This makes sense for medium-size businesses. Most clerical workers can use small-form-factor PCs while specialized workers like the art department or desktop-publishing specialists may need towers that support discrete graphics cards or other PCIe expansion cards.

Don't leave out the Mac. On a functionality-per-cubic-foot basis, the Mac mini is one of the most efficient systems we've ever reviewed. It uses only as much power as a toy lamp, is both Mac OS and Windows XP/Vista compatible, and takes up very little space on a desk.

Whether your company is growing or just starting, equipping it with energy-efficient PCs makes great business sense. Today's power-saving desktops not only can do wonders for your electric bill, but they have the oomph to get the job done right.

Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2286036,00.asp

World's First Green Zero-Watt PC

2009-01-22T13:06:00.003+05:30

Fujitsu Siemens (FSC) will shortly show off what it claims will be the world's first PC that consumes not a jot of power when it's placed in standby mode, the computer said today.

Dubbed the Zero-Watt PC, the machine can still be managed in a standby state by an IT department - despite consuming no power, FSC claimed.

It's keeping mum about how this is achieved, but it pledged to spill the beans at the CeBIT show, where the Zero-Watt PC will get its first public outing. CeBIT kicks off on 3 March in Hannover, Germany.

EU legislation demands that from 5 January 2010, new PCs and other electronics products must consume less than a Watt of power when placed in standby mode.

Source: http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/01/20/fsc_green_pc/

Green Netbooks With Good Battery Backup

2009-01-21T13:06:00.002+05:30

CherryPal announced an Atom-based "Bing" netbook that runs Linux or Windows XP, and offers a claimed five hours of battery life. The company also announced an upgraded version of its Linux-based nettop, the CherryPal C114, and launched a "Green Maraschino" open-source Linux distribution supporting the Bing.

Like the original CherryPal C100 nettop that shipped last year, the Bing netbook and the C114 nettop offer managed "cloud" computing paid for by advertising rather than a monthly fee. The free, Web-based CherryPalCloud provides storage, virus control, application upgrades, and installation. CherryPal's new "Green Maraschino" distribution addresses low-power operation, cloud computing interfaces, and larger issues surrounding green computing, says the company.

Except for its extended battery life, the Bing appears to be a fairly standard issue netbook, offering an Intel Atom N270 clocked at 1.6GHz, plus 1GB DDRII RAM. For storage, CherryPal offers a 160GB hard disk drive (HDD), plus an SD/MMC/MS card socket, and the netbook's 10.2-inch TFT display boasts 1024 x 600 resolution. For connectivity, the Bing provides 802.11b/g WiFi and three USB 2.0 ports, but no Ethernet port. There is also a microphone, earphone connection, dual speakers, and a 1.3Mpixel camera, says CherryPal. Weighing just three pounds, the netbook is claimed to yield five hours of battery life.

Applications on the Green Maraschino Linux version of the Bing include the Firefox Browser, OpenOffice, and video and music players. There is also a Skype VoIP client, and an Instant Messenger app that supports Yahoo, AOL, Google, and MSN, says the company.

ARM-based CherryPal C114

While the Bing won't ship until March, the upgraded C114 version of the CherryPal nettop is shipping now, says the company. The only apparent difference compared to the original CherryPal C100 ultra-mini PC is that the NAND Flash solid state drive (SSD) has been boosted from 4GB to 8GB.

Green Maraschino drops from the cloud

The new "Green Maraschino" open source project appears to go far beyond merely offering an optimized Linux distribution. The project aims to "provide an open platform for ultra-low power computing, from silicon to super-cloud architecture," says CherryPal.

Green Maraschino is divided into 10 sub-projects. says CherryPal:

* Embedded-Linux
* Multi-core/multi-processor load balancing and utilization optimization
* Device drivers
* Browser and plug-ins
* Local applications
* Connectivity to Internet and cloud
* Cloud infrastructure
* Cloud applications and services
* Grid and cluster engine
* Super-cloud infrastructure (cloud-to-cloud)

It is unclear whether Green Maraschino is based on the same Debian implementation used by the CherryPal nettops. With this distribution, Debian is unexposed, and all applications and functions are said to be managed via a Firefox-based browser. For its nettops, CherryPal uses a "patent-pending" technology that combines hardware and software encryption, says the company. It also collapses the operating system and browser into a single software layer, a design that CherryPal claims improves performance, and "virtually eliminates any risk of bugs or viruses."

Availability

The CherryPal C114 is shipping now for a price of $250, and the Bing will ship in March at an undisclosed price. CherryPal launched the Bing, oddly enough, at the Sundance Film Festival, and it is offering a special two-for-one deal, ending Jan. 25th. This week only, buyers can purchase both the Bing and the C114 for $400.

The purpose of the campaign is to encourage buyers to sign on as early-adopter "Brand Angels" who are willing to testify for the product and sell it for a small commission. Current C100 Brand Angels will receive a Bing for free. In addition any C114 customers who must wait more than a week for either delivery or refund, will receive a free Bing, says the company.

Source: http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS2098390697.html

Energy efficient Green PCs

2009-01-20T15:52:00.004+05:30

There are three reasons as to why any company would want to go Green—to save money, to earn money (through carbon credits) and due to government regulations. Although there are no government regulations in India that compel companies to think Green, companies are finding newer ways to reduce energy consumption on their own owing to their corporate social responsibility. The issue is one of sustainability rather than cost, although energy-efficient products help customers lower the cost of ownership and help meet the broader goal of protecting the environment. The focus on energy efficiency is to design a product that helps customers to decrease power consumed by the system and the system’s operating cost, which is long approach. Desktop PCs and workstations often consume huge amounts of energy that are overlooked by most organizations as they keep their ‘green’ focus limited to the data center. In many cases, organizations want to reduce power consumption of desktop PCs but are not too sure how to go about the same. There are myriad product offerings in the market to reduce the carbon footprint of desktops and workstations in an organization but it is important to understand what suits your organization the best.

Green PC initiatives

We see a greater emphasis on energy efficiencies in the desktop PC market. [The recent IDC ‘Go Green PC Power Play Study’ had some interesting statistics. The report found that the US federal government could save more than $82.4 million in energy costs—the equivalent of conserving more than 1.3 million barrels of oil in just one year—if its more than 10 million existing ENERGY STAR 3.0 PCs were updated to the new 4.0 standard.

Dell’s recently launched new line of commercial desktop solutions cut power consumption by up to 43%. A major trend is that we witnessing small form factor devices in the desktop space, where Dell’s offerings include the Optiplex 755, 740, 960 with the option of the ultra small form factor in the Optiplex 760.

Dell also launched two new models aimed at the business user. Pallab Talukdar, Director, Enterprise Business, Dell India explained, “The Latitude E-Series notebooks were designed after listening to the needs of nearly 4,000 businesses and IT professionals. The result is Dell’s thinnest, lightest and most powerful business notebooks ever and all-day computing with breakthrough battery life of up to 19 hours.”

“Dell in India is committed to bringing the same energy and commitment towards environment-friendly policies as in other parts of the world and continues to take the lead through its products, processes and policies,” Talukdar added.

HP’s initiative in Green PCs keeps Indian conditions in mind. Deepti Dang, Head of Marketing-Commercial and SMB, Personal Systems Group, HP India said, “We have a design center called IDC or the India Design Center and the basic objective of this center are to make products for India that suit Indian conditions—products that consume less power and give better productivity keeping global warming in mind.”

One of the products developed at the HP India Design Centre is called the Mini DT or the HP Compaq dx2009. This business PC is a high-performance machine that has the ability to withstand harsh Indian working conditions. It has a small form factor and is ideal for organizations, which struggle with challenges such as space limitations, data security and power consumption, especially in the ITES sector.

Lenovo also offers various desktops and notebook PCs that are targeted at reducing energy consumption. The company recently announced the launch of the ThinkCentre A62 in the Indian market. It is a cost-effective, environmentally responsible and manageable desktop PC, which provides enterprise and SMB customers with improved TCO throughout a longer PC lifecycle. Additionally it uses up to 40% less electricity than its ThinkCentre predecessor due to the efficiency of the new AMD 15W CPU, the Athlon 2650e, which is available on select models. The system is GREENGUARD and EPEAT Gold certified, ENERGY STAR 4.0 rated, and has as an option, the ‘Green’ fingerprint keyboard made of 35% post consumer recycled material.

On the notebook front, the new ThinkPad T Series from Lenovo has improved energy efficiency by more than 25% over previous T Series models. Hardware improvements such as LCD Backlight Displays and SSDs use less battery power and generate less heat. Switchable graphics let users move to lower quality graphics when they need to maximize battery life. Addition, when there is no activity, the optical disk drive and audio auto switch to a low power state. Coupled with software enhancements such as the new Green Power Scheme, Battery Stretch, and ThinkPad Energy Saver technology, the ThinkPad T Series lets users get the most out of their mobile computing time. Battery stretch is a new feature that allows temporary selections in extreme situations to extend battery life beyond what regular Power Manager Settings might produce. With this easy interface, users can, for example, minimize the display refresh rate or disable certain wireless communications devices to help preserve the power users need to finish their work unplugged.

“In the current scenario, all over the world corporates are turning towards innovative solutions to lower their power costs,” said Vinay Shetty, Product Manager, Components Business, ASUS (India). He continued for example, our Eee Box is a conventional desktop that runs only on 20 Watts of power, which results in 90% power saving as compared to a normal desktop.

Green components

Now that we have seen some of the initiatives and offering from major PC vendors, let us try to understand how they achieve this low power envelope. Following are some of the components that most vendors target to cut energy consumption.

* Monitor: Apart for a number of other benefits that LCDs offer over CRTs, power consumption is of prime concern. A CRT consumes about 60-80 Watts for a 15-inch model to almost 70 to 150 Watt for 17 and 19 inch models whereas an LCD monitor’s power consumption is only about 25 Watts. A backlit LCD helps reduce energy consumption for notebooks.
* Storage media: While HDDs remain the most sought after media for storage on PCs, SDDs are gradually becoming popular. An SSD reduces the power consumption by 50% when compared to a conventional Hard Disk Drive. SSDs do not heat up, reducing the power that is required to cool a PC. Although SSDs are a common option for notebooks, even a few desktops offer SSDs for storage. However, due to extremely high prices of SSDs, this technology might see higher adoption in the notebook space, where its durability and quick boot advantages make more of an impact, when compared to desktops. Many organizations and individuals who need the benefits of using an SSD do not mind the additional expense.
* Cooling: There are varieties of fans that go inside a PC to prevent it from heating up. The function of a traditional air fan is both, to take in fresh air and at the same time expel hot air from the CPU cabinet. Fans with variable speeds can largely reduce the power consumption, considering the fact that average CPU utilization levels are below 20% in both desktops as well as notebooks.
* Processor: With the shrinking of the x86 micro-architecture and emergence of multi-core processors, power consumption is also taking a dip. A shift towards 45 nm micro-architecture has helped reduce the power envelope for both desktops and notebooks. Ensuring that you are using the latest make of processor can further help in reducing power consumption.

Source: http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20090119/greenit02.shtml

Cheap Green Servers Suitable for Small Business

2009-01-19T13:11:00.002+05:30

I recently completed an analysis of servers, inspecting the newest generation for a cost effective solution to this problem. The results were pleasantly surprising. There is a new classification of simple and easy-to-use servers that are suitable for personal and small business use. They also are inexpensive and environmentally friendly.

These devices are known as network attached storage (NAS). The new NAS devices are inexpensive and easy to use. Simply buy the device from your favorite retailer, and also purchase one or more hard drives and slide them in the back. Thereafter, you attach it to your network, do a 10 minute setup exercise and begin use. There is no need to load any software because it's built-in.

I selected two models with which to experiment from Linksys and Netgear. One I purchased refurbished off of eBay for $34.90 and the other new from Circuit City (which, unfortunately, just announced its liquidation), for $150. Both appear to be a great value. The rest of this article relates to server model NAS200 from Linksys.

The device is very small, about seven inches by eight inches and five inches high. It has room for two internal hard drives, and USB plugs for two additional external drives. In my case I purchased two 500 GB hard drives from Western Digital. These drives are from the Green Power product line, which is designed to use less electricity. The device is physically plugged into the network with a standard Ethernet cable.

Speed

The performance is very good and it can stream high definition video without problems. I have measured the read/streaming performance at 30 MB per second, which is normally more than enough for multiple staff simultaneously accessing it in a small office setting. I have configured the hard drives to mirror each other so the data is simultaneously written onto both drives (providing a safety net in case one drive fails). Even with this mirroring overhead, the device is able to write with sustained rates of 20 MBPS. These performance figures are outstanding, considering the total price of $350.

Electricity

Since servers run 7x24, it's important that they consume minimal electricity. The measured power consumption for the NAS200 is tiny and is enhanced by the sleep mode; when the device is not used for a while, it goes into a low-power idled setting and automatically wakes itself up when accessed. The actual measured electricity consumption is one-tenth that of a similar server in this office!

Results are as follows:

* Maximum while writing to 2 drives = 16 Watts (29kva).
* Minimum at idle = 6 Watts (11kva).
* Estimated monthly usage and cost = 6.4 kwh or about $0.64/mo.

Security

No discussion about servers would be complete without considering security. These NAS devices are designed for easy access. While access can be protected with passwords it is not as robust of a Security System; you would get with a full-fledged, expensive server running UNIX or Windows Server. A hacker, once inside your networks, would most likely have access to the devices and their contents.

However, it seems that this risk is no greater than with any other PC in your network. With the peer-to-peer network features built into Windows, the risk is similar to any PC on your internal network. Just make sure this server is installed inside your firewall/perimeter security systems.

