VIA Demos Eco-Friendly Education at Green California Schools Summit

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TFOT recently interviewed Gaynor de Wit, deputy director of processor platform marketing at VIA Technologies, to learn more about the company’s green-technology initiative and future plans.

Q: Can you describe when and why VIA decided to “go green”?
A: Early on, VIA recognized that massive adoption of computing technology on a global scale had the potential to result not only in the creation of vast amounts of waste material when components became obsolete, but also in significant stresses on existing power-supply infrastructures. With this in mind, in 2001 we opted to take an approach to product design that factored in the impact its products and processes might have on the environment.

Since the introduction of the VIA C3 processor in 2001, we have led the industry in the design of energy-efficient x86 platforms. From thin clients to laptops to industrial computing systems, VIA processor platforms have built a reputation for leading performance per watt and cool operation.

With the challenges presented by the forward-thinking European Union directives on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), VIA implemented internal procedures that ensured a smooth transition for the development of RoHS-compliant products.

While the RoHS directive came into effect in July 2006, VIA’s move toward lead-free manufacturing started much earlier, with the introduction of the Enhanced Ball Grid Array (EBGA) package for its processors and the Heat Sink Ball Grid Array (HSBGA) package for its chipsets. In fact, VIA has been shipping lead-free VIA Eden and C3 processor platforms into the market since the end of 2003, with the current VIA C7 processor family lead-free at launch in 2005.

With the launch of the VIA C7-D processor in late 2006, we’re seeking to define a new era in eco-friendly computing, and to further heighten awareness of computing’s impact on the environment. Conceived as the ideal desktop processor for corporations seeking to significantly save on their power bills, while delivering the performance and reliability needed for productivity applications, the VIA C7-D processor is the world's first computer component to be sold as carbon-free.

Q: Does green computing reduce costs for VIA in the short term as well as the long?
A: One of the great things about green computing is that it’s not just a more sustainable, environmentally friendly approach to computing; it also means very real savings in dollar terms. With office equipment currently accounting for up to 20 percent of total energy output and the fastest-growing area of energy use, a large company like VIA can cut costs enormously by utilizing energy-efficient, green-computing technologies.

And the savings don’t stop at lower power consumption through more efficient components. Cooler-running systems don’t heat up office spaces to the same extent, enabling significant air-conditioning cost reductions. Additionally, cooler components extend the useful life of hardware, further reducing costs. The business case for saving energy is very clear.

But green computing extends out of the data center and the desktop, encompassingsuchmobility issues as encouraging work from home and video conferencing that discourages travel. VIA is a global organization of nearly 3000 people, with engineering teams needing to collaborate regularly, so there are significant financial savings as well as lower carbon emissions that can had through reduced travel. As technology improves, that’s been easier to achieve, and to this end we have an in-house videoconferencing suite that has gone a long way toward cutting back on costs.

Q: What obstacles do you face, in research or development, with your environment-friendly products?
A: Our leadership in energy efficiency, miniaturization, and integration at the silicon and board level is a testament to VIA’s R&D capabilities.

On the design side, ensuring energy efficiency in IC chips requires a keen focus on reducing voltage, while retaining performance and enabling our signature rich-feature integration within ever-smaller packages. This is not a simple process and demands high levels of skilled engineering, which is why, to this day, we can offer the lowest power-consuming embedded, notebook, and desktop processors in the world.

Achieving such high levels of energy efficiency and low heat production also allows us to build smaller, which in turn allows our partners to build smaller systems, providing savings for consumers not only in terms of power requirements but also in disposal costs. For portable systems, such as the new generation of ultra-mobile devices, this also means longer battery life, an essential element of ultra-mobility Other companies cannot achieve this, as their chips consume too much power and emit too much heat.

On the manufacturing side, the removal of hazardous substances raises several technical challenges, especially the replacement of lead as a stable solder substance. However, an aggressive approach to the problem, starting five to six years ago, allowed our engineers the time to experiment with effective replacement alloys, so that our processor platforms were effectively manufactured lead-free long before the industry was mandated to do so.

Q: How would you respond to critics who claim that lead-free products are dangerous and unreliable?
A: This has become a hot topic in the wake of the recent RoHS directive. The issue is that lead-free solders have higher melting points than traditional tin-and-lead solder. Lead has been used in solders for hundreds of years because tin-and-lead solders have a low melting point, are easy to use, and give reliable solder joints. The argument is that most useful alternative alloys have higher melting temperatures, which can cause damage to laminate and to heat-sensitive components and raise concerns about stresses put on components. This unreliability can become dangerous in systems people rely on, such as medical devices, and can cost lives. Such reliability concerns have kept manufacturers from transitioning to lead-free soldering, and exemptions for certain industries (for example, aerospace, military, and computer-server products) have been taken as a tacit admission that lead-free is unreliable.

