15 Mar 09 Techie Advice | Go Green Technology!

As much as technology is great for using the internet, running a personal business, or just being socially knowledgeable in this day and age, many IT professionals do not consider the ecological drawbacks of their industry.  Little by little, however, inventions are coming out in the market that can change this.  If you want to get an idea of what is out there, here are two energy efficient pieces of technology:

• MSI has an eco-friendly MSI Wind Nettop CS120.  The size of this desktop PC hard drive is about 11.1 x 9.45 x 2.56 inches, while including a slot-load DVD burner, an Intel Atom 230 1.6GHz processor, a 160GB hard-drive and a 1GB of DDR2 SODIMM memory.  This desktop PC is reported to save about 90% on energy costs!
• Marvell Technologies has a plug in computer that is about the size of an adapter!  It is called the SheevaPlug and it also saves on 90% of electricity use.  It has a 1.2GHz processor, 512MB of DRAM and 512MB of flash memory storage.  It connects to the world-wide web through Gigabit Ethernet or through a USB port.  For all you Linux fans, this mini-computer support Linux 2.6 distributions.  For $99 this turn you into a green techie in no time.  Considering the amount of plastic that it takes to build a regular sized computer, energy efficiency is not its only highlight!

These two are not as eye-catching as the technology projects featured on the Greener Gadgets Design Competition website.  The SheevaPlug reminds me of Blink, a photocell controller for outlets.  I know, I know!  Blink isn’t a mini-computer for your entertainment needs.  But it sure acts like one by giving users the opportunity to program their media centers, security programs, or even their lighting and housing temperatures.   Basically, Blink blinks. Its infrared photocell acts like an eye that reacts to natural light.  Its “eyelid” adjusts to what it “sees”.   I could really use a product like this that would reduce the large amount of energy I waste after writing these blog posts!

However, my all time favorite “Go Green!” technology is the ASUS Bamboo laptop.  This is something you have to see to believe!  It reminds me of the old “woodie” cars of the 1950s.  The ASUS touchpad for this laptop is bamboo themed too.  I wonder though if Bamboo laptops will be as popular when they have a hefty price tag of more than $3,000?  Maybe they’ll have a cheaper bamboo desktop in the future.  They already have a bamboo mouse!

Tags: 160gb Hard Drive, Array, Competition Website, Computer Support, Design Competition, Desktop Pc, Energy Costs, Energy Efficiency, Flash Memory Storage, Green Technology, Inventions, Mini Computer, Nettop, Personal Business, Photocell Controller, Security Programs, Sized Computer, Sodimm Memory, Support Linux, Technology Projects, Usb Port