There is one aspect of these devices which may give a security advantage compared to traditional servers. In the case of the Linksys, the server software runs from firmware. It's more difficult for hackers to install rogue software, and there is no additional susceptibility to SQL injections or Trojans installed in the server software. Certainly someone could place viruses onto the device like on any hard drive; however there is no operating system software that can be manipulated from the outside.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a low-cost way to share files in a small office or your home, then I recommend evaluating these devices. They are inexpensive, quiet, easy to install, and friendlier on the environment than traditional servers because of their low energy consumption.

Source: http://wistechnology.com/articles/5382/

How green is your Google search?

2009-01-14T20:18:00.000+05:30

That time you are spending on Google has its price for the planet. But how big that price is a little less clear.

The buzz started with this headline Sunday morning in the Times of London: "Revealed: the environmental impact of Google searches - Physicist Alex Wissner-Gross says that performing two Google searches uses up as much energy as boiling the kettle for a cup of tea".

But of course, it's not that simple. The story cites an upcoming paper by Wissner-Gross, an M.I.T grad with a Ph.D. from Harvard, on the energy consumption of web sites for some of its numbers, and then apparently factors in things like running your computer to get their number.

Wissner-Gross also calculated the CO2 emissions caused by individual use of the internet. His research indicates that viewing a simple web page generates about 0.02g of CO2 per second. This rises tenfold to about 0.2g of CO2 a second when viewing a website with complex images, animations or videos.

So guess who wasn't happy? Maybe, (break out the Church Lady voice here, people), Google? Urs Holzle responded late Sunday night on the company's official blog - saying that by their estimates, a Google search requires the same amount of energy that your body burns in 10 seconds - and in terms of greenhouse gases it is about 0.2 grams of CO2 produced.

That's about a thousandth of the greenhouse gas produced by driving your car one kilometer, according to Holzle.

And Jason Kincaid on TechCrunch notes that producing a book creates around 2500 grams of CO2, and that by some estimates building a cheeseburger is 3600 grams.

He also notes that if that Google search keeps you from driving to the library, we all win.

So is it 0.2 grams? 7 grams? Well, here's the punchline. In interviews, Wissner-Gross says he never mentions Google by name in his research! "Our work has nothing to do with Google," he told Tech News World. "Our focus was exclusively on the Web overall, and we found that it takes on average about 20 milligrams of CO2 per second to visit a Web site."

He did tell Tech News World that the Times quoted him correctly in the story as saying, "A Google search has a definite environmental impact" and "Google operates huge data centers around the world that consume a great deal of power," he confirmed.

"I don't think anybody would disagree with those statements," Wissner-Gross said. "Everything online has a definite environmental impact. I think everybody can agree on that, including Google."

So ultimately - two facts. First, we're all in this together - Google has every reason to seek out alternative ways to efficiantly run its data centers for speed and energy efficiency. And second - everything you do online leaves a carbon footprint.

Source: http://www.necn.com/Boston/SciTech/2009/01/13/How-green-is-your-Google/1231852857.html

Dell Offers Energy-Efficient Monitors At CES

2009-01-09T13:36:00.001+05:30

Dell had gone with the green approach with its new series of LED widescreen flat panel monitors released at CES today.

Both the G2210 22-inch and G2410 24-inch models are EPEAT Gold and ENERGY STAR compliant and are distinguished by a design approach that combines energy efficiency, LED technology, recycled materials and other environmentally preferable components.

Dell also claims the G2210 and G2410 units consume less than half the power of comparable monitors and come with a typical dynamic contrast ratio of up to 1,000,000:1

Specifications include:

* Viewable image size: 22-inch diagonal (G2210) / 24-inch diagonal (G2410).
* Typical contrast ratio: 1,000:1 (standard) 1,000,000:1 (dynamic).
* Maximum resolution: 1680 x 1050 (G2210) / 1920 x 1080 full HD (G2410).
* Typical power consumption: 18W (G2210) / 20W (G2410).
* Brightness: 250 cd/m2.
* Response time: 5ms black-to-white.
* Available connectors: VGA (analog), DVI-D (digital) with HDCP.

Energy efficiency monitor specifications include:

* Typical average power consumption is less than half that of comparable flat panel monitors.
* Less than 0.15W of power consumption when in sleep mode – no power is drawn from the host computer.
* Built-in ambient light sensor responds to surrounding brightness, automatically adjusting levels when enabled.
* Dynamic dimming automatically decreases the onscreen brightness when the image consists primarily of white and/or bright areas when enabled.
* "PowerNap" screensaver application dims the monitor to minimum brightness or "sleep" mode, based on user preference.

Source: http://www.smarthouse.com.au/CES_2009/W9L4V7A8

Go Green with Your Computer

2009-01-08T20:34:00.001+05:30

Shutdown Your Computer Without Losing the Perks of an Always-On PC

Obviously, computers require electricity to run, so shutting down, sleeping, or hibernating your computer when you're not using it conserves energy. Every modern operating system has its own settings for conserving power, so the first thing you should do—if you haven't already—is open the power settings of your computer and set them for optimal energy use. Set your computer to put your monitor to sleep, spin down your hard drives, and put your computer to sleep when you're not using it. Even better, since your computer uses less power when hibernating than when sleeping, set up your computer to hibernate rather than just go to sleep.

One of the biggest turn-offs (no pun intended) about shutting down or sleeping your computer is that you miss out on some of the finer things your computer provides even when you're away. For example, if you're downloading a large file, you may want the download to continue even when you're away. Likewise, we've covered tons of ways to remotely access your computer, all of which no longer work if your computer's turned off. Luckily you can continue using your computer during these times but still conserve power the rest of the time.

Save Paper when Printing

When it comes to the environment, one of the first places most offices can improve is the giant pile of discarded paper by the network printer. Aside from obvious things you can do on your own—like printing duplex, printing to PDF, previewing before printing, and not printing hundreds of copies of an email forward to plaster around the office—there are a few other tools you can use to minimize wasting paper and ink when printing.

Turn Off Peripherals to Kill the Vampires

Now that you've put good energy practices into use on your PC, it's time to move onto the power-hungry peripherals you've got plugged into it. Whenever possible, you want to turn off any peripheral when you're not using it—like your printer or monitor. Likewise, you should be aware of any gear in your computing setup that draws standby power (a.k.a., vampire power) even when you've turned off the device in question. Vampires commonly stand out as large, unsightly AC adapters.

While you could diligently unplug your wall warts or keep them plugged into a power strip that you switch off when they're not in use, you can go even further and automate the process with gadgets like the Energy Saving Smart Strip (original post) and the Power Minder (original post), both of which monitor your PC's power state and automatically shut down other peripherals when you turn off your computer.

Source: http://lifehacker.com

How Green is a Green PC ?

2009-01-06T12:54:00.006+05:30

What is a green PC?

Any personal computer that's low on power consumption and is environment friendly can be called a green PC. Though many manufacturers don't have specific products under this category, finding a green option that fulfills your requirements isn't rocket science. A green PC should be assembled with environment friendly components. These might be built with recyclable products and must be low on energy consumption. Components that consume less energy not only save the planet but would also result in lower energy costs hence savings.

What makes a green PC green?

Building a green PC isn't a difficult job. There are a number of components that are manufactured to be easy on the environment and when using them savings come as a byproduct. Let's dig deep into how.

Processors: Processor manufacturers have been constantly coming out with new products that consume less power than their predecessors and are better performing. The main thing to keep in mind here is the kind of performance you want your desktop to deliver. The more the better might be your first answer, but it also means an increase in power consumption. If you're planning to buy new PCs for employees in your organization, then first find out the requirements. For example, if running basic productivity software and surfing the Internet is what's required, then going for low power consumption processor like the Atom might be a good option.

The power consumption of a desktop computer running on the Atom which costs a little more than 15k is around 20 watts as compared to a Pentium 4 based PC which consumes 75! That's a whooping 70% less power consumption while performance being similar, sufficient enough for running Windows XP and other basic productivity apps. Let's see how much money can you save by using them.

Assuming that an employee uses a PC for 10 hours daily and comes to work on 250 days in an year, a Pentium 4 based machine consumes Rs 1500 worth of electricity considering the cost of energy at Rs 8 per unit. On the other hand, running an Atom based desktop costs only Rs 400. That means you save 1,100 per annum on each machine that is just used for basic productivity!

Even though the price of these devices is quite less, people still find the thought of getting a more powerful PC in the same price range way too tempting. But, what more than often gets overlooked is the downside of buying a powerful machine when not needed. Power consumptions and running costs of a Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad based machines are also shown in the graphs.

Motherboards: When talking of green, there is more to this component than just an efficient design. Motherboard manufacturers have been developing technologies that would make their products smart enough to consume less power. Technologies like Asus's Energy Processing Unit helps motherboards in analyzing the actual CPU loading and dynamically regulates system power saving and performance parameters to create an optimal energy saving configuration. We tested the Asus P5Q Pro which sports the EPU technology against another motherboard (Gigabyte EP45 UD3P in this case) with a similar setup, one that didn't have this technology. We found out when running a Core 2 Quad processor the reduction in energy consumption to be as high as up to 40 watts!

Time for a little number crunching again to make things clearer. Assuming the same employee again, who uses his computer for 10 hours daily and works 250 days in an year. The amount of energy consumed by the CPU in an year while using an energy efficient motherboard comes out to be 305kWh as compared to another motherboard which consumes 405kWh. Converting into energy bills by taking the cost of each unit of electricity to be Rs 8, the energy efficient motherboard saves you Rs 800. That is savings of 80,000 for every hundred machines that run on energy efficient motherboard!

Monitors, LCD vs CRT: Apart from being insanely heavy and difficult to carry around, other disadvantages of a CRT monitor include their power consumption. LCD monitors, apart from being aesthetically very pleasing to the eye, slim and stylish, are also designed in a way to consume less energy than a conventional CRT monitor. LCD monitors definitely hold the edge over CRT monitors when it comes to being energy efficient. The huge tube in a CRT monitor is the source of most of its energy consumption, and a comparably sized LCD may use just a fraction of the electricity. When we compared the two, a 17 CRT monitor consumed 72watts and on the other hand a 17 LCD consumed just 20 watt, that's less than one-third of the CRT!

Let's see how stressful CRT's can be to the pocket. A 17 CRT being used for 10 hours a day, 250 days in an year consumes 180 kWh and at Rs 8 per unit costs Rs 1440 to run. Whereas a 17 LCD being used for the same amount of time consumes only 50 kWh. That makes each LCD consume Rs 1,040 worth of electricity less than its CRT counterpart! Therefore a hundred LCDs would save you Rs 1,04,000 in electricity bills!

Hard Drives: There are options for storing your invaluable data while consuming as less power as possible. Manufacturers like Hitachi have come with their range of energy efficient storage solutions for desktop PCs. These hard drives have advanced power management systems that make them consume less power during idle periods and also an improved design for a higher power efficiency. Even external hard drives come with efficient power management systems that push them into sleep mode when not in use.

Other components: Graphic processing units to RAMs, research and development teams across all segments are trying to keep upcoming devices as energy efficient as possible. And apart from power consumption, use of recyclable products is being considered wherever possible.

Make your current PC hug trees?

Using your personal computer judicially and intelligently can lower your electricity bills significantly. Applicable to both desktop and laptop users, these simple to implement tips can prove to be helpful for everybody. Here are a few simple but crucial things that can make you help save the earth (and some money too).
If you are downloading a file and tend to keep your PC switched on, then check out Add-ons like Auto shutdown for Firefox and many others. These automatically turn off your PC after all files are downloaded.

Related: Five Simple Ways to Get Started with Green IT

Source: http://pcquest.ciol.com/content/content_greenit/2009/209010101.asp

HP to Unveil Green Gaming PCs at CES

2009-01-02T13:20:00.001+05:30

Hewlett-Packard apparently has plans to soon announce two high-performance desktop PC’s that have a slim, eco-friendly design, thus defying the concept that bulk and big is best.

Typically gaming PCs have heavy duty cases allowing for a simple upgrade to hard drives, video cards and other components.

According to Engadget, the new "Firebird" packs VoodooDNA 802 and 803 bookshelf-type systems that are equipped with quad-core Intel processors with a clock speed of up to 2.83 GHz, 4 GB of DDR2-800 memory and dual Nvidia GeForce 9800S video cards with 1 GB of memory.

Also included are twin hard drive bays, an eSata connector, 6 USB ports and dual-link DVI and HDMI display connectors.

The Firebirds will be priced from $1800, excluding a monitor. The announcement is expected for January 6 and general availability for January 9 via the VoodooPC website. Retail availability will follow in February.

So, what about the "green PCs"? Well, they aren’t exactly green when you compare them to a regular PC, but they are said to consume much less power than a traditional gaming PC. Compact, more energy efficient components limit the maximum power draw to 350 watts, which is about 1/5 of the energy high-end gaming PCs can consume under maximum load.

Source: http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/40782/135/

Asustek goes for green with N-series notebooks

2008-12-30T13:14:00.001+05:30

The N20 notebook series developed by Asustek Computer has won a WinHEC 2008 award in the Green PC category because of its eco-friendly design.

In addition to the WinHEC award, the N20 has been rated "Gold" in the Electronics Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) eco-program. Asustek said it has committed itself to "green," or environmentally-friendly PC products, in order to be responsible for hazardous waste from PCs.

EPEAT requires products to meet environmental criteria in eight categories including restrictions on hazardous substances, designing for end of life, energy conservation and packaging. Asustek has attempted to reduce hazardous materials and components that are used for its N20-series notebooks and eliminated a total of 37 hazardous substances, 31 in addition to the six controlled by ROHS regulations.

Not only is the N20-series' display mercury-free, but its LED backlight unit (BLU) also helps consume 50% less power than traditional CCFL panels, according to Asustek.