The fact is, lead-free components and manufacturing processes can be completely safe and reliable. VIA, and other companies who have been lead-free for a while, are in a good position, because we have already worked through the transition problems. Everyone else is just going through it now, which is why we’re hearing so much about it.

Not all lead-free soldering is the same. Some alloys are better than others, and some temperatures work better than others. For many companies, there will be an element of trial and error in discovering what works best for them. Certainly, we’ve seen real advances in the last few years with some electronics manufacturers offering lead-free soldering that rivals their leaded counterparts in reliability. We feel comfortable that criticism will die away as companies progress through the transition, and this is being borne out already by the European Union’s removal of several of the exemptions to the RoHS directive.

Q: How do you see VIA's green-initiative progress in the future?
A: VIA will continue to innovate in the x86 platform space and push forward with more power-efficient, smaller-form-factor components. Since it’s not just businesses that should be aware of the impact of their computing activity; this includes taking our green-computing message into new settings and product areas. So, for example, we’ll be attending the Green California School Summit in Pasadena, California, in December to showcase low-power client-servers and ultra-mobile devices for the education market, and there will be other events that help get the message across.

We’ll also continue to work closely with organizations and companies involved with renewable energies in an effort to develop more sustainable computing platforms.

At VIA, we believe that the computing device you’ll be using in the future will be very different from the one you’re using today. Devices are using less and less power at the same time as renewable energy is getting more and more portable and effective. The materials computers are made from are becoming less hazardous. At the end of the road will be a computer that not only connects us to the world through information technology using renewable energy, but is also constructed through a cycle of manufacturing that doesn't hurt us or future generations. How long that road is isn’t clear at the moment, but VIA intends to continue to lead the way forward through its green-computing initiative.

src: http://www.tfot.info/articles/1003/green-computing.html

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VIA Technologies into Green Computing

VIA Technologies, a Taiwanese company that manufactures motherboard chipsets, CPUs, and other computer hardware, introduced its initiative for "green computing" in 2001. With this green vision, the company has been focusing on power efficiency throughout the design and manufacturing process of its products. Its environmentally friendly products are manufactured using a range of clean-computing strategies, and the company is striving to educate markets on the benefits of green computing for the sake of the environment, as well as productivity and overall user experience.

Carbon-free computing
One of the VIA Technologies’ ideas is to reduce the "carbon footprint" of users — the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide (CO2). Greenhouse gases naturally blanket the Earth and are responsible for its more or less stable temperature. An increase in the concentration of the main greenhouse gases — carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorocarbons — is believed to be responsible for Earth's increasing temperature, which could lead to severe floods and droughts, rising sea levels, and other environmental effects, affecting both life and the world's economy. After the 1997 Kyoto Protocol for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the world has finally taken the first step in reducing emissions. The emissions are mainly a result of fossil-fuel-burning power plants. (In the United States, such electricity generation is responsible for 38 percent of the country’s carbon dioxide emissions.) VIA aims to offer the world's first PC products certified carbon free, taking responsibility for the amounts of CO2 they emit. The company works with environmental experts to calculate the electricity used by the device over its lifetime, generally three years. From this data, one can conclude how much carbon dioxide the device will emit into the atmosphere during its operation. This estimate will serve as an indicator, and the company will pay regional organizations for the “sequestering,” or offsetting, of the emissions. Offsetting carbon dioxide can be achieved in different ways. One way is to plant trees that absorb CO2 as they grow, in the region in which the processors were purchased. The necessary amount of trees per processor is represented by VIA's TreeMark rating system.

In addition, VIA promotes the use of such alternative energy sources as solar power, so power plants wouldn't need to burn as much fossil fuels, reducing the amount of energy used. Wetlands also provide a great service in sequestering some of the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. Although they make up only 4 to 6 percent of the Earth's landmass, wetlands are capable of absorbing 20 to 25 percent of the atmospheric carbon dioxide. VIA is working closely with organizations responsible for preserving wetlands and other natural habitats, and others who support extensive recycling programs for ICT equipment. The amount paid to these organizations will be represented by a proportion of the carbon-free product’s price.

Carbon-emissions control has been a key issue for many companies who have expressed a firm commitment to sustainability. Dell is a good example of a company with a green image, known for its free worldwide product-recycling program. Dell’s Plant a Tree for Me project allows customers to offset their carbon emissions by paying an extra $2 to $4, depending on the product purchased. AMD, a global microprocessor manufacturer, is also working toward reducing energy consumption in its products, cutting back on hazardous waste and reducing its eco-impact. The company’s use of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology in its manufacturing, and strained silicon capping films on transistors (known as “dual stress liner” technology), have contributed to reduced power consumption in its products. http://www.via.com.tw/en/index.jsp
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