The latest edition of Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener Electronics reveals that the world’s biggest PC makers — Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and Lenovo — have failed to improve their low scores. All three maintain a penalty point for backtracking on their commitments to eliminate PVC plastic and brominated flame retardants from their products by the end of 2009.

In 14th place, HP is lagging far behind other PC brands, having postponed its 2007 commitment to phase out PVC and BFRs from its computer products from 2009 to 2011. Dell and Lenovo are still low on the list, though they do have PVC and …read more

Dell has been all about the green of late, with lots of initiatives to make their computers in the most ecologically friendly ways. Now comes word that Dell recently asked forward-thinking designer Jocko Chan to develop a new concept for them called LOOP. The idea is simple: an all-in-one computer that comes in a handful of easy-to-assemble, component-based parts, that you rent instead of buy. The components that become outdated are replaced through the rental system, and everything is recyclable, making the whole concept uber-green.
Plus, it’s pretty doggone nifty to look at, showing a soothing, tactile feel that’s unlike anything …read more

I recently got a new battery for my laptop. I’ve been working without a useful battery for quite some time now. I couldn’t even get all the way through an initial startup without getting a critical battery alert if I wasn’t plugged in. Now I’m happy to say I’ve got a new battery and can truly work wirelessly again.

After checking a variety of websites I ended up at DuracellDirect.com and purchased a replacement battery for my laptop. After receiving my battery, on the paper that was included with the packaging it gave me some tips on prolonging the life of …read more

E-waste recycling is a multi-billion dollar market today. We have fallen into the mindset of accepting that replacement is cheaper than repair, at least for electronic goods. That means, we get rid of our computer equipment more often than we used to. This is a difficult task mentally and environmentally.
A laptop that served you, that kept with you in good times and bad, deserves a good send off. If not a wake, a private “I will miss you” would be nice. The riddance itself could mean careful planning. Dumping the computer dude in a dump is a serious offence, just …read more

How do you shut down your computer? How do you restart it? What about your monitor? How do you eject and close the tray of your CD/DVD drive? If “push button” is the category under which your answer for any of these falls, now is as good a time as any to change that habit.
The reason is not far-fetched. Push buttons have a very limited life as compared to that of a mouse. The mouse is built to be abused by humans. Moreover, push buttons are usually a part of something complex, and getting them repaired is more cumbersome and …read more