In addition, the N20-series adopts the in-mold roller (IMR) technology for its chassis, instead of conventional painting. IMR treated cases for notebook PCs help to reduce powder pollution to the environment. Meanwhile, the N20-series is also easy to disassemble for recycling purposes, Asustek highlighted.

The "eco-labeled" N20 series was launched in November 2008, targeting the mainstream consumer notebook segment.

for more info visit: http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20081225PD216.html

Green Tips to Make Eco-easy Office: Go Green and Save Energy

2008-12-29T12:34:00.002+05:30

With the current focus on increased environmental sustainability, conservation is quickly gaining momentum as a business necessity. Many companies are selecting green products to decrease their own impacts on the environment while saving money and resources. So, how can you and your office make green choices and make a difference? Here are some easy tips:

1. Learn the Lingo - Plenty of eco-alternatives exist, from textiles and fabrics to wood substitutes and hemp, and it is important to know your options. For example, Staples offers paper supplies made from sugar cane waste. The final product, available in notebooks, memo pads and filler paper, feels just like regular paper.

2. Love the Labels - When purchasing computers and office equipment, look for the ENERGY STAR(r) label, which identifies products that are more energy efficient than comparable products. These items can reduce the cost to power your office space or home office by up to 80 percent. For paper and wood items, check for the Recycled and Forest Stewardship Council logos.

3. Use a "Green" Screen - For a better, clearer computer picture, use an LCD monitor. Older monitors contain lead and other toxic heavy metals and can be hard on the eyes. And don't forget to set your power management settings to put your monitor and/or computer to sleep after 10-15 minutes of inactivity. You'll help save money by using green PC as well as by reducing electricity use.

4. Make a Sticky Statement - Addicted to sticky notes? No worries. Use sticky notes made from recycled paper and enjoy the same great quality. Also look to "right size" your sticky notes to save paper and money.

5. Write with "Green" ink - Many pens and highlighters are available with refillable barrels and non-toxic ink, and some pens also contain recycled content. These eco-preferable essentials make brainstorming a more eco-friendly activity.

6. Print Smart - While many businesses now include a "Please consider the environment before printing" disclaimer in their emails, printing documents is sometimes unavoidable. When printing cannot be avoided, look to double side print and copy, only print or copy the pages you need, and use eco-preferable papers. Opt for 30 to 100 percent post-consumer recycled printing paper, available in individual reams, as well as in bulk volume for offices.

7. Trend set with "Green Décor" - New eco-friendly bulletin boards are now available, which are made from 100 percent recycled rubber and are much more durable than traditional cork. Also look for natural and fast growing sisal, bamboo, and other plant fibers for rugs and other desk accessories.

8. Recycle Old Office Technology - Companies often upgrade technology for their employees without considering what to do with the old ones. Staples offers everyday, in-store recycling for a wide range of technology products through its EcoEasy recycling program. There are also trade-in events at Staples stores throughout the year, where customers can upgrade and recycle old technology.

Related: Important Tips For Buying Green PC

Source:http://www.northfloridanewsdaily.com/News/2008/1229/business_news/184.html

IBM Blue Gene/P supercomputer Goes Green

2008-12-26T13:37:00.003+05:30

Operators of the supercomputing centre at Argonne National Laboratory used innovations in both computer architecture and cooling methods to achieve over Rs.5.00 crore ($1 million) in annual energy savings for its IBM Blue Gene/P supercomputer.

Supercomputers typically consume multiple megawatts of electricity. At 557 teraflops, Argonne's Blue Gene/P is one of the fastest green supercomputers in the world, but uses as little as one-third the power consumed by other supercomputers.

"The most important part of how we got 'green' was to work with to design a system from the ground up specifically for energy efficiency, but without sacrificing performance," said Peter Beckman, director of Argonne's Leadership Computing Facility. "Our platform uses two to three times less power than other installed systems of similar computing size."

The biggest reason the IBM Blue Gene/P runs cooler is its clock speed, which was reduced to just 850 MHz, about three times slower than typical high-end cores. Power savings were greater than three-fold, according to officials at the Illinois lab. The reason is that the relationship between speed and power consumed is not linear, but exponential. To compensate for slower speed, the system uses many low-voltage parallel cores, in particular 163, 840 cores with 80 terabytes of semiconductor memory and eight petabytes of mass storage.

"By scaling back the frequency and voltage of each of the cores, and then aggregating very large number together into a single machine, we get a supercomputer that is both green and fast," said Beckman.

The architecture of each supercomputer processor board was designed to reduce energy consumption, Beckman said, by incorporating four cores, networking controllers, memory managers and other logic onto a single SoC, thereby eliminating power-hungry interface circuitry that must be glued together on supercomputer cores.

Argonne Labs also used an innovative cooling system to reduce power consumption. Air conditioners were replaced with fans to move 300,000 cubic feet of water-chilled air per minute to maintain a room temperature of 64°F. The technique uses only 60 per cent more energy for cooling than the supercomputer itself draws, compared to over twice the power for typical supercomputers.

Argonne Labs is currently constructing a new building, which will tap into the chilled water plant to circulate water through pipes inside the racks holding the supercomputers. Electrical components will then use mini-heat exchangers to cool the supercomputers chips directly with the cold water rather than air.

The lab also is seeking to reduce power usage in electronic components through smart power management functions that turn off chips and storage systems when they are not being used. Power-intensive computing jobs are also being scheduled to run at night, when temperatures are lower and the power grid has excess capacity.

Source:http://www.eetindia.co.in/ART_8800557674_1800001_NT_6e819e0b.HTM

Tips on how to save money, energy and the planet

2008-12-24T20:34:00.002+05:30

Dreaming of a green Christmas

With a little bit of effort - maybe much less than you thought - you and your family can enjoy the holiday and help save the planet at the same time.

Holiday lights

Save money and energy by switching your old strands of incandescent holiday lights with newer light emitting diode holiday lights, which also are safer.

Plus, LEDs stay cool to the touch so they will not burn the tree or a child's fingers.

And, during the day shut off your holiday lights. It saves energy, and it allows your lights to last longer.

Wrapping

"Think about Christmas morning - you get done, and you have all these garbage bags full of trash," said Susan Angel, a green events planner from Boise.

The biggest thing someone can do to green their holiday, Angel said, is to do away with traditional wrapping paper and packaging, which often cannot be recycled.

Last year she made gift bags out of fabric.

"They are so easy to sew - three seams and a hem with a piece a ribbon," she said.

"If you are not real crafty, consider pillow cases tied with a ribbon." Other options include cloth or reusable gift or tote bags or wrapping gifts in usable items like dish towels or scarves. And try old newspapers, magazine pages, paper bags or old maps.

Last-minute shopping

Need to run to the mall one more time? BYOB; that's bring your own bag. Take your own cloth shopping bag and turn down clerks' offers of plastic bags.

Trees

Fake holiday trees are not environmentally friendly. Most are made in China from petroleum-based plastic and are not biodegradable, so they will sit in landfills for decades.

For a "greener" holiday tree consider a live, uncut tree, which can be replanted in your yard after the holidays.

Living Christmas trees can be purchased at some retail lots, choose-and-cut farms and some nurseries and garden centers.

The trees require a little extra attention. They need to acclimate for a couple of days in a garage or enclosed porch before being brought indoors, where they should not remain for more than one week. Then they should be gradually reintroduced to colder outdoor temperatures before being planted.

Fresh-cut Christmas trees from tree farms are a better choice than trees harvested from the wild.

Most fresh-cut Christmas trees now come from tree farms, so deforestation isn't an issue.

Additionally, Christmas tree farms keep large swaths of land from being developed. When the trees grow, they emit oxygen into the air.

When a cut holiday tree is past its glory, it can be recycled into mulch.

If you want to recycle your tree, do not use tinsel or spray it with fake snow, as tinsel and white trees cannot be recycled.

Gadgets

Here's a good rule for when your fancy new Christmas present replaces last year's electronics: If the gadget still works, donate it. If it is broken or antiquated, recycle it. But whatever you do, don't throw it in the trash.

E-waste is a growing environmental and public health concern as the world becomes more wired and companies introduce new products at a faster pace.

Discarded computers, televisions, cell phones, radios, batteries, cameras and other electronic gadgets contain a stew of toxic metals and chemicals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, brominated flame retardants and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs.

The average cathode ray tube, found in green computer monitors, televisions and other electronic devices, contains up to 8 pounds of lead, which can leach into the ground and contaminate groundwater.

Old cell phones can be dropped off at Staples office supply stores for recycling.

And don't forget the batteries. Buy rechargeable batteries to accompany your electronic gifts, and consider giving a battery charger as well.

Related Post: Ways to go green with the remnants of your Christmas

Source: http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_11290435

Top 10 Tips for a Green New Year

2008-12-23T20:00:00.002+05:30

With Christmas just days away and the endof the year looming, many individuals and organizations are thinking about "green" New Year's resolutions and the best ways of recycling obsolete computers and other hardware.

10 Green Technology( Green Computer)Tips for 2009

1. Set a green goal for the year and encourage everyone in your office todo the same. Make a difference in 2009!

2. Set the "sleep" (power management) settings on your computer to automatically turn your monitor, hard drive or entire system off after specific periods of inactivity, and ask your organization to implement a policy on it. Save money and electricity!

3. Print double-sided, narrow the print margins and use print-management software such as Green Print.Save money, paper, water and forests!

4. Use rechargeable batteries. Save money and reduce toxics in landfills!

5. Choose refurbished computers or EPEAT-rated new computers. Save money and reduce toxics in landfills! Qualifying nonprofits and libraries can find low-cost refurbished computers at Tech Soup Stock.

6. Use re-manufactured toner and ink cartridges or get personal one srefilled. Save money and reduce toxics in landfills!

7. Buy or lease re-manufactured copiers, printers and all-in-one machines(e.g., copier, printer, scanner, fax). Companies such as IKON provide"like new" machines at a reduced cost. Save money and reduce toxics in landfills!

8. Use smart power strips. Save money and electricity when they automatically turn off your accessories (i.e., monitor, speakers, printer)when you shut down your computer!

9. Use electronic fax solutions, such as My Fax, an Internet-based secure faxservice. Reduce your need for paper, toner and hardware and save money,paper and toxics in landfills! Qualifying nonprofits and libraries can find this product donation at Tech Soup Stock.

10. Recycle your old electronics (anything with a plug), batteries, CFLsand ink cartridges. Reduce toxics in landfills! You can learn how to recycle electronics and find recycling centers here.

Source:ibtimes.com/prnews/20081223/green.htm

10 Ways Your PC Can Save You Money in the Bad Economy

2008-12-19T14:00:00.002+05:30

As daily reports confirm, we're now officially in the longest recession since the 1940s, with consumer spending down for the first time since 1991. Whether you're one of the many people that want to avoid the cost of an unnecessary computer purchase and to continue using their old machine or you just managed to buy that dreamt-of newest model, the good news is you can follow these 10 easy steps outlined by the green PC tune-up experts at iolo technologies to make your system - old or new - go a long way in the bad economy.

The tips below can help keep your machine performing like the day you bought it. They will also help you save on energy, repair and recycling costs - perhaps enabling you to take advantage of some of this season's unexpected travel specials and finally go on that Caribbean vacation instead of spending money on expensive computer service and upgrades.

RAM memory - with these three steps, you'll soon forget you needed extra memory.

1. Remove unnecessary Windows startup programs.

Many software programs will load unnecessary portions of themselves during startup eating up both memory and processor power.

How to: Use System Mechanic with its vast knowledge base of startup programs to safely recommend and automatically remove unnecessary memory wasting startup programs.

2. Defragment your memory.

Memory fragmentation occurs over time as memory is allocated and released by programs. When RAM becomes highly fragmented and Windows runs out of free memory, programs do not have enough resources to function properly. Programs may not open or may run slower and frequently crash. Defragment your RAM and you'll liberate enough memory to save you from buying an upgrade.

How to: Use System Mechanic to automatically defrag and rescue wasted memory

3. Clean, compact and defragment the registry.

Inaccurate registry references frequently cause computer crashes and lock-ups, while a scattered and bloated registry wastes system memory and slows down Windows processing. With a cleaned-up and defragmented registry, programs will load faster and you'll be able to run more items at the same time, without the extra RAM.

How to: Use System Mechanic to clean up, compact and defragment your registry and gain back all that wasted RAM memory

Hard drive - with two easy steps, you'll save on buying a new one.

4. Defragment the hard drive.

As you create, delete, and download files, your computer cannot store data as one unit and instead will split it up and store pieces in various drive locations. A fragmented hard drive has a large amount of such scattered data and can significantly slow PC performance. Files take longer to open and programs take longer to start. Defragment the drive and you'll accomplish these common tasks faster without buying a bigger drive.

How to: Use System Mechanic to automatically keep your hard drives defragmented. System Mechanic will even defragment core Windows System files, boosting performance well beyond the capability of the Windows built-in defrag tool.

5. Clean up clutter.

Over time, your hard drive steadily accumulates gobs of unnecessary files - old downloads, temporary internet cache, etc. Clean it up and you can recover gigabytes of hard drive space without spending time and money needlessly searching for a larger replacement drive.
How to: Use System Mechanic to automatically keep your PC free of clutter and your hard drive running at maximum capacity.

Energy use - follow these steps and you'll see your energy bill shrink.

6. Turn off the screensaver.

Research reveals that 53 percent of computer users never turn off their machine or turn it off only before they call it a day. The Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program touts figures estimating that people can save $25 to $75 in energy costs a year by merely turning off their screensaver.

How to: Go to Control Panel / Display / Screensaver and turn off the screensaver.

