Green Technology

Fujitsu develops "zero watt" display

Mehan Jayasuriya — Fri, 02 May 2008 12:08:16 -0400

The larger the organization, the more employees. The more employees, the more PCs. And the more PCs, the higher the energy costs. There's no denying that desktop PCs are power hungry beasts, though it's quite often the display, rather than the PC itself, that wastes the most energy in standby mode. Looking to tackle this problem, Fujitsu has developed an LCD display that uses no energy when in standby mode. How does it work? Simply enough, the display contains a switch that completely shuts it off when a signal from the PC's video card is absent. Then, when a signal is detected, it turns the display back on. Best of all, the display goes on sale this summer, "for the price of a conventional monitor."

For more on the "zero-watt" display:
- see this Treehugger article

Dell, unveils tiny green PC

Mehan Jayasuriya — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:25:53 -0400

Dell sure seems to be getting more adventurous in terms of design these days while also increasingly focusing on eco-friendly technology. So it's not too surprising that Dell's latest experiment is a green-friendly PC. The tiny desktop PC (think Mac Mini size) uses 70 percent less energy than the average tower, comes shipped in recycled and recyclable packaging and is constructed using earth-friendly materials like bamboo and recycled bottles, milk jugs and detergent cases. Luckily, you won't have to drop a whole lot of green to snag it later this year: Dell hopes to sell the as-yet-unnamed PC for between $500 and $700.

For more on GREEN:
- see this Earth 2 Tech article

Green tech will take off in the enterprise

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 06:59:59 -0500

Everywhere you look, folks are talking about green tech in the enterprise. The thing is, while there's no shortage of folks taking about environmentally-friendly technology, there are still relatively few companies that are implementing it. That's all going to change, however, and I'm willing to bet that 2008 is the year that green policies start to become standard practice for the mainstream enterprise. While this past year saw giants like Sun, Google and HP leading by example, this coming year will see a number of smaller players picking up the green mantle as well. The momentum of the green trend is undeniable--no matter what product category you look at, there's someone out there marketing a green solution. And with good PR, cost-savings and increased energy efficiency as the payoff, it will be increasingly difficult for boardrooms to turn down the initial investment. Will green tech have staying power or will it just be the latest fad? Here's hoping it's the former and not the latter.

Lenovo launches green desktop

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 07:59:59 -0400

Lenovo is no stranger to the energy-efficiency game, so this should come as no surprise: the Chinese vendor has announced an enterprise desktop tower that sports a number of innovative green features. The Lenovo 3000 K100 has a "Power Dial" that allows the user to adjust the amount of power the machine sucks based on the system performance needed. So you can turn it down if you're just checking your email or crank it to 11 for video encoding. What's more, the machine also features a "breathing" LED display that simplifies the system's power usage using color and brightness. Oh, in case I forgot to mention it, these are also computers and can be outfitted with Intel chips ranging from a Core 2 Duo to a Core 2 Quad, up to 3GB of RAM and up to 500GB of storage. Prices start at $589 and scale up to $1129 at the high-end.

For more on the energy-efficient tower:
- see Lenovo's website

Lenovo intros solar-powered PC

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 06:59:57 -0400

Sure, we've seen some eco-friendly servers before. Heck, we've even seen an entire data center built from the ground up to be kind to mother nature. But here's something that we haven't seen yet: a solar-powered PC. Lenovo is really upping the ante with its ThinkCentre A61e, which can be powered by an optional solar panel. Don't dismiss this as one for the hippies, though: there's still a fair amount of power under the hood, including an AMD Athlon X2 Dual-core Processor at the heart of it all. There's also plenty to love for the granola and Birkenstocks crowd: this thing only eats up 45 watts of power and boasts both an EPEAT Gold rated PC rating and Energy star 4.0 compliance. Best of all, this green-friendly box won't cost a lot of green: the ThinkCentre A61e starts at just $399.

For more on the ThinkCentre A61e:
- see this press release

Dell launches eco-friendly desktop

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 06:59:57 -0400

Let it not be said that Dell doesn't know how to hop on a bandwagon. To wit, the company's new OptiPlex 755 desktop, which aims to make bedfellows out of energy efficiency and the tried-and-true cheapo desktop PC. The new desktop will sport both of the most sought-after eco-friendly stickers on its case--compliance with the EPA's Energy Star 4.0 and a Gold rating from the Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT)--leading Dell to believe that this tower will be the "world's most manageable, energy efficient commercial desktop ever." Under the hood you'll find Intel's new Core 2 Duo with vPro technology (the new hotness, natch), a 256MB ATI Radeon HD 2400 graphics card and up to 8GB of RAM. The Optiplex 755 is available now as a desktop, mini-tower and mini PC, all starting at the low price of $642.

