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Green Computer Survives First Round

06-19-19

After its introduction perhaps a year ago, and despite going “through the rickets” of consumer trials, the “green computer” indicates it will succeed.  A green computer is a mobile laptop that is both favorable to the environment and the user.  It is made with less parts, which means less electronic components are produced, leading to less electronics cycled through the environment, and in turn less e-waste. ¹ But even with less parts it can still perform the way a laptop should.  It is without an optical drive (which is common these days) but is also without a hard drive (not so common).  Instead you have about 32 - 64G of card storage, often referred to as eMMC memory, where the operating system resides (w/recovery system) and enough room for a handful of Apps, deemed enough space for the average user.  For actual data storage, it is the understanding that you outsource to another hard drive, perhaps your own office or home PC, or granted permission by a friend to use their hard drive, or even opt cloud storage from a trusted source.

The implication of using a computer this way is that you always have a network connection, either by LAN (local-area-network) or WAN (wide-area-network, or the Internet).  Some dubiously complain that you always need a connection for this type of laptop, so how is it a certain thing ?  Perhaps they fail in their rationale, since all common worksites do have access to wi-fi, or at least their own secure network.  If not, then you may be residing in a rare work environment, for instance, if you do research in the middle of the Amazon jungle or deep within a forestry zone.  In this case, you would need to take your data with you, either on a flash drive or SD card, and current technologies have managed upto 128GB and even 256GB.

Otherwise, if you don't have access to a network throughout the day, only a brief internet connection is possibly needed; for instance, a one minute connection to download a file, then after working on the file, a one-minute connection to upload the file.  In total, two-minutes of internet are needed for a day's work.  Is your rationale improving ?  What's more, you are accessing only one hard drive so you don't need to update a second hard (or possibly a third hard drive).  Updating multiple hard drives and syncing data are a thing of the past.

Because the green computer does not come with a hard drive, it can be designed slim and light and with a long battery life.  Hard drives consume energy and need extra controller circuitry with fans.  In a green computer, these are eliminated which reduce the size of the motherboard, allowing more space for the battery.  For example the Acer Swift 1, at 2.87 lbs and a thin 0.6”, claim up to 17 hours of battery time from a single charge.  It also includes a high resolution screen of 1920 x 1080 pixels and a keyboard aimed at professional use.  You can also choose the operating system, for example, some are equipped with Google’s brand operating system, designated as Chromebooks.  This is all possible at an investment below $400 with some models going below $300, quite efficient on your wallet.

 

1.   E-waste are toxic chemicals released into the air damaging the atmosphere. The damage to the atmosphere is one of the biggest environmental impacts from e-waste.  When electronic waste is thrown away in landfills their toxic materials seep into groundwater, affecting both land and sea animals. 

See also effects-of-e-waste, global-cost-of-electronic-waste, www.prb.org/e-waste

In total, two-minutes of internet are needed for a day's work.  Is your rationale improving ?