7. Tune up your PC.

A tuned up computer uses less energy by allocating its resources more effectively. Tune up your PC and you'll be able to run programs faster, accomplish more, and dramatically reduce your energy bill at the same time.

How to: Use System Mechanic, with more than 40 advanced tools and a range of options to satisfy both novice and expert users, to automatically tune-up your machine.

8. Monitor the devices around your PC.

The various peripherals that are plugged directly into your computer use extra energy. Wireless mice and keyboards are expensive and require regular purchases of new batteries.

How to: Unplug peripherals when not in use and opt for wired mice and keyboards instead of wireless ones.

Everything else - regularly tune up your PC and you'll save on much more than just the component upgrades.

9. Perform comprehensive regular tune-up and maintenance and save money on expensive support calls and Service Center visits.

Service center visits and tech support calls can often be costly, time consuming and stressful. The good news is most of them can be avoided because the majority of Windows problems can be easily fixed by a software tune-up.

How to: Use System Mechanic's patent-pending ActiveCare technology to keep your computer automatically tuned-up.

10. Tune up your PC instead of throwing it out and you'll save on recycling costs too.

You wouldn't throw out your car if it started running a little slower and a simple tune-up would restore power, so avoid the same mistake with your PC when System Mechanic can easily and inexpensively bring it back to like-new performance. A study performed in 2001 showed that approximately half of 500 million computers discarded in the US were actually in good working order; their slowness named among the top reasons they were discarded. Before you decide to toss your trusted machine, consider the fact that disposing of your PC in an environmentally responsible way can be expensive. Even when you think you've recycled it, your old PC might end up being sold to third world countries, where underpaid employees will be exposed to hazardous substances in search for the precious metals contained in its parts. Limit the pollution, waste and your expenses by regularly tuning up your PC and thus extending its life well beyond the currently brief national 30-month average.

Related: Tips To Make Computer More Green

Source: prweb.com/releases/iolo_technologies/save_money/prweb1769194.htm

Nokia to Recycle Handsets in Green Campaign

2008-12-18T13:49:00.002+05:30

Mobile phone manufacturer Nokia will reward people who return old phones for recycling with tree seedlings to boost conservation efforts.

Since the campaign started, the handset manufacturer has only been able to collect 100 handsets against a target of 6,000 units needed to start its recycling process.

Mobile penetration in the country stands at 33 per cent with over 14 million subscribers, most of whom have owned more than one handset .

Factor competition

“Many people are simply unaware that these old and unused mobiles can be recycled. We are making it easier for the consumers to protect the environment,” said Mr Nick Maina, Nokia customer care manager for East Africa. The company is also facing competition from the informal sector operators who buy the dead phones at Sh500 for spare parts.

The Nokia campaign comes amidst growing concern over the impact of electronic waste on health and environment. According to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the Gartner consultancy, there will be almost four billion mobile telephones in use by the end of this year, while the number of personal computers has already passed the billion mark.

The good news behind these figures is that the digital divide is shrinking, 58 per cent of computers are in developed countries but, this share is expected to drop to 30 per cent by 2014 when the total number of personal computers should reach two billion.

But there is another side to the coin: this year, almost 180 million computers have been replaced by new machines, and an estimated 35 million computers dumped, despite the toxic substances they contain.

EU regulation

Other than offering the incentive Nokia intends to increase its drop off point’s country wide. Currently, the company has only 60 drop off points which it says is not sufficient.

After collecting the old or unused phones the company will then take them to Europe for recycling. This is because there are no companies that meet the set standards for recycling the mobile parts regionally.

Part of the regulations by the European Union is that the recycling companies are not required to use the parts to make refurbished handsets.

Source: bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11827&Itemid=5822

Dell Chases Eco Title With Green Packaging

2008-12-17T17:46:00.005+05:30

Dell today fought to regain a reputation as one of the most eco-friendly PC builders by launching a new effort to reduce the impact of its packaging. The company hopes to reduce the total amount of boxing and other material it uses by about 20 million pounds, or the financial equivalent of $8 million, from now through 2012. Computers in particular should drop about 10 percent of their packing material and will have as much as three quarters of their packaging made recyclable over the same four-year period.

Much of the gain is expected to come from reducing the amount of cardboard and switching the padding from material like styrofoam to renewable pulp and recycled polyethylene plastic, according to Dell. Systems like the Studio Hybrid already come shipped with padding made out of recycled milk jugs, while other systems are arriving in smaller boxes.

The Texas-based firm considers its initiative a challenge to other PC makers and says it's the only firm of its kind to set a definitive target for reducing the environmental effect of its packaging.

Rivals such as Apple have publicly championed greener packaging for their systems but haven't committed to particular goals. Apple has largely focused on the aluminum and glass of nearly all its desktops and notebooks while Dell still uses significant amounts of plastic for many of its systems.

Source: electronista.com/articles/08/12/16/dell.green.packaging/

Eco-Friendly Zero Watt Monitors From Fujitsu

2008-12-16T12:58:00.002+05:30

Fujitsu has just introduced LCD monitors that shut off power entirely when not in use.

Here's something for the eco-conscious hardware enthusiast to cheer about! Fujitsu has just introduced a range of LCD monitors that shuts off power entirely to the monitor when it's not in use. Normally, monitors in standby mode still draw little amounts of power - ranging between 1 to 6 watts. The latest range of Sceneview premium ECO monitors simply powers off the display when you're not using it. The new models have this feature enabled by default.

The technology aims to cut down on ever-increasing electricity bills and according to a company calculation, businesses can save up to 168,000 pounds per year just by switching to these monitors. It works on a simple, patent-pending technology that power off the display when you log off. Power is returned with the help of an electric pulse that is sent to the monitor once the PC is active again.

The range includes the 20-inch P20W-5 ECO and the 22-inch P22W-5 ECO - both of which are premium segment models that are packed with nearly every feature you'll ever need. The features include a 5ms response time, up to 1680x1050 resolution, HDMI, automatic brightness control and a maximum brightness of 300cd/m2.

Source: techtree.com/techtree/jsp/article.jsp?article_id=92164&cat_id=581

World's First Eco-Computer Produced in Ireland

2008-12-15T13:01:00.003+05:30

The world's first biodegradable computer, the iameco, has been manufactured in Dublin from bio-degradable wood panels made from waste products in the lumber and pulp industry.

During a visit to the company by Ireland's Minister for Science and Innovation, Jimmy Devins, the inventors of iameco, MicroPro Computers Ltd, said they could implant the seeds of native-tree species into the wood panels.

The minister's visit coincided with the announcement of details of a new Enterprise Ireland Green Technology Support for businesses.

"Our business is built around green technologies and using them to produce healthier, more energy-efficient and cheaper computers that have less impact on the environment," said Paul Maher, chief of MicroPro.

He added: "One advantage of iameco is that when the components are buried in landfill the wood gets wet, breaks down and new plants begin to grow from old computers."

In addition to the iameco computer, which uses one third less energy than conventional computers, the biodegradable wood can also be used to manufacture the computer monitor casing, keyboard and mouse.

Commenting on the success of iameco, Devins said: "The iameco computer story is a true example of innovation at work. Not only have MicroPro Computers developed a new, profitable product range but consumers now have the option of buying an environment Eco friendly computer or TV."

He added: "Enterprise Ireland's GreenTech Support can help companies find ways to reduce air pollution and effluents, conserve water and save energy in the workplace as well as come up with new environmentally friendly products."

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com/Infotech/Hardware/Worlds_first_eco-computer_produced_in_Ireland/articleshow/3835796.cms

Sony Vaio become the 1000th PC to Snag Eco Label

2008-12-12T13:08:00.003+05:30

A Sony Vaio has become the 1000th PC to snag the coveted EPEAT eco label. EPEAT, which stands for Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, is a US labelling scheme that was launched in July 2006 and rates computer products on their environmental impact.

The laptop to pass the one thousand mark was the Sony VGN-SR290PDB, a business machine with a 13.3-inch screen, 2.26GHz Intel Core Duo 2 processor and LED back light. It grabbed gold in EPEAT's three-tier rating system, and scored highly for minimising toxic materials and being designed for recycling.

"The EPEAT rating system provides a simple, credible way to measure 'green' when it comes to electronic products, and that has enabled thousands of purchasers to significantly reduce the environmental impact of their computing", said Jeff Omelchuck, EPEAT executive director.

Key criteria for the EPEAT scheme include reduction of toxic materials, energy efficiency and how easy a product is to recycle.

Source:pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.phtml/19812/20836/1000th-computer-awarded-EPEAT-badge.phtml

Green Batteries, Soon For HP Notebooks

2008-12-11T13:20:00.002+05:30

If you are a laptop owner, you know how frustrating it is to run out of battery when you’re nowhere near an electrical socket. No matter how long your battery life is, it’s certainly never enough. Other issues involving batteries have been known to include overheating, igniting and even exploding. Also, even if your laptop’s battery last for 5 or 6 hours, with the Wireless adapter turned on while you’re watching a movie and browsing the Internet, you can stop smiling smugly – in about two years or so, your battery will lose most of its maximum capacity, and your computer will die on you while you’re in the middle of a Lost episode.

However, efforts are being made in this delicate area of technology, to ensure that laptop users worldwide can enjoy their computers to the fullest, without dragging a cord around with them. In 2005, researcher Christina Lampe-Onnerud founded Boston-Power Inc., a company that aims to develop lithium ion batteries that can keep their maximum capacity for three years, without losing a minute.

Of course, the implications of such a discovery and, consequently, of such production, distribution and use are not only important when it comes to the laptop users’ comfort, but are vital to the environment. With batteries acting like new for such a long period of time, fewer batteries will be wasted, and replacements won’t be as necessary as before – or at least, not as often.

One company that has shown interest in Boston-Power Inc.’s novel idea is the world’s largest manufacturer of computers, namely HP. The company has announced that users may purchase green batteries from Boston-Power Inc.’s Sonata line as an upgrade for some of HP’s computers, as soon as 2009.

Source:efluxmedia.com/news_Green_Batteries_Soon_For_HP_Notebooks_31043.html

IBM, Harvard want your PC for solar power study

2008-12-09T13:09:00.000+05:30

Scientists at Harvard University and IBM are hoping to harness the power of a million idle computers to develop a new, cheaper form of solar power that could revolutionize the green energy world.

Researchers have launched the project using IBM's World Community Grid, which taps into volunteers' computers across the globe to run calculations on a myriad of compounds -- potentially shortening a project that could take 22 years to just two years.

Harvard scientists are hoping the project will allow it to discover a combination of organic materials that can be used to manufacture plastic solar cells that are cheaper and more flexible than the silicon-based ones typically used to turn sunlight into electricity.

The technology could be used to coat windows, make backpacks or line blankets to produce electricity from the sun's rays.

Technology to make the plastic cells already exists, but they are not yet efficient enough to be rolled out in commercial products.

"It is not now cost efficient, although the materials are cheap because it's plastic," said Alan Aspuru-Guzik, a chemistry researcher at Harvard University.

The most efficient silicon-based photovoltaic solar cells convert about 20 percent of the sunlight that strikes them into electricity. For now, the organic cells can turn only about 5 percent of the sunlight into power -- half the level needed to make the low-cost cells a viable energy source.

The researchers plan to publish results of the work once they have discovered a possible combination of compounds.

TAPPING THE MATRIX

IBM developed its World Community Grid to advance research of humanitarian projects, such as fighting cancer, dengue fever and AIDS. The grid connects computers in homes or offices via the Internet with program on each machine to run calculations that feed back to the database.

"It's a way for people that have computers to do some good for the world," said IBM engineer Joe Jasinski.

With more than a million volunteers currently linked to the World Community Grid, IBM said it had created a network with a massive calculating capability that would rank it among the top 10 most powerful supercomputers in the world.

Source: reuters.com

Webroot offers free security hardware recycling

2008-12-05T13:01:00.001+05:30

IT security firm Webroot has teamed up with recycling company Centillion to launch a Go Green (PDF) campaign, which offers to recycle legacy security hardware for free when customers sign up to Webroot's software-as-a-service (Saas) offering.

The new programme is available to any customer who replaces a security appliance or an on-premise security system with a Webroot SaaS security product.

As part of the deal, the company will send the customer a prepaid shipping label to transport the hardware to the closest Centillion facility in the UK.

"When we realised that the tremendous success of security SaaS solutions would be making hardware-based security obsolete, we took steps to provide a socially responsible alternative for recycling this influx of electronic waste, " said Peter Watkins, chief executive at Webroot.

"The move to the SaaS model will greatly reduce the need for on-premise hardware, which will help lower the amount of electronic waste and conserve energy."

Once the hardware has been properly recycled, the customer will receive a certificate of authentication to help with compliance.

"The European WEEE Directive calls for businesses to dispose of electronic and electrical equipment efficiently and safely, and we are excited to be working with Webroot on its Go Green computer initiative to aid those companies to become compliant with EU legislation," said Craig Millward, sales and marketing director at Centillion.

Estimates from the US Environmental Protection Agency suggest that 2.25 million tons of TVs, mobile phones and computer products have already been discarded in the US. Only 18 per cent, or 414,000 tons, was collected for recycling, and the remaining 1.84 million tons was sent to landfill sites in the US and third world countries.

Source: vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2231848/webroot-offers-free-security

Lenovo Introduces Two New ThinkCenter PCs

2008-12-04T12:45:00.002+05:30

Lenovo today announced two new PCs, the ThinkCentre M58/58p and the ThinkCentre A57e, aimed at helping customers stretch their IT dollar.

The ThinkCentre M58/M58p is Lenovo’s greenest, most secure and most manageable ThinkCentre desktop PC yet with Power Manager1, a ThinkVantage technology that allows PC users to control their electricity consumption remotely, and available for the first time ever on a ThinkCentre PC.

