[kwlug-disc] PC/hardware question
Bob Jonkman
bjonkman at sobac.com
Tue Mar 3 01:27:03 EST 2009
conveniently, the CBC has some possibly relevant info:
http://www.cbc.ca/spark/2009/03/full-interview-allan-chochinov-on-
greener-gadgets-and-sustainable-design/
(curse those chatty, line-breaking URLS!)
--Bob.
-- -- -- --
Bob Jonkman <bjonkman at sobac.com> http://sobac.com/sobac/
SOBAC Microcomputer Services Voice: +1-519-669-0388
6 James Street, Elmira ON Canada N3B 1L5 Cel: +1-519-635-9413
Software --- Office & Business Automation --- Consulting
On 2 Mar 2009 at 17:14 L.D. Paniak <kwlug-disc at kwlug.org> wrote
about "Re: [kwlug-disc] PC/hardware questi[...]"
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>LED backlit monitors are out now and should be widely available in the
>next few months eg.
>
>http://accessories.dell.com/sna/products/Displays/productdetail.aspx?c=ca&l=en&cs=cadhs1&sku=320-7958
>
>These should cut power consumption in half and still be reasonably priced.
>
>Any modern dual-core PC has plenty of computing power for office use and
>many can match the Energy Star 4 ratings for efficiency:
>
>http://www.energystar.org.tw/pdf/Computer_Spec_Final.pdf
>
>I agree with Oksana that Virtualbox is a great way to run other OSs in
>Linux for those applications that require an MS platform.
>
>Oksana Goertzen wrote:
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Mar 2, 2009 at 4:18 PM, Insurance Squared Inc.
>> <gcooke at insurancesquared.com <mailto:gcooke at insurancesquared.com>> wrote:
>>
>> There was an article in last week's Record about a program that
>> small offices like mine could get an energy audit and maybe get our
>> flourescent lites swapped out for something energy efficient (and I
>> thought flourescents were efficient - but what do I know). I've
>> applied for an audit to that program.....but now I'm wondering what
>> it would take for my office to go much greener than it currently is.
>> My requirements aren't much; we've got leased space, a phone system
>> and some computers. That's about it. So if they make my lights
>> energy efficient, then the only thing I've got drawing power are my
>> computers......which brings me to my question:
>>
>> Are there any low power/green computers available that are suitable
>> for an office environment - that'll run XP or linux? Ones that have
>> enough horsepower that I don't need to compromise? What about LCD
>> monitors? Are there such things as low power consumption LCD monitors?
>> Now to tie it into linux.....we have a variety of industry niche
>> programs that only run on Windows, and a printer or two that doesn't
>> have linux drivers, and a scanner that isn't in SANE, calculator
>> programs, and even some sites that require IE only. If I go buy
>> all new low power consumption PC's and go completely Mandriva in the
>> office at that time, does linux now have the ability for me to
>> confidently run Windows apps seamlessly? I know codeweavers has
>> something, I don't mind paying - but I would want to know ahead of
>> time that we're not going to have to back out because we can't run
>> some windows apps.
>>
>> In other words, I'm already running Mandriva myself. Am I safe if I
>> move my wife's computer over to mandriva as well :)?
>>
>> g.
>>
>>
>> Hello All,
>>
>> First place I'd stop is at Greenpeace to look at overall environmental
>> impact:
>> http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/toxics/electronics/how-the-companies-line-up
>>
>> You can see off that first link - which companies are doing the best at
>> handling electronics that they
>> produce. The Greenpeace site has a lot of info on electronics in general:
>> http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/toxics/electronics
>>
>> Lenovo makes a number of Gold and Silver EPEAT energy rated models and
>> Energy Star models .
>> This is quite a cool tool and can give you and idea of Canadian energy
>> costs:
>> http://lenovoweb.com/energycalculator/
>> You can select different models and see what their overall costs are. I
>> believe LED-lit LCD panels
>> are more energy efficient as is DDR3 ram (newest laptops). Some laptops
>> also run with a onboard
>> video card and you can swap it to a dedicated video card for more
>> intensive video applications --
>> Lenovo T500's. I'm most familiar with Lenovo products because that's
>> what we use at work. I
>> think laptops in general use less energy (watts) and produce less waste
>> overall vs. a desktop and
>> monitor. I think you probably want to consider too - TOC, which
>> manufacturers produce a better
>> product so that you are not forced to replace or fix or upgrade
>> equipment you've purchased in short
>> order. Throw-away electronics are costly in the end (to the environment).
>>
>> You could use Sun VirtualBox (or any other virtualization product) to
>> run Windows on the same
>> piece of hardware (Mandriva) when you require the use of Windows though
>> you'll need a license
>> (something you generally already pay for when you buy a new machine
>> these days). You could
>> also look to Virtualizing servers or desktops for maximum efficiency.
>> I've used Codeweavers and
>> while it supports IE 6 fairly well, IE 7 is a whole new ball game.. for
>> my uses, VirtualBox is better. I
>> have also used VMware workstation for Linux and I like VirtualBox
>> better. There is also a product
>> that allows for multiple users connect to one machine. Perhaps there is
>> an open-source player in
>> this field, I'm not sure.
>> http://www2.userful.com/products/userful-multiplier VMware and others
>> make virtualization products for desktops as well.
>>
>> Hope this helps. :)
>>
>> - Oksana
>>
>>
>>
>>
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