For more on the new green-friendly desktop:
- see this press release

Sun goes green with new data center

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 06:59:59 -0400

You know what they say: lead by example. Sun has apparently taken that adage to heart--today, the company will open the doors to its new green data center. Located in Santa Clara, Calif., the 76,000-square-foot data center is set to provide a showcase for Sun's green IT technologies. According to Sun, the data center is significantly more compact, thanks to the use of eco-friendly technologies. The center's size was reduced from 200,000 square feet to only 76,000 square feet and the number of server racks used was cut from 550 to 65. This reduction in size has also allowed for a reduction in overall power consumption by about 30 percent, leading to $1.1 million in yearly savings. "This site demonstrates Sun's commitment to eco responsibility and we will be sharing aspects of what we are using with other folks," said Mark Monroe, director of sustainable computing at Sun. "We also want to show customers how they can implement a similar data center strategy and achieve savings and energy efficiency."

For more on the green data center:
- see this eWeek article

Related Articles:
Why it's time to go green
This week in Green IT: Much ado about nothing

Apple gets second place in green rankings

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 06:59:53 -0400

Anyone who follows either Apple or eco-friendly technology likely knows Apple's green past is a bit checkered. One minute Greenpeace is calling Apple out on their lack of eco-friendly products, the next thing you know, Steve Jobs is penning a manifesto, declaring that "Apple is ahead of, or will soon be ahead of, most of its competitors," with regards to green tech. Is Apple an environmentally-conscious company? As with most things in life, the answer usually depends on who you ask.

For that reason, Apple fans will probably find the following news encouraging: the latest Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) scorecard awards Apple a number of silver medals for eco-friendliness. Apple's priciest machine, the octo-core Mac Pro, as well as the 17 and 15.4-inch MacBook Pros, the 20 and 24-inch iMacs and all of the currently available Mac Minis were all awarded silver medals for having been manufactured in an eco-friendly manner.

Despite this fact, Ars Technica points out that Apple is still being beaten out in every category by the likes of Dell, HP, Toshiba and even Zonbu--so there's definitely room for improvement. However, if one compares the gold and silver award winners, the difference often comes down to differences between the public reporting practices of the vendors--not actual differences in the products themselves or the manufacturing processes used. "So once again, Apple manages to score relatively badly because of lack of reporting rather than actual issues with their hardware," Ars Technica notes.

For more on the latest EPEAT rankings:
- see this article from Ars Technica

Press Release: Intel Keeps Mobile Engine Humming, Fueled By Silicon Technology Advances

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 13:34:36 -0400

Intel Keeps Mobile Engine Humming, Fueled By Silicon Technology Advances

Innovation, Processing Performance and Cooperation Key to Moving Forward Faster

INTEL DEVELOPER FORUM, Beijing, April 18, 2007 – Describing the latest trends in mobile computing at the Intel Developer Forum today, Intel Corporation executives said that personalization and content are key drivers behind increased demand for notebook PCs and mobile Internet devices (MIDs).

"The Internet is one of the driving forces in today's PC market and there is a desire for the Internet to be mobile," said David (Dadi) Perlmutter, Intel senior vice president and general manager, Mobility Group. "Intel is serving the market today with notebook PCs, and will expand its reach by adding WiMax to notebooks as well as small form factor MIDs in 2008."

Perlmutter continued by discussing the importance of high-performance processors to enable users to have mobile access to the internet. Intel continues to provide high-performance processors based on innovative silicon technology that delivers energy efficiency and great battery life needed by users on-the-go including the next generation Centrino processor technology "Santa Rosa."

Due in May, Santa Rosa processor technology is comprised of a next-generation Intel® Core™2 Duo processor, the Mobile Intel® 965 Express chipset family, Intel® Next-Gen Wireless-N Network Connection, Intel® 82566MM and 82566MC Gigabit Network Connection, and optional Intel® Turbo memory. Perlmutter demonstrated how Intel Turbo Memory decreases resume time from notebook hibernation, thus increasing productivity and reducing system power consumption.

In the first half of 2008, Santa Rosa will be refreshed with Intel's innovative 45nm Hi-k dual core mobile processor, codenamed "Penryn." Later in 2008, Perlmutter said Intel will deliver "Montevina" processor technology, also with Penryn, for greater performance and energy efficiency. With approximately 40 percent smaller components, Montevina will be ideal for mini- and sub-notebooks, and will include integrated hardware decode for high-definition video.