The ThinkCentre A57e, targeted at emerging markets, is perfectly suited for first time users that want a highly reliable, simple-to-use PC with accompanying services. Continuing Lenovo’s heritage of producing highly reliable PCs, it delivers rock solid quality and convenience by incorporating the latest ThinkVantage Technologies productivity and management tools.

“The design goal for the ThinkCentre M58/M58p was to be the greenest, most secure, most manageable and quietest ThinkCentre ever and we’ve achieved it in this eco-friendly powerhouse,” said Ronnie Lee, Country General Manager, Lenovo Singapore and Brunei. “And to meet the needs of this region’s emerging market and first-time-user needs, the ThinkCentre A57e gives businesses an affordable, hassle-free desktop solution.”

Greater Control, Greater Savings with Remote Power Management: ThinkCentre M58/M58p

The ThinkCentre’s M58/M58p’s Power Manager allows customers to save energy and lower electricity costs by enabling system administrators to monitor and remotely control the amount of electricity used by all Power Manager enabled desktops in a PC fleet. For example, PCs can be programmed to shut down evenings or weekends. Through the use of Power Manager and Intel vPro technologies, the ThinkCentre M58p provides the user with the lowest total cost of ownership of any ThinkCentre.

Further solidifying the ThinkCentre M58/M58p as one of the industry’s leading green computing solutions is the gold status achieved from the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool organization, or EPEAT. Lenovo has a total of 24 ThinkCentre desktops that have become EPEAT Gold certified. EPEAT was created to provide a green standard for electronics purchases. The M58/M58p has also passed the stringent testing of GREENGUARD Environmental Institute, which probed for the presence of up to 2,000 potentially harmful contaminants, in addition to receiving the GREENGUARD Certification for Children & Schools, which takes into account children’s higher sensitivity to pollutants.

The ThinkCentre M58/M58p is also the first ThinkCentre PC to support Hardware Password Manager (HPM), which allows for oversight of user, supervisory, BIOS and HDD passwords. HPM is available in April, 2009 and requires a separate software purchase. Previous ThinkCentre versions of a password manager only allowed for password management at the software level. Additionally, the user can disable/enable USB and PS2 ports for complete “security” peace of mind.

Available in three form factors – Tower, Small Form Factor and Ultra Small Form Factor – the ThinkCentre M58p offers top performance with Intel vPro processing technology: Intel Core2 Duo E8x00 or Core2 Quad Q9xx0. The ThinkCentre M58 offers the Intel Q45 chipset with ICH10-DO. The ThinkCentre M5/M58p is also quieter and cooler than any previous ThinkCentre: across all form factors, it is up to six decibels quieter than the ThinkCentre M57/M57p and the hard drive and the processor power module run six and eleven percent cooler, respectively, than the M57/M57p. Embracing new technology, the M58/M58p is the first ThinkCentre with onboard Displayport.

The ThinkCentre M58/M58p comes with a limited, three-year onsite warranty with next business day service. End of life disposal solutions round out Lenovo’s commitment to green computing and preserving the environment. By doing so, customers may be able to receive cash back to offset the costs of future PC purchases, further lowering their total cost of ownership.

Built for Emerging Markets: ThinkCentre A57e

The ThinkCentre A57e continues Lenovo’s heritage of making highly reliable PCs and delivers rock-solid quality and convenience to customers by incorporating the latest ThinkVantange Technologies including Rescue and Recovery with Express Repair for recovering many system issues in 2-3 minutes and System Update that automatically downloads the latest updates over the Internet.

It provides emerging-market and first-time users access to the latest Lenovo technology and award-wining service and support at an attractive price point.

The ThinkCentre A57e incorporates the latest Intel technology with the Intel ATOM processor and is ideal for first time buyers looking at empowering their business with affordable, hassle free desktop solutions. Lenovo’s ThinkCentre A57e inherits the ThinkCentre’s ease-of-use design and is built to international quality standards with a stainless steel chassis for greater durability

Preloaded Windows Operating System and Microsoft Office (Trial)/Adobe Reader makes A57e ready for daily business use out of box.

The ThinkCentre A57e is designed to perform in severe environments making it ideal for first time PC users and customers in emerging markets. The hardworking Lenovo A57e delivers secure and reliable word processing capabilities while delivering social networking, photo and video entertainment functions that make it an ideal all round PC. The A57e comes with 1 year onsite support with options for a 3-year upgrade.

Related Links:

Lenovo Introdcing Energy Efficient and Green PC

Lenovo to launch "Blue Sky" green PC

Source: hardwarezone.com/news/view.php?id=12259&cid=11

Acer Bringing Greener 'always-on' PC to United Kingdom

2008-12-02T17:14:00.001+05:30

Taiwanese computer giant Acer has teamed up with CyberLink and Intel to bring a computer to the UK that you can leave on without having to feel too guilty about the environment.

The problem with media streamers is that they are far from green because of the need to leave them powered up.

However, the collaboration between the three companies should allow the Acer Aspire M5700 desktop to give a greener solution – using Intel's Remote Wake Technology and CyberLink's Live Premium remote media access web service.

Unnecessary PC power consumption

"We are pleased that Acer and CyberLink are supporting Intel Remote Wake Technology on the new Aspire M5700 Consumer PC with Cyberlink Live software allowing consumers to have anytime access to their digital content from connected devices while reducing unnecessary PC power consumption," said Intel's mobile platforms group Marketing Director Joseph Van De Water.

"Intel Remote Wake Technology provides the keys to unlocking the digital lifestyle needs of the mainstream and multimedia PC user by providing perfect balance of access and energy efficiency."

"Protect the Earth"

Obviously, leaving anything on is less energy efficient than turning it off, but Acer believe it is important that people who are likely to keep their machines powered up can take advantage of technology to minimise the impact.

"Acer is proud to work with Intel and Cyberlink to protect the Earth through Acer's Aspire M5700 desktop computer, said Acer's Allen Jong.

"By our joint efforts, users may access and enjoy their multimedia from anywhere, anytime.

"Moreover, this technology solution enables the user to play an active role in protecting our environment by reducing carbon dioxide and unnecessary electric usage."

Source: techradar.com/news/computing/acer-bringing-greener-always-on-pc-to-uk-490038

Intel, HP Strengthen Green Computing Campaigns

2008-12-01T14:12:00.004+05:30

Reaffirming their commitment to green computing, Intel and HP announced planet-saving initiatives at the "Greenergy" forum, a slight twist from the Synergy event that the two have been jointly organizing since 1997.

"There's been a lot of talk about efforts (that) everybody's doing, steps they are undertaking in terms of greening," said Ricky Banaag, Intel Technology Philippines Inc. country manager, who explained that Intel's approach to "eco-technology" is driven through four pillars: sustainable manufacturing, energy-efficient performance, design for the environment, and policy and industry.

According to Banaag, Intel has long been working on reducing the environmental impact of the company's operations through various initiatives like: solid waste and consumer recycling to reduce e-waste, packaging reductions of 16-40 percent which decreased number of shipments and fuel consumption, and the pursuit of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for fabrication plants and buildings, among many others.

In the next five years, Banaag said Intel has the following environmental goals: to reduce absolute global warming gas footprint by 2012 from 2007 levels; reduce energy consumption per chip 5 percent per year from 2007 through 2012; ensure that Intel products maintain energy efficiency for the next two product generations; reduce water use per chip by 2012 from 2007 levels; reduce generation of chemical waste per chip by 10 percent by 2012 from 2007 levels; and recycle 80 percent of chemical and solid waste generated per year.

Banaag also shared that Intel, along with Google and the World Wildlife Fund, has been actively promoting the Climate Savers Computing Initiative which aims to improve computing energy efficiency by 50 percent (by collectively saving $5.5 billion in energy costs) as well as to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by 54 million tons per year.

Meanwhile, HP has been just as busy with similar greening initiatives both internally and in the products that they come up with as they see more customers, especially enterprise consumers, are actually also beginning to look at what companies like HP are currently doing to promote greening.

Aside from its reduced energy consumption and recycling initiatives, HP has been coming up with flat panel displays instead of cathode ray tube (CRT) screens since the former are said to use less material and energy. The company has also been renewing its inkjet packaging and pouring in investments on energy-efficient product lines like the HP server processors, desk jet printers, laser jet printers, blade PCs, xw6400 workstation, and its servers and storage.

HP Philippines managing director David Tan shared that HP has collaborated with Dreamworks Animation in coming up with the Halo studio--a network of rooms that lets HP employees meet with colleagues from across the globe by providing life-size, real-time, eye-to-eye conferencing with no delay. According to Tan, use of the Halo studio in global HP offices has led to productivity gains and huge travel cost savings. Asked whether the HP office in the Philippines shall have a Halo studio set up as well, Tan said the Philippines is one of the countries recommended to install Halo, most likely by next year.

HP has also embarked on the "Planet Partners Program" which offers to take back end-of-life HP and non-HP computing equipment like PCs, handhelds, notebooks, servers, printers, etcetera, for recycling. According to Tan, HP has, in fact, recycled more than 250 million HP print cartridges worldwide since the inception of the Planet Partners program in 1991.

In the future, Tan says HP will continue to "green" its operations by reducing their combined product and operations energy use and associated greenhouse gases (GHGs) by 25 percent in 2010 and recover 2 billion pounds of computing and printing equipment by 2010.

Source: cio.in/news/viewArticle/ARTICLEID=5800014

Eco-Friendly Batteries for Your Electronics

2008-11-28T13:16:00.000+05:30

We offer a great selection of eco-friendly batteries, including offerings from USBcell and Sanyo. The USBcell line of AA batteries work just like normal rechargeables, but you can simply pop off the lid to recharge by any powered USB port. The Eneloop batteries from Sanyo–which come pre-charged, so they can be used right out of the pack–have an extremely low self-discharge rate, with the ability to maintain 85 percent of residual capacity after one year of storage and 70 percent after two years.

Plus, Eneloop batteries can be charged up to 1,000 times without experiencing an effect on chargeability.

Check here for more info

Via: greencp.com/eco-friendly-batteries-for-your-electronics/

Green Computing: Sun Launches Low-Power Storage Tech

2008-11-27T13:54:00.002+05:30

Data storage systems — computers that enable companies to store and access large amounts of data — might be a bit of a dry topic for a Monday morning. But this morning, computing company Sun Micro systems is launching a new set of data storage products that use open source and solid-state memory drives to cut their energy consumption to one quarter that of traditional data storage systems.

Solid state drives have no moving parts and require less power to operate than mechanical disk drives. While solid state drives aren’t used as commonly in current storage systems, Sun says that a smaller energy bill, combined with standard hardware and an open source system, means the storage product — dubbed the 7000 or Amber Road family — can offer cost savings of 75 percent compared with competing storage technology.

For customers, the eco-aspect is likely overshadowed by the overall cost savings, but the large amount of power consumed by computing is an increasingly important issue. The electricity used by servers alone doubled between 2000 to 2005 to about 123 billion kilowatt-hours, or about 1 percent of the world’s electricity use, according to Jonathan Koomey, a researcher at the Lawrence Berkeley National Labs and Stanford University. Koomey says going forward computing will only become a worse power hog, potentially sucking up 45-76 percent more electricity in 2010 than in 2005.

Sun’s storage products are a bright spot of innovation in some difficult times. The company’s revenue fell 7 percent and it posted a net loss of almost $1.7 billion in the most recent quarter. While Sun’s storage business is tiny compared to that of HP or EMC, it is one of the fastest growing parts of the company.

Source:earth2tech.com/2008/11/10/green-computing-sun-launches-low-power-storage-tech/

Apple Touts 'Greenest Family Of Notebooks Ever'

2008-11-26T12:50:00.001+05:30

Apple is proclaiming its latest line of MacBooks as "the greenest family of notebooks ever made." Could this set off another front in the 'I'm A Mac, I'm A PC' wars withMicrosoft and PC makers?

In the 30-second spot, Apple says that the redesigned MacBooks unveiled in October are free of mercury and other harmful toxins found in other PCs, and have cases made of recyclable aluminum and glass. MacBooks are also engineered to run on a quarter of the power of a single light bulb, Apple notes.

In addition to using mercury-free LED technology and arsenic-free glass, Apple, in an environmental update posted to its Web site, says it has removed brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and PVC from the MacBook as well as the Apple LED Cinema Display, iPod touch, iPod classic, iPod nano and iPhone 3G.

Apple has been criticized for its stranglehold on hardware and software, but that's one of the reasons the company gives for being able to design MacBooks to use less electricity and earn Energy Star certification.

Apple appears to have improved its environmental image since last October, when Greenpeace issued a scathing report that claimed the iPhone contains hazardous chemicals in both its external and internal components.

It's unclear how many consumers actually based purchasing decisions on a vendor's environmental track record, but it can be an important part of convincing a customer to purchase a higher-end Apple machine, says Erick Laabs, vice president of The Mac Store, a Portland, Ore.-based Apple reseller.

"This type of marketing can help make it easier for a customer to justify an Apple notebook over a cheaper Windows-based PC," Laabs said.

It's possible that the green MacBook ads could be the beginning of a campaign to juxtapose Apple's progressive environmental policies with those of its plodding, backward competitors. It has been done before, with great effectiveness.

Greenpeace applauded Apple's elimination of some toxic materials in the latest MacBooks, but the environmental organization dropped Apple's ranking from 10th to 14th in its recently released December 2008 Guide To Greener Electronics.

Greenpeace asserts in the report that despite some companies' progress, the IT industry has a long way to go when it comes to being environmentally friendly.

Source:crn.com

First eco-friendly computer developed in Ireland

2008-11-24T15:13:00.000+05:30

MicroPro Computers LTD invented the iameco computer, which has been built from bio-degradable wood panels left over from waste products in the lumber and pulp industry.

