Monday, October 15, 2007

Earth blog day and green pc

October 15th is blog action day for global warming. While this is a school technology blog, we all have to live on this planet. So, I picked a device that is about as friendly a computer as possible. The Fit-PC is a small sized PC that consumes only 5 watts of power. It also produces no sound due to not having a fan.

This unit would be great for a number of situations where electrical power is not ample or noise is a concern. The small size would allow a small computer lab to bolt the unit to the bottom of a bench. The down side is the lack of CD-ROM drive and its lower performance. But let's face it, even a low-end PC has more than enough power for word processing and for Internet browsing. This unit can be installed with Windows XP or Linux. They don't say what will happen when Vista is the only Windows OS.

And, this makes for a good firewall. It may cost a bit more than reusing an old PC and open source firewall applications, but it can live in a small closet in a way that an old 486 tower could not.

T

2 comments:

Godfrey said...

Good idea. Let's all work to reduce our power consumption. I have cut my own by replacing a couple of desktop PCs with a laptop and a small hub/firewall. This device you talk of seems a great thing in classrooms and computer labs.

Thane said...

Laptops are a good way to go. They have to use resources more effectively because of battery life requirements. The downside is that a laptop has a shorter lifespan and thus becomes a burden in terms of recycling.

T