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 BFR-reduced products on the market, though Lenovo lost ranking due to continued use of toxic chemicals. Nokia, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson are in first through third places, with the greenest practices.

Greenpeace wants PC-makers to eliminate BFRs and PVC from their product range because of the harm they cause to the environment throughout the entire lifecycle of a product.

Image: Greenpeace.

Post from: EveryJoe

HP, Dell, Lenovo still not green enough

Plus, it’s pretty doggone nifty to look at, showing a soothing, tactile feel that’s unlike anything else currently available. And there’s no keyboard or mouse, so I’m wondering if it’s meant to be a touch-screen tablet, or what?

All of this is still in the conceptual stage at this point, but Dell wouldn’t have commissioned the design if they weren’t serious about creating an all-in-one eco-rental computer. Right?

Sidenote: Does LOOP remind anyone else of that program Gateway tried years ago where you rented a desktop and they’d automatically upgrade it for you every year or two?

Image credit: Jocko Chan.

Post from: EveryJoe

Jocko Chan designs eco-friendly Dell LOOP

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 my new battery. Among those tips were to not charge it unnecessarily. It recommended that when computing on direct power by being plugged into the wall, to remove the battery from the laptop.

I began to think that would be a great idea. That was quickly followed by asking why there wasn’t a software switch within my operating system to disconnect my battery from being charged when the computer was plugged-in. After typing that sentence I thought to myself why this couldn’t be automatic when the computer knows it’s plugged-in.

Does anybody know if this is an option at some point on some system in the future? If it really helps batteries, why wouldn’t that be a standard feature these days?

Image Source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/83534

Post from: EveryJoe

Battery Management Functions on Laptops

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 like DUI. Most electronic components are non-biodegradable and some are even toxic.

Brian Reich has a wonderful article about responsible disposing of computer equipment. Of the three R’s — Recycling, Reducing and Reusing — he says that while the former is catching up, the latter two are preferrable.

For those in a hurry, here is the gist of the article. But don’t forget to bookmark this and get back to it later.

1. Buy quality products. Consider that extra pay as an investment than an expense.
2. For reasons of law and security, wipe your hard drive clean before initiating disposing. Before you do that, back up.
3. Resell and consider buying resold goods.
4. Donate. Libraries, charity organizations, poor students,…
5. If you can’t resell or donate, recycle. Earth 911 and UNICOR Recycling Program can be your place to start. If these services don’t offer any viable solution in your locality, you can always call the service center of the company from which you bought the hardware and give it back to them.

Post from: EveryJoe

Responsible Disposing of E-waste

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 could end up costing more than a new mouse.

1. Computer: These days, the power button can be used to shut down the system. But the “Start -> Shutdown -> Turn Off” or its equivalent is not convoluted either. Same with the restart button provided. Frankly, I’m especially suspcious about the restart push button, as suspsicious about any spineless creature.

2. Monitor: With more people feeling the need to go green, turning off the monitor is being seen as a better alternative to running a screensaver. If you’re the kind who turns off the monitor when you leave your desk for a considerable period of time, you can opt to open the “Power Options”, “Power Schemes” tab and set the “Turn off monitor” option to “After 1 min”.NOTE: You may find it a good idea to keep the “Power Options” in your taskbar. For this, open it using “Control Panel -> Performance and Maintenance -> Power Options” in Category View or “Control Panel -> Power Options” in Classic View. Click on the “Advanced” tab and check the option to “Always show icon on the taskbar”.

3. CD/DVD Drive: An alternative to pressing the eject button is to right-click on the drive (in My Computer or Windows Explorer) and left-click on “Eject”. While laptops don’t have the options, desktops usually also have the option to “Close Tray” in a similar way, when the tray has been ejected.

In any instance, when there is an alternative between a push button and a mouse click (or a sequence of clicks), the latter alternative wins. Any? What if the push button is a key (or a sequence of keys) of the keyboard? Key is after all a push button, right?That is when you choose a side between CLI fanatics and GUI lovers. What did you choose?

Image Courtesy: Microsoft.

Post from: EveryJoe

Avoid Using Push Buttons