The computer uses one third less energy than typical everyday computers, with the biodegradable equipment also capable of being used in the manufacturing of equipment such as keyboards and computer monitor casing.

Paul Maher, managing director of MicroPro, said that the energy efficiency of the computer is not the only positive aspect it has on the environment.

"Our business is built around green technologies and using them to produce healthier, more energy-efficient and cheaper computers that have less impact on the environment," he said.

"One advantage of iameco is that when the components are buried in landfill the wood gets wet, breaks down and new plants begin to grow from old computers."

The Irish company is based in the Rathfarnham area of South Dublin and was established in 1990.

Source:edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=15639&channel=0&title=First+eco-friendly+computer+developed+in+Ireland

Dublin First with Eco-Computer

2008-11-21T12:49:00.001+05:30

World’s First Eco-Computer Produced in Dublin.

The world’s first biodegradable computer has been produced in Dublin. The iameco computer is built from bio-degradable wood panels manufactured from waste products from the lumber and pulp industry.

Inventors of iameco, MicroPro Computers Ltd explained to the Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Jimmy Devins T.D, how they can implant the seeds of native-tree species into these wood panels when he visited the company today to announce details of a new Enterprise Ireland Green Technology Support for businesses.

“Our business is built around green technologies and using them to produce healthier, more energy-efficient and cheaper computers that have less impact on the environment”, said Paul Maher, MD of MicroPro. One advantageof iameco is that when the components are buried in landfill the wood gets wet, breaks down and new plants begin to grow from old computers”.

In addition to the iameco computer, which uses one third less energy than regular computers, the biodegradable wood can also be used to manufacture the computer monitor casing, keyboard and mouse.

Minister Devins was on a visit to MicroPro Computers Ltd in Rathfarnham, Co Dublin to learn how the Irish owned company has used Enterprise Ireland supports to produce the world’s first eco-computer.

Commenting on the success of iameco, Minister Devins said: “The iameco computer story is a true example of innovation at work. Not only have MicroPro Computers developed a new, profitable product range but consumers now have the option of buying an environmentally friendly computer or TV’

‘Green technologies offer many opportunities to companies to innovate and save money. Enterprise Ireland’s GreenTech Support can help companies find ways to reduce air pollution and effluents, conserve water and save energy in the workplace as well as come up with new environmentally friendly products” he concluded.

Green PC, Green Computer, Green Technology

Source: irishdev.com/Home/News/167-Dublin-First-with-EcoComputer.html

Cell Phone Makers Go Green With Chargers

2008-11-20T12:43:00.001+05:30

The five major cell phone manufacturers launched Wednesday a common energy rating system for chargers that's designed to enable customers to choose the most energy-efficient charger.

The new rating system will be star-based, and it will show how much power chargers use when left plugged into the wall but disconnected from the phone. The ratings are based on the European Commission's energy standards for chargers, as well as the Energy Star standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The rating system was developed and will be supported by LG,Motorola, Nokia, Samsung Electronics, and Sony Ericsson.

Customers will be able to visit each cell phone manufacturer's Web site to see and compare the results for every charger. The companies said that most consumers are unaware of much energy a charger uses when it's left plugged into a wall.

"If the more 3 three billion people owning mobile devices today switched to a four- or five-star charger, this could save the same amount of energy each year as produced by two medium-sized power plants," Nokia said in a statement.

The companies have been taking steps to help solve this problem, and they have made power chargers more energy efficient as well as implemented power-alert systems. Motorola said it has been able to reduce average standby energy use by at least 70% since 2000.

There's also a crop of new companies that are looking for alternative ways to charge a cell phone. M2E Power is working on a motion-powered charging product that could provide about 60 minutes of talk time after six hours of motion. Additionally, solar- and wind-powered chargers have also popped up.

Source:informationweek.com/news/personal_tech/smartphones/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212100881&subSection=Infrastructure

Some Important Tips For Buying Green PC

2008-11-19T13:25:00.000+05:30

Green PC refers to the system where the equipments used are entirely environmental friendly. The main aspiration of Green IT is to diminish the use of harmful products while maximizing the efficiency of the system. The Green PC is an integral ingredient of Green IT. The concept of Green IT is not very new for the IT users, but still it has not been adapted by all. Many consumers are there who are willing to buy an environmental friendly machine, but they are not aware how to accomplish this. According to a recent survey, about 7 in 10 consumers say they are still willing to spend up to 20 percent more for "green" sustainable products. So, here I am going to provide a user guide to buy a green PC.

Processors and chipsets: A computer system is made up of mainly two ingredients – Processors and chipsets. Use of an efficient chipset can make your pc more environmental friendly. Some energy saving processors in the market are AMD Athlon 64 or Intel Core 2-series processor, the latest Athlon X2 and Core 2 stepping reduce power considerably over its earlier products. The latest processor series Plethora of Core 2 by Intel is another energy saving series, while some energy consuming processors are Netburst-era Pentium 4s and Athlon 64 X2s.

So, if you are going to buy a new processor, take care about the choice of processor.

Video cards: Another efficient way to conserve energy is with the use of integrated videos with motherboard. The use of separate video card consumes more energy. Motherboards spitting out integrated video via DVI or HDMI aren't that hard to find, so power-users with their massive LCDs don't have to suffer.

Generally, a video card is required for gaming purposes and foe decent 3D performance, but this dilemma can be overcome by using AMD Radeon HD 3850 processor as it draws only 13.5W energy when idle as compare to other processors like NVIDIA 8800 GT and NVIDIA G92.

Power supply: Power supplies are the component of a computer that supplies power to the rest of the parts in a computer system. The amount of power supply is directly proportional to the data installed. So, it is a smart option to store only required data in a computer and attach only required devices to it.

Computer size: Notebooks are less prone to waste energy, so they are called as the most power efficient as well. Secondly, they are made to run on battery and hence as a result saves energy most of the time. So, notebook users today can save more energy and can promote the concept of greenest computers well.

A general Guide for Green IT Solutions: Here, I am going to present a buyer guide for Green IT Solutions.

• Purchase EPEAT-registered computers and monitors. These are by definition qualified by Energy Star.

• Always purchase Energy Star qualified office equipment.

• Activate power management features on computers and monitors

• Avoid hazardous material

• Recycle it

Source: itvoir.com/portal/boxx/knowledgebase.asp?iid=1287&Cat=23

Three Important Steps to Improve Laptop Battery Life

2008-11-18T12:53:00.001+05:30

Like chocolate and episodes of Mad Men, there's no such thing as too much battery life. Alas, it's the rare notebook battery that'll give you more than a few hours-unless you know some tricks for squeezing extra juice. Remember these three tips the next time you travel:

Disable Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Few airplanes offer Wi-Fi (yet), so turn off your notebook's power-sucking Wi-Fi radio. Same goes for Bluetooth.

Drop the screen brightness You can afford to keep screen brightness cranked up when your notebook is plugged into an outlet, but not when you're flying coach. Drop the brightness setting a few notches, then get back to work. Chances are you'll hardly notice the difference. Then drop it a few more notches. The lower, the better.

Watch downloads, not DVDs Notebooks are great for watching movies, but DVD drives consume a considerable amount of power. Therefore, leave the DVDs behind and choose digital downloads instead. Stock your hard drive with movies from Amazon or iTunes and you'll be able to watch longer. Don't want to pay for movies you already own? Use a tool like Handbrake to rip your DVDs, creating MPEG-4 files you can store on your hard drive (or put on your iPod, thus saving your notebook even more power).

Source: pcworld.com/article/153998/three_quick_ways_to_improve_laptop_battery_life.html

eXpd8 Launches Monitor-Mounting GreenPC

2008-11-17T11:48:00.002+05:30

Software-solution provider eXpd8 has decided to try its hand at the hardware market and has come up with an interesting nettop-like-system that it's calling the GreenPC.

The GreenPC, pictured right, takes after ASUS' Eee Box with its ability to mount onto the rear of any VESA-compatible display. Very convenient, and it makes for a clean and clutter-free setup - you'd barely notice it when attached to a 50in Plasma.

Unlike the ASUS Eee Box, however, eXpd8's GreenPC packs a fair amount of wallop - despite its "green" ambition. The system will be available in three distinct configurations; Pulse, Tempo and Cogent, and come equipped with Intel Atom, Intel Pentium and Intel Core 2 processors, respectively.

GreenPC Pulse, equipped with the 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Atom 330, is available with 2GB of RAM, a 160GB 2.5in hard-disk drive, a DVD burner and Windows Vista Home Premium for a reasonable €394 (£333).

It'll utilise on-board Intel GMA 950 graphics, and provide Gigabit Ethernet as well as four USB ports. Not a bad little solution, and one of the better-priced nettops currently available.

If you're in need of a little more oomph, say for 1080p video playback, Tempo or Cogent configurations may better suit. Cogent raises the bar with a 3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor (upgradeable to a Core 2 Quad), 3GB of DDR2 memory, a 320GB hard-disk drive and improved graphics courtesy of the on-board Intel GMA 4500.

Priced from €679 (£574), it's an expensive but surprisingly powerful solution. We wouldn't go as far as calling it particularly "Green", though.

Source: hexus.net/content/item.php?item=16310

Five Simple Ways to Get Started with Green IT

2008-11-13T13:08:00.002+05:30

1. Buy Green.

Perhaps the easiest way to get started is to buy energy-efficient electronics when it's time to upgrade or purchase new equipment. Energy Star-rated computers, printers and other technology products use as much as 60 percent less electricity than standard equipment, according to the Energy Star Web site.

Over the next five years, Energy Star claims that these products will save Americans more than $5 billion dollars. Soft choice, a Toronto-based business-to-business reseller of IT products has designed a new site where you can compare and buy EPEAT products (EPEAT.net is a rating service for electronics that collaborates with Energy Star). The site includes a calculator to determine your energy savings from purchasing the energy-efficient products.

2. Manage Your Power

Take a look at your control panel on your desktop, and it’s likely you'll see everything you need in a few simple clicks to manage power better on your PC. Your business can save $45 per PC annually, simply through automatic shutdown capabilities, says Melissa Quinn, sustainability programs manager for Soft choice. (Read how GE, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, North Thurston Public Schools and others are saving as much as $75 per computer annually simply by activating power management).

Next Steps:

* To maximize power savings, the EPA recommends setting computers to enter system standby or hibernate after 30 to 60 minutes of inactivity.
* To save even more, set monitors to enter sleep mode after five to 20 minutes of inactivity.

If your equipment does not have power management features, you can download the free Energy Star Power Management Software.

3. Get a Professional Energy Audit and Track Energy Use.

Yes, this will cost you money – anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, according to Jerry Lawson, national manager of Energy Star. However, if your business is going to be around for a long time, hiring an auditor might be a wise investment. "We believe you can't manage what you can't measure," he says.

Next Steps:

* If an audit's simply not possible due to finances or lack of professional auditors in your local area, Lawson recommends reviewing The Energy Star "Sure Energy Savers" guidelines to help you start a program.
* To monitor your ongoing energy use, download the free Energy Star Portfolio Manager tool. (An ENERGY STAR private sector contractor maintains and updates the software for accuracy, and your information is password-protected for privacy).

4. Just Say 'No' to Paper

How many times have you printed out a 30-page document when you could have read it and made edits and comments to it through online tracking just as easily? It's a habit, yes – but a bad one that we all need to quit.

Next Steps:

* Use double-sided printing and copying
* Distribute documents electronically
* Create a portal site for sharing content
* Recycle what you must print
* Invest in digital signature technology and software that monitors paper usage by departments, Quinn suggested. Preo Software and PaperCut are two options.

5. Recycle and Disposal of E-waste

More Green Resources

» The Softchoice EcoTech Website

» EPA’s Electronics: A New Opportunity for Waste Prevention, Reuse, and Recycling Fact Sheet

» Energy Star "Putting Energy into Profits" Guide for Small Business

» EPEAT Webinars

Most people in the technology world know not to throw batteries into the garbage can – same for used printer cartridges, discarded cell phones, memory sticks, old or damaged laptops, and so on.

Most electronics that people currently own contain high levels of lead and other toxic materials that need to be handled appropriately so they don’t end up in a landfill and leach poisons into the soil and ultimately, our drinking water. (Fortunately, major tech vendors are increasingly making new equipment cleaner)

“Safe disposal is really important,” Quinn said. “Eighty percent of hardware gets dumped.”

Source:wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials/article.php/3783971

Easy Ways to Go Green with Your Computer

2008-11-12T14:17:00.004+05:30

Not everyone can afford to install solar panels or get a new Prius this Earth Day, but there is one place you can go green without spending an arm and a leg or radically changing your lifestyle: your computer. Chances are you spend the majority of your day sitting in front of the keyboard, and a few small changes can go a long way toward reducing its negative impact on the environment. As an added bonus, doing your part for the environment will save you money, too. This Earth Day, we've rounded up a few simple ways you can go green with your computer.

Shutdown Your Computer Without Losing the Perks of an Always-On PC

Obviously, computers require electricity to run, so shutting down, sleeping, or hibernating your computer when you're not using it conserves energy. Every modern operating system has its own settings for conserving power, so the first thing you should do—if you haven't already—is open the power settings of your green computer and set them for optimal energy use. Set your computer to put your monitor to sleep, spin down your hard drives, and put your computer to sleep when you're not using it. Even better, since your computer uses less power when hibernating than when sleeping, set up your computer to hibernate rather than just go to sleep.

One of the biggest turn-offs (no pun intended) about shutting down or sleeping your computer is that you miss out on some of the finer things your computer provides even when you're away. For example, if you're downloading a large file, you may want the download to continue even when you're away. Likewise, we've covered tons of ways to remotely access your computer, all of which no longer work if your computer's turned off. Luckily you can continue using your computer during these times but still conserve power the rest of the time.

