Green PC for SMBs

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
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Slick new ‘green’ PC from HP demonstrates CSER

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
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4 Ways to Green Your Gadgets

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
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Fast-Moving Eco-Friendly Consumer Goods Appeal to Many

Certain fast-moving, environmentally-friendly consumable products are being used by a significant portion of the U.S. general population, according to the Natural Marketing Institute. More than one-third of consumers are purchasing natural/organic personal care products, natural foods and beverages, and CFLs.

LOHAS consumers, the portion of the population that is most interested in sustainability and the earliest adopters of sustainable products, reports higher usage of all listed products. They are twice as likely to use emerging eco-friendly products like organic flowers, organic lawn care and natural household cleaning products.

Consumers state higher consumption of “natural” versus “organic” foods and beverages. This is driven by a wide range of factors including levels of understanding, availability, price, perceived benefits, among others.

Source:environmentalleader.com
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Two new eco-friendly NEC displays

If you're in the market for an eco-friendly LCD computer monitor, these days you have a few choices. From LG to Lenovo and soon Dell, green is the new black when it comes to LCDs.

Now, NEC is adding to its own EA line of eco-friendly monitors. On Wednesday, it announced two new eco-friendly displays, the 24-inch MultiSync EA241WM wide-screen display and the 19-inch MultiSync EA191M standard-format display.

As with its previously announced 26-inch EA261WM and 22-inch EA221WM, NEC has registered MultiSync EA241WM and EA191M displays as EPEAT Gold and Silver, respectively. The EPEAT rating requires that the displays are Energy Star compliant. Products that earn the Energy Star designation prevent greenhouse gas emissions by meeting energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.



* 1,000:1 contrast ratio
* 400 cd/m2 brightness
* 1920x1200-pixel native resolution
* Four-way adjustable stand (110mm height, tilt, swivel, pivot)
* New cabinet design with intuitive, multidirectional NaViKey
* Integrated four-port USB 2.0 hub
* Space-saving, down-firing speakers with headphone jack
* Dynamic Video Mode with five presets for real-time optimization of image quality
* Built-in carrying handle
* HDMI-capable via adapter, 720p and 1080p from DVI-D
* High Bandwidth Digital Content Protection, which is supported through the DVI-D connector for use with HDCP-equipped devices and encrypted content
* ECO Mode for significant power consumption savings
* Ambix, NaViSet and No Touch Auto Adjust
* Carbon footprint meter for tracking of carbon savings
* EPEAT Gold registered for EA241WM



* Standard-format (5:4 aspect ratio)
* PVA panel
* 1500:1 contrast ratio
* 250 cd/m2 brightness
* 1,280x1,024 native resolution
* Four-way adjustable stand (110mm height, tilt, swivel, pivot)
* New cabinet design with intuitive, multidirectional NaViKey
* Space-saving, down-firing speakers with headphone jack
* Dynamic Video Mode with five presets for real-time optimization of image quality
* High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection, which is supported through the DVI-D connector for use with HDCP-equipped devices and encrypted content
* ECO Mode for significant power consumption savings
* Ambix, NaViSet, and No Touch Auto Adjust
* Carbon footprint meter for tracking of carbon savings
* EPEAT Silver registered for EA191M


The MultiSync EA241WM and EA191M displays come with a three-year parts, labor, and backlight warranty. The displays will be available for shipment in October at an estimated street price of $549 and $379, respectively.

Source:news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10056009-1.html
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Cheap Green: Saving Energy on Computers

One of the challenges of our energy transition is that everything from solar panels to hybrid cars can be expensive. This is the first installment of our weekly series examining ways to go green without breaking the bank.

Yesterday Azadeh Ensha wrote an excellent piece about how to save energy when working with computers. I’ve been mulling that topic too.

So when Tod Arbogast, Dell’s global head of sustainability, stopped by The New York Times last month, I asked his team to send in a list of lesser-known energy-saving tips — things that even the most efficiency-minded PC users might not have come across.

Just how unfamiliar the following tidbits are is open to discussion, but we present the results of that query, in Dell’s own words, below.

Five Points how to save energy on Computers:-

1. Be Energy Smart:- Take advantage of the power-management settings in your Control Panel by setting the system to go on "stand-by" when you’re not using it. "Hibernate" should be used for longer periods of time away from your PC.

2. Power supplies matter:- Many of us use an older desktop PC for a file server. Older systems (5 to 7 years) tend to have low-efficiency power supplies, known to consume more energy than high-efficiency ones. You can upgrade to a high-efficiency (80 to 90 percent) power supply, as they are relatively inexpensive and widely available. (Power supplies are the silver boxes found on the back of most desktop PCs.)

3. Check the battery:- If you have an older laptop and haven’t replaced the battery in a few years, you are most likely wasting energy. Laptop batteries wear out over time. As they get older, it takes the same energy to achieve consecutively shorter battery operating time and performance. Save some energy by recycling a worn-out battery and getting a new one.

4. Go with LED on laptops:- In addition to being mercury-free and recyclable, light-emitting diode (LED) displays deliver significant energy savings compared to cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) technology. Dell’s 15-inch LED displays, for example, consume an average of 43 percent less power at maximum brightness, resulting in extraordinary cost and carbon savings. LED displays are also thinner and lighter.

5. "IV" 85 percent efficiency:- Many computers as well as things like printers, external hard drives, scanners and speakers have external adapters (the cord that attaches to the wall). Newer adapters are marked with the International Energy Efficiency stamp of "IV" 85 percent efficiency; the new Energy Star external power suppliers are marked "V", at 87 percent efficiency. If you want to do your part and help save energy, you shouldn’t buy a new system with anything less.

Source:greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com
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Dell 'O Project' PC is part Green Computer, part potted plant

When Dell commissioned a design contest for green computers, Mexican industrial designer Luis Luna took the term "green" literally. He created O Project, a design concept featuring a couple of round PCs that take Dell's bamboo-clad Studio Hybrid idea a step further, adding a place to grow a small plant inside.



While that tiny organism planted within the machine isn't going to gobble up even a fraction of the CO2 created during the manufacture
and use of such a PC, it certainly cuts down on the visual pollution of most garden-variety beige box computers, and gets you at least thinking green. Click Continue for a horizontally oriented version of this aesthetically pleasing design.

Source:dvice.com/archives/2008/10/dell_o_project.php
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