For the first time, Intel will make its integrated Wi-Fi/WiMAX solution available as an option with Montevina-based notebooks, enabling people to connect to Wi-Fi and WiMAX networks worldwide. Mobile WiMAX provides multi-megabit speed, greater throughput and wider range versus other wireless broadband technologies, which is crucial as consumers increasingly want to access user-generated content, high-definition videos, music, photos and other large data files while on the go.

Redefining Mobility with Innovation, Integration
Anand Chandrasekher, Intel senior vice president and general manager of the Ultra Mobility Group, described the evolution of the personal mobile Internet, outlined changes in Intel's silicon roadmap that will create radical reductions in power requirements and innovative new packaging technology, and disclosed a range of leading industry players Intel is working with to establish the MID and ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) categories.

Chandrasekher introduced the Intel® Ultra Mobile platform 2007 (formerly codenamed "McCaslin") for MIDs and UMPCs and said systems will be available over the summer from Aigo*, Asus*, Fujitsu*, Haier*, HTC* and Samsung*. The Intel Ultra Mobile platform 2007 is based on the Intel processor A100 and A110, the Intel 945GU Express Chipset and the Intel ICH7U I/O Controller Hub.

"Today's environment is primed for a truly personal, mobile Internet experience and the Intel Ultra Mobile platform 2007 combines the flexibility of a PC with the mobility of a handheld device," said Chandrasekher. "But we will not stop here. In 2008, Intel will deliver an entirely new platform based on Intel’s 45nm low-power microarchitecture designed from the ground up to let people to carry their personal mobile Internet in their pocket."

Pulling in the schedule by half a year, Chandrasekher said Intel will deliver its next-generation platform for MIDs and UMPCs – codenamed "Menlow" – in the first half of 2008. While demonstrating the world's first working Menlow-based prototype, he said it will be based on a new 45nm Hi-k low power microarchitecture-based processor, codenamed "Silverthorne," and next-generation chipset, codenamed "Poulsbo."

Chandrasekher also announced the formation of the Mobile Internet Device Innovation Alliance. Together, alliance members will work on engineering challenges, including power management, wireless communications, and software integration, that are associated with delivering the full Internet in ever-smaller MID form factors.

45nm High-k Metal Gate Transistors Technology Leadership
Intel's next-generation processors for the ultra-mobile, mobile, desktop, workstation and server segments will be based on the company's leading 45nm silicon process technology that uses its revolutionary high-k metal gate transistors.

During his Technology Insight presentation, Intel Senior Fellow Mark Bohr said the company now has working versions of its Silverthorne processor based on its 45nm Hi-k low power microarchitecture for MIDs and UMPCs. Silverthorne joins already working versions of its 45nm Hi-k Intel Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad and Intel Xeon family of processors. Today, Intel has more than 15 different 45nm Hi-k product designs in various stages of development, and will have two 45nm manufacturing fabs in production by the end of the year, with four in production by the second half of 2008.

Intel's long-standing research and technology pipeline has led to innovative advances in silicon technology that in turn allow the company to continuously deliver the cost and performance benefits of Moore's Law. In 2003, Intel was the first to introduce strained silicon technology to greatly increase the speed of its transistors on its 90nm process.

Intel is already working on technology for 32nm, 22nm and beyond. Bohr described several options that Intel is researching for future technology generations, including tri-gate transistors, Indium Antimonide quantum well transistors and carbon nanotube interconnects.

View Intel Developer Forum Day 2 news disclosures.

View product information for the Intel® Ultra Mobile Platform 2007 at www.intel.com/products/mid/ultramobile2007.htm

View the complete Intel Developer Forum press kit at http://www.intel.com/pressroom/idf.

About Intel
Intel, the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom.

Google doles out advice on power-consumption

Sun, 08 Apr 2007 20:01:37 -0400

If you're going to learn, you might as well learn from the best. Like most other large companies, Google is working to reduce its energy requirements and it's sharing the fruit of its labors with anyone who cares to listen. In a talk entitled "Watts, faults and other fascinating 'dirty' words computer architects can no longer afford to ignore," Google distinguished engineer Luiz Barroso discussed his company's ongoing project to curb energy usage. Barroso's advice was broken down into two areas: "Maximizing usage of available power capacity is key," and "systems are typically very power-inefficient on nonpeak conditions." "Power/energy efficiency and fault-tolerance are central to the design of large-scale computing systems today," Barroso told the audience at Google's New York offices. "And technology trends are likely to make them even more relevant in the future, increasingly affecting smaller-scale systems."

For more of Barroso's advice:
- see this eWeek article