For example, Windows users should check out previously mentioned WinOFF, which shuts down, restarts, and hibernates your computer (among other things) after a certain amount of time, at a specific time, or when your CPU goes idle so that your computer automatically shuts off at times you don't need it.

If a download is what you're waiting for, many peer-to-peer clients, like the popular BitTorrent client uTorrent, can shutdown your computer when a download completes so you can get your file and save energy, too.

Between WinOFF and built-in shutdown features common to many apps, we've taken care of the the download problem—but what about when you want to access your computer remotely? If it's shut down, you can't very well get to it, can you? Actually, you can, assuming you set up Wake-on-LAN on your computer. Once Wake-on-LAN's enabled, you can turn your computer on over the internet from anywhere—so there's no reason not to shut down your computer when you leave the house.

Source:/lifehacker.com/382319/easy-ways-to-go-green-with-your-computer

How Can We Save Money And The Environment With Our Servers?

2008-11-11T10:57:00.001+05:30

In a world increasingly reliant on power-hungry complex carbon technology, the IT industry itself is initiating changes to reduce our impact on the environment – with data centres as the key driver.

As a supplier of robust data backup, effective disaster recovery and reliable internet connectivity , green data centres are a solution that few modern companies could succeed without. However, we’re also a major cause of carbon emissions.

Today responsible data centres are recognising how the technology we store and run can be better manager, streamlined and consolidated; reducing our own carbon footprint and that of our clients.

One of the biggest challenges for businesses seeking to reduce their carbon footprint is the vast amount of power used my modern servers, which is often compounded by the ‘tradition’ of network and IT managers to purchase a new server for each job, often hosting just a single website.

Under utilisation by as much as 98% is commonplace. Virtualisation technology is considered to be the saviour to this area.

Technology such as VMWare, Xen or Microsoft’s Viridian allows network managers to consolidate power hungry servers into multiple ‘virtual servers’ hosted on one or more physical host servers – claiming up to 80% reductions in energy consumption.

Using this technology, it’s possible to make huge savings in terms of both money and the environment.

For the future of our planet, it’s up to data centres to ensure the right advice and green solutions are right there in clients’ doorsteps. And it’s up to businesses to consider their social and corporate responsibilities.

Working our exactly how much power you really need in your IT infrastructure is a good place to start.

Source:network.itproportal.com/articles/2008/11/03/how-can-we-save-money-and-environment-our-servers/

Eco-friendly PCs use less energy than lightbulbs

2008-11-10T14:09:00.000+05:30

TechRadar had the pleasure of visiting this year's Green IT Expo in London today, where a number of new, green computers were being launched amidst a whole host of major IT brands, on hand to show off to (largely business) users their latest ways of developing eco-friendly and sustainable technologies and practices.

Amongst all the worthy talk of 'corporate social responsibility' (surely an oxymoron?) TechRadar noticed two new energy-saving PCs from Sheffield-based VeryPC and Essex-based outfit, Akhter Computers.

The Fulwood 'Full Monty'

First up, VeryPC's Fulwood is by far and away one of the cutest PCs on the market and is sure to appeal to users looking for a reasonably-specced PC that doubles up as media-centre AND uses around half the energy of Atom-based 'green PCs' while being around four times faster.

The Fulwood is basically around the size of a Mac mini and packs in an Intel P9500 2.53GHz dual core CPU, 2GB RAM, 250GB hard drive, Intel x4500HD graphics, DVDRW and a remote control – which is almost as big as the PC itself!

It runs Windows Vista Premium, has a DVI-VGA splitter for dual screen use and a HDMI output, so you can hook it up to your telly.

The Sheffield firm makes much of the 'Made In Sheffield' mark it proudly stamps on all of its products. (Fulwood is, incidentally, a posh Sheffield suburb, for those not in the know!)

When idle the machine uses only 17W and when running at full capacity, the Fulwood still only uses 27W – which make it easily the greenest PC currently available.

The machine is pretty quick and will even run (fairly) recent PC games, according to the manufacturers. Although we're not sure how it would handle Crysis or Fallout 3. But then again, if you want a games machine, energy-efficiency is not going to be at the top of your list of required USPs...

Mac mini looks

Perhaps its greatest selling point is that it looks the bee's knees and would not be out of place underneath your new HD TV sat next to your PlayStation.

The price is a slight sticking point, ranging from £868 - £1100 exclusive of monitor, keyboard and mouse, although if you are in the market for a good-looking, low-energy green PC to use as your entertainment hub, this really is by far the best option currently available to you.

Carbon-footprint awareness

The other British PC manufacturer touting its wares at the 2008 Green IT Expo was Akhter Computers showing off its LoCO2PC - the world's first Energy Star 4.0 approved all-in-one PC running an Intel Core2 Duo processor at 3.0GHz – which, at a starting price of £699, is sure to appeal to the more cost-conscious PC consumer with a conscience and awareness of green issues.

The LoCO2PC throws together a 19-inch LCD panel, Intel Core 2 Duo processor, stereo speakers, DVD writer and a 250GB hard-disk drive in a single, impressively thin (85mm) all-in-one package.

"It consumes around a third of the power of an older style PC," an Akhter rep told TechRadar, "which means you save around £100 to £200 over the course of the year per PC."

Quiet and efficient

The CPU is cooled by a proprietary copper pipe heat exchange system, which means that the PC is incredibly quiet, as well as being energy-efficient (using around 55 watts according to industry-standard Energy Star rating procedures).

So whether you opt for a slightly more expensive, ultra-fashionable VeryPC Fulwood or the more-affordable Akhter all-in-one, you can buy a decent new PC for under a grand that will also help you slash your power bills and keep your carbon footprint in check.

Via: techradar.com/news/computing/eco-friendly-pcs-use-less-energy-than-lightbulbs-482363

Eco friendly computing: Keep it green with the Lawn PC

2008-11-05T11:52:00.003+05:30

This is one patch of grass you'll definitely need to keep off of. Despite what it may look like this isn't a computer/allotment with a real patch of grass sprouting out the top. The idea of the Lawn PC is so seriously far-fetched that it's obviously a concept - a futuristic solar powered concept. It's a completely wireless PC that gets rid of the need for an electrical outlet. This is where that peculiar patch of lawn comes in. As long as it's catching some rays, the grass will collect and store its own power from the solar cells embedded in it. Now the grass isn't the same stuff you'd find in your back garden, it's made form natural cotton fabric (so they're biodegradable) which carries inkjet printed solar cells.

The hundred of blades produce all the power your green machine needs at the rate of around 60 watts per hour. The grass is also removable to enable you to keep up with system upgrades.

Its innards are green too, with a CPU made from plastics infused with bio batch additives. Perplexed? Well, basically this material allows the plastic to decompose when you're ready to dispose of it, when the next big thing comes along perhaps, or you've had enough of insects thinking it's a real patch of grass. There's no need for a fan either, the natural air flow between the strands of grass is enough to keep it cool. Like any plant, the Lawn PC needs plenty of air and sunlight, but obviously not water, unless you want to see what happens when water and computer equipment combine.

It even connects wirelessly to the monitor. Due to the lack of wireage the Lawn PC could essentially and easily be placed anywhere to receive the optimal amount of light. And like most solar powered gadgets a backup plug will be supplied.

Who knew the power of grass could be so potent? If designer David Veldkamp has anything to do with the future of green PC's, they're going to be green.

Source:shinyshiny.tv/2008/11/eco_friendly_co.html

An Eco-friendly PC from Eurocom

2008-11-04T12:55:00.002+05:30

Eurocom has done it again with its innovative designs. This time instead of a desktop replacement notebook, which is their specialty, it is an Eco-friendly PC or the green desktop.

What ever you want to call it, this all-in-one product basically eliminates the mouse completely. Its touch screen technology enables users to navigate the screen and open and close documents and programs with the touch of a finger or with a stylus (included).

This is a new way of computing and it does take some time to get a feel for it, but I have to stay it was a totally natural way of interfacing with the computer.

Now, you still need a keyboard. The Eurocom unit does not come with a keyboard and I can see where the company is coming from. However, it was impossible to operate the PC with out it.

For example, you still needed to type in your password for the wireless Internet connection. Finding a digital keyboard on Windows XP was too hard and too time consuming and it would not be a natural way of computing in my opinion.

The only other problem with the Eco-friendly PC is that you cannot shut off the screen while still operating the computer. It forces you to shut down the system each time you want to stop.

But that is it. With this unit, Eurocom claims it has the most energy efficient/recyclable product on the market. And, they just might. CDN has not done a product comparison on these products. To be fair, we haven't seen other vendors produce a similar type product. So kudos goes to Eurocom for being innovative.

The Eco-friendly PC was made with a low carbon footprint in mind. It uses just 53 watts to operate and can go as high as 74 watts. To give you an idea of how low this is, the average desktop PC consumes between 300 to 400 watts of power when it is fully operational.

The product is made of 100 per cent recycled parts. It weights just under 10 Kg. and it can be quite portable. I moved the unit with ease to many areas of the office and at home. The small form factor (450mm width x 312mm length and 66.5mm height) gives users a lot of workspace room.

At a price tag of $1,299 for the 19-inch mode of the Eurocom Eco-friendly PC, this product comes at a reasonable price considering all the advantages users would get with reduced consumption rates.

Source:itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/home/News.asp?id=50597

Lenovo Extends Green IT Service to Europe

2008-11-03T13:17:00.001+05:30

Lenovo has launched a new service called "Green IT' aimed at making better green practices more appealing to businesses in Europe.

The company's new Asset Recovery Service will give organizations signing up to the plan a way to get rid of their old technology in an environmentally friendly and convenient way.

The service offers computer take-back, data destruction, refurbishment and recycling, as well as a cash-back provision to help offset the cost of the service.

Lenovo estimates that after the standard three-year refresh cycle, the average customer can receive 10 to 15 per cent of the value back of what the computers cost them originally.

The company will first try to refurbish and reuse the systems it collects, but failing that it will turn to recycling.

Lenovo introduced a similar service in the US and Canada back in June and expects that adding this service to its existing take-back programmes in this part of the world will help grow customer returns by more than 30 per cent.

As well as getting rid of old IT equipment, Lenovo offers additional services including inventory, value assessment, on-site de-installation and data encryption.

Via:vnunet.com

Dell Turns to Recycled Plastic, Thin Client for Green Computers

2008-10-31T14:52:00.000+05:30

From the people who brought you the bamboo computer come two new greener computers: a new desktop made partially out of recycled plastic water bottles, and Dell’s first thin-client computer, a minimalist PC designed to access remote apps and data.

Recycled water bottles? That’s how Dell is pitching its new OptiPlex 960, announced this morning, which uses at least 10 percent post-consumer recycled plastic in its casing. “That’s about the equivalent of three plastic water bottles,” Curtis Campbell, the OptiPlex’s product manager, tells us. The 960 is part of Dell’s launch this morning of a whole new line of “greener” OptiPlex computers, a series aimed mostly at institutional buyers.

Beyond the greener materials, the OptiPlex also boasts higher energy performance with a redesigned power supply that’s 88 percent more efficient than previous desktops, and reduced and recycled packaging. All this means the desktop has achieved EPEAT Gold and Energy Star 4.0 ratings (just like Apple’s newest Mac line.) For large buyers like government organizations and schools, more efficient computers are important for their financial and environmental bottom lines.

Dell’s first thin-client computer, the OptiPlex FX160, is a stripped-down terminal designed for users accessing files and applications running remotely on a local server or in the cloud. The future of greener home computers will probably look more like the FX160 than the rest of the OptiPlex line as more services move into the cloud and users can accomplish more within their browser. This could mean fewer constantly spinning hard drives and less power wasted on unnecessary cooling, which could be better for global warming.

Source:earth2tech.com

HP announces “green” Pavilion desktops

2008-10-29T14:25:00.002+05:30

HP has announced two special-edition green desktops, which will be available only at Circuit City and Best Buy stores, and updated the configurations of its current desktops sold direct. The company also announced a 25.5-inch LCD display with lots of extras.

As with most things, to go green you have to give up a little. Both Verde Special Edition desktops are based on AMD processors that do indeed draw less power than the typical high-end chips found in most desktops–but they also offer a lot less performance. HP says the systems also have advanced power management features that reduce energy use by up to 45% and they come in packaging made of 100% recycled material.

The two configurations are:

HP Pavilion Verde Special Edition a6645f

* 2.50GHz AMD Athlon X2 4850e dual-core processor
* Up to 5GB of memory
* Nvidia GeForce 6150 SE graphics with 128MB
* 500GB hard drive
* SuperMulti DVD burner with LightScribe
* Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition with SP1
* Available on November 9 at Circuit City, starting at $579

HP Pavilion Phoenix Special Edition a6655f

* 1.80GHz AMD Phenom X4 9150e quad-core processor
* Up to 5GB of memory
* Nvidia GeForce 6150 SE graphics with 128MB
* 640GB hard drive
* Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition with SP1
* SuperMulti DVD burner with LightScribe
* Available on November 9 at Best Buy, starting at $659

Some of these choices–DDR2 memory, discrete Nvidia graphics and 7,200rpm drives–seem puzzling for a green PC since there are other options that should use less power, but DDR3 memory is still relatively expensive.

The 25.5-inch HP w2558hc Vivid Color Display includes a 2MP Webcam, 15-in-1 card reader (that can display video or pictures when the PC is off), HDMI input, multiple USB ports and built-in speakers. It is currently available direct or in retail stores for $599.

HP also updated the configurations of its HP Compaq Presario, HP Pavilion, HP Pavilion Slimline and HP Pavilion Elite desktops available at HP Direct.

Source:zdnet

HP Intros Green PCs

2008-10-24T12:37:00.000+05:30

HP is stressing environmental virtues in two new desktop PCs that use less power, and come in packaging that is more recyclable than before. The HP Pavilion Verde Special Edition a6645f and HP Pavilion Phoenix Special Edition a6655f (C$649.99) desktop PCs are ENERGY STAR qualified and meet the standards for Silver registration in the Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT), thanks to the use of AMD energy-efficient processors and advanced power management features that provide up to 45 per cent energy savings compared to PCs without power management enabled. In addition, they come in 100 percent recyclable packaging with less plastic foam.

Both special-edition desktop PCs offer up to 5GB of memory, Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition with Service Pack 1, a front-panel 15-in-1 memory card reader, and a SuperMulti DVD burner with LightScribe technology for etching custom labels and artwork directly onto discs.

The HP Pavilion Phoenix Special Edition a6655f desktop PC features a design symbolizing the mythical phoenix, and includes an energy-efficient AMD Phenom X4 9150e Quad-Core Processor and 640 GB hard drive. The HP Pavilion Verde Special Edition a6645f desktop PC has a nature-inspired pattern on the chassis and includes an energy-efficient AMD Athlon X2 4850e Dual-Core Processor and 500 GB hard drive.

Either can be mated to HP’s new 25.5” widescreen model HP w2558hc Vivid Color Display (C$599) that includes a built-in 15-in-1 card reader for easily viewing slideshows and videos, even when the PC is turned off, as well as a built-in two-megapixel Webcam. It also has multiple USB ports and digital outputs and HDMI inputs. In keeping with the green theme, the HP w2558hc is ENERGY STAR qualified and offers a Power Saver feature to help reduce energy consumption.

Source:marketnews.ca/news_detail.asp?nid=4189

HP's 'Verde' Desktops Say 'Green PC'

2008-10-22T10:01:00.001+05:30

On Monday, HP announced a pair of new Energy Star desktops and a new color display designer designed to reduce the impact on the environment.

The HP Pavilion Verde Special Edition a6645f and HP Pavilion Phoenix Special Edition a6655f desktop PCs are powered by AMD's energy-efficient processors and have recyclable packaging.

Both Pavilion Special Edition PCs have Energy Star qualifications and meet the criteria for EPEAT's Silver rating. The HP Pavilion Phoenix Special Editon a6655f desktop PC starts at $659 without monitor, and is powered by a quad core AMD Phenum X4 9250e processor, 640-Gbyte hard drive and a DVD burner. The HP Pavilion Verde Special Edition a6645f desktop PC starts at $579 without monitor, and is powered by a dual core AMD Athlon X2 4850e processor and 500GB hard drive.

The Verde edition is a Circuit City exclusive and ships with a "nature-inspired" design on its front panel, while the Phoenix Edition is exclusive to Best Buy and comes with a "stunning design symbolizing the mythical phoenix". Both systems will be available on November 9.

HP also announced the 25.5-inch HP w2558hc Vivid Color Display with a built-in webcam and 15-in-1 digital media card reader. The w2558hc has multiple USB ports, built-in speakers, and HDMI inputs to support your digital life. The monitor is also Energy Star qualified and is available now through HP Direct and select retailers for $599.

In other PC news, Gateway announced the 233137, a trendy, stylish laptop for about $1,000, which PC Magazine called "the best-looking one in the company's history".

Source:pcmag.com

Green PC for SMBs

2008-10-16T17:04:00.001+05:30

ASUS in association with Intel has launched Eee Box, a power-efficient computing solution. The desktop PC consumes 90% less power than normal desktop PCs with only 26 decibels sound emission and uses Intel Atom N270 (1.6 GHz) processor.

According to the company, the product is targeted at the SMBs and the home users segment in India.

The ASUS thermal solution integrates a heat dissipation module with the AI fan - allowing quiet (26db) and comfortable computing. The Eee Box also utilizes green design and is made with eco-friendly materials for reduced CO2 emissions and conforms to stringent RoHS and WEEE standards.

With ASUS' boot technology, Express Gate, users can easily access the Internet, manage pictures or communicate over IM/Skype just 7 seconds after boot up. It also supports WiFi 802.11n wireless standard - providing up to six times faster connectivity than previous 802.11b/g wireless. Users can download a 30 minute video in only 44 seconds.

Specifications:
OS: Microsoft Windows XP Home
CPU: Intel Atom N270 (1.6 GHz)
Chipset: Intel Chipset
DIMM DDR2 SO-DIMM: 1 GB
HDD: 80 GB
Card Reader: SD/SDHC/MS/MS Pro/MMC
WiFi: 802.11b/g/n
LAN: 10/100/1000
Accessories: Keyboard and mouse

The Eee Box is available at Rs. 6,490/ exclusive of taxes.

Source:enterpriser.in

Slick new ‘green’ PC from HP demonstrates CSER

2008-10-15T10:45:00.002+05:30

New PC from HP shows why green thinking is good for business as Amy Fetzer discovers

HP’s slick new TouchSmart PC doesn’t look green with its sleek touch screen technology designed to tempt style-conscious consumers looking for cutting-edge gadgets. Yet under its shiny black casing, the TouchSmart has impressively green credentials. Its power management technology can reduce PC energy use by up to 45%; it arrives in 100% recyclable packaging with more paper and less plastic foam for easier recycling; and the machine itself uses 55% less metal and 37% less plastic than standard PCs and monitors*. It is also Energy Star and EPEAT™ registered at silver level.

The success of the TouchSmart in marrying style with substance demonstrates the important role that corporate psychology plays in bringing CSER (Corporate, Social and Environmental Responsibility) principles into projects to ensure they become an integral part of the process.

By adopting an attitude which aimed for the ideal, viewed obstacles as challenges, and which kept environment considerations at the heart of the design process, the team behind the TouchSmart were able to think outside of the box to create a product that broke new ground both in terms of cutting edge functionality and environmental performance.

This combination of style, market-leading functionality and environmental performance is an excellent example of the symbiosis which often exists between the environment, design, functionality as the team found time and time again that designing for the environment had numerous paybacks. For example, by looking at ways to reduce energy use, the team looked to minimise waste heat. This in turn reduced noise and improved reliability as overheating is a common cause of computer malfunction.

Smashing the status quo Companies, like people, become accustomed to established systems that aren’t always the most efficient or effective. The way to drive innovation and improve efficiencies is to forget the status quo and to question everything.

‘We said, forget any constraints, let’s look at this on an ideal basis - what would we do if we could do anything?’ explains Ken Bosley, the HP Brand manager on the TouchSmart project.

‘We asked: “What’s the best way, what’s the obstacle, why aren’t we doing it?” Usually the answer to “Why aren’t we doing this?” was “We’re not sure!” so we decided to find out.’

For example, the desire for slender, sexy product not only increases consumer appeal, but the resulting reductions in material use, packaging materials, and increased transport efficiencies are good for the environment and the bottom line as fewer materials mean lower costs while ultimately creating a smaller, more flexible and more appealing product for the consumer.

‘The gains made on the TouchSmart, both in terms of technology and packaging, are now being fed back into the mainstream HP production line. For example, we’re now trying to incorporate more cardboard usage in to the packaging of our mainstream products and looking at ways we can utilise energy efficiencies.’

Design for the real world

Many products are designed for ideal environments that don’t actually reflect real world practice. Yet designing products for real life consumer behaviour can have massive benefits. For example, the TouchSmart made massive energy savings by focussing on the sleep mode. Research had demonstrated that consumers leave their IT idle for long periods yet don’t utilise the power-saving sleep mode as they find it cumbersome. Recognising this, the TouchSmart default was set to sleep after 15 minutes of being idle, while considerable effort was put into making it wake up in just three seconds. This rapid resume is essential. Otherwise, the customer will just change the default settings and stop the PC from going to sleep at all.

In addition, the design team were driven by the knowledge that although many materials, like the EPS foam often used in IT packaging, are recyclable, the lack of local recycling markets can mean it winds up in landfill. In addition, customers prefer the ease that comes with recycling just one material. This led the team to cardboard because it has the highest recycling value.

Creating robust cardboard packaging was a massive challenge, and inevitably created extra work, but the design team were soon motivated by the challenge of creating packaging that not only could be 100% recycled but that would be recycled.

‘We asked questions like, “Why do we have an accessory box and cushions? Why can’t the cushions be the accessory boxes? Why do we have two of these?”’ explains Bosley. ‘When we started to question why we weren’t using more cardboard already, we discovered it was because we didn’t know if it would pass all of our drop tests. So we did all the drop tests. And it failed first time, but so did the foam first time, so we didn’t let that put us off. So we went back to drawing board and tried and tried again until we succeeded.’

The hard work paid off with the creation of 98% cardboard packaging for the TouchSmart, and this single material cardboard design is now being applied to the mainstream PC box.

However, a real world approach also led some frustration. Knowing that the box is often the only means of communicating with the consumers, the design team weren’t prepared to compromise on the signature HP ‘black box’ design. ‘It was very frustrating,’ says Bosley, ‘because the most environmentally friendly scenario is if there was no printing on the cardboard box. If you print anything at all, it’s the same as if you print the whole thing. There is no way we would sell products with a blank box so that wasn’t feasible. We looked into doing a printed sleeve on a plain brown box, but after doing further research, it seemed that overall, it was better to print on the box itself.

Weighing up the options

There were some areas where the design team had to reluctantly accept defeat. One of these was screen, which would use mercury-free LEDs rather than fluorescent backlights in an ideal world. Unfortunately, this was too costly to implement at the moment, but with LEDs becoming more and more affordable, it’s likely to be a temporary setback.

The vagaries of the international shipment process also meant that despite all the efforts to avoid using foam packaging, it was necessary in countries which use single box shipments, rather than multiple pallets. This was because the cardboard packaging was not shock absorbent enough to protect the product in transit in single shipments. However the team is viewing this as a short-term set back and they’ve pledged to keep working on developing a higher grade cardboard packaging.

Another problem the team grappled with was more fundamental. ‘You can’t get away from the fact that an energy efficient computer is still going to be a piece of e-waste eventually,’ says Bosley. ‘However, we did everything we could to make sure the TouchSmart was designed to make it easily disassembled for recycling so the plastic parts can be separated from the metal. We’ve tried to incorporate these factors into the design as much as possible.

Source: csr-news.net

4 Ways to Green Your Gadgets

2008-10-13T16:46:00.001+05:30

Last month, the congressional watchdog GAO published a report on high-tech toxic trash exports, and Greenpeace released its ninth annual Guide to Greener Electronics. Here are four ways to keep consumer electronics from harming human health and the environment. Even better, some of them will help you save money at the same time.

Tip #1: Buy electronics from companies with take-back programs

When companies establish take-back programs for used or broken electronics, the high cost of hazardous waste disposal gives them an incentive to eliminate toxic components and design products for easy recycling and reuse. Rather than sticking consumers or municipalities with the dilemma of what to do with complicated unwanted devices, manufacturers collect their own products and -- with smart design -- can turn them into new gadgets instead of trash. To ensure a green ending to your gizmo's life, opt for products from companies (like Nokia, the high-scorer in Greenpeace's latest report) ready to take back what they hath sold. In the meantime, your unwanted devices from manufacturers without these programs can be brought to Best Buy stores around the country.

Tip #2: Extend battery life

Later this week, European Union officials will begin enforcing new restrictions on rechargeable batteries -- a move that the research firm Cleantech Group reports could nudge the market away from toxic components and non-replaceable, built-in batteries. In the meantime, Americans still buy more than 350 million of the pricey, heavy metal-packed capsules every year. With smart maintenance practices, they can be replaced less frequently. For example, lithium-ion batteries, one of the most common types used in laptops and mobile devices, last longer when kept from running below a 40-percent charge. If you have an iPod, you'll get the most bang for your battery buck (make that bucks--at least 49 of them for a replacement battery) if you take it out of the case before charging. Carrying cases can trap heat and compromise battery capacity -- making you plug in more frequently and burn through the battery's limited number of charges sooner. For any device, it's a good idea to keep batteries away from extreme temperatures, allow plenty of circulation, shut off juice-draining non-essential functions, and use a low-power mode whenever possible.

Tip #3: Eliminate excess energy use

It's easy to grab your menagerie of mobile devices and leave chargers plugged in when you dash off to work. But chargers and gizmos left on standby pull electricity even when they seem to be turned off. This vampire power accounts for as much as $2.7 billion-worth of electricity use every year in the U.S., according to Power Management DesignLine. In a typical household, it represents about 5 percent of annual electricity costs, with plasma TVs, computers, and game consoles being some of the thirstiest offenders. If you want to reduce your contribution to the phantom load, you no longer have to run around pulling plugs: smart power strips like APC's Power-Saving Surge Arrest cut the juice automatically, and energy monitors help you figure out where to target your efforts for the biggest results.
Share your tips: Have you slayed vampire power in your home? Tell us how.

Tip #4: Sell or donate unwanted gear

What's the easiest way to avoid sending e-waste to irresponsible recyclers? Give your old gadgets new life in the hands of students and families who can't afford the latest electronics. Sites like eBay and Craigslist make it easy to sell unwanted items, while freecycle.org lets you find people in your city or neighborhood to pick up giveaways. If you'd like help assessing value, erasing personal data, creating a listing, and shipping or trading in an old device, you can turn to the Rethink Initiative. Hosted on eBay, the site represents a coalition of tech companies, anti-toxics groups, philanthropies, the EPA, and other groups working to manage e-waste (and generate business, in some cases) by connecting buyers, sellers and charities -- so you can get that PC-o-saurus or old-school boombox out of your basement and back to work.

Source:huffingtonpost.com/josie-garthwaite