NEC Launches "PowerMate Eco" Green PC

jdstahl writes "NEC has just released the PowerMate Eco, billed as the world's first environmentally-friendly PC. Based on a 900 MHz Transmeta Crusoe (thanks Linus!), it is ultra-compact, ultra low power, and nearly silent. Its motherboard contains no lead, and the case is made from recycled plastic. Its expandability is limited, so this is probably not a geek-box, but it seems like an appealing choice for Joe Desktop."

Comments

But...

[jzs9783]

Is it biodegradable?

Re:But...

[garcia]

the hell w/it being biodegradable.

What I *really* want w/a PC is an EDIBLE one. You use it for 2 or 3 years and you are ready to move on to a new one...

You take out all the components you want to save and you eat the rest! Yummmy. Thanks Linus :)

but how about the manufacturing process?

[quinophexx]

Ok so the motherboard is lead free as is the tft boron free. So what about all the nasty chemicals used to build components? what about when the machine reaches end of life? where will it go? Sounds like marketing FUD to me, although hopefully this is a step in the right direction I doubt it really is a "green" pc.

Re:but how about the manufacturing process?

[Gerry Gleason]

It certainly could just be marketing, but the real question is what should a company that really wants to put eco principles into practice. One organization that I have come across that helps businesses improve there processes is The Natural Step. Part of their pitch is that it is also more efficient==cost effective.

Also, we can't get there in one jump, but need to concentrate on the big ones first and keep going until we get a system that is sustainable. That's the only way we and are descendants will get to stay here in the long run.

Re:but how about the manufacturing process?

[Bobb Sledd]

I believe it's correctly termed "green" because the manufacturer has clearly put time, effort, and thought into making the machine as reasonably environmentally friendly as possible with the current technology available.

You could say something like "this nuclear power plant is environmentally friendly." Well, true that it may not harm the environment as *much* as other alternatives, but it isn't totally pollution free either; but there really isn't much manufactured that is.

Point being, I think "green" is a term much deserved by manufacturers who are thinking about the environment when building their products. I think it shows responsibility and even has a tint of higher geekdom to it.

Re:but how about the manufacturing process?

[Waffle Iron]

So what about all the nasty chemicals used to build components?

AMD had been working on a new CPU fabrication process based on hemp fibers and herbal extracts instead of silicon and solvents, but the government shut the project down after lobbying from chemical and mining companies.

CDRW

[jhines0042]

Does anyone know how to recycle a used and discarded CDRW? Seriously. How many of these get thrown out yearly now and are they just sitting in landfills taking up space or are they recyclable?

Also applies to all those AOL CDs.

Re:CDRW

[Cheeko]

Well as far as the AOL CDs, send them to these guys. Their web design skills aren't great, but they have a cool idea for all those spam CDs. I found the statistics about how much space and weight all those CDs take up to be rather interesting. Would be fun to see the look on the faces of the AOL execs if these guys ever get around to delivering these.

Will Joe Desktop pay $1600?

[Lawbeefaroni]

At $1600*, I don't see this being for "Joe Desktop" either. Maybe corporations will buy them for energy and space savings or your average home user will like the "green" aspect, but there a lot of other, cheaper options. Hopefully it does well, but it's the old "too expensive for the non-enthusiast, too limited for the power freak" problem.

* Price from PCConnection here.

Re:Will Joe Desktop pay $1600?

[Target Drone]

I haven't seen power consumption numbers, but over the life of the PC, it's quite possible that the machine will save the difference in lower energy costs.

The spec says it requires 18V DC at 4.44 amps. I believe that works out to about 80 watts. So then assuming your saving about 200 watts over a conventional computer then

200 watts * 160 hours per month = 32 kWh

Electricity goes for about 8 cents per kWh so you save about $2.56 per month. Even if you have the machine for 5 years you only save $153.

Re:Will Joe Desktop pay $1600?

[Alan Cox]

If Joe Desktop wants a cheap box thats going to use low power then the VIA Eden boards are much more credible platforms.

Not only are they low power but you can get cheap mostly metal cases (in black too) and they are almost silent, including an option of no CPU fan.

Finally as sites like www.mini-itx.com show you can recycle insane things like bread bins, sparc ipx's and even a nes as cases for them

Question:

[drhairston]

Q:Will an average American pay more money to be environmentally sound?
A:Rarely. Sales of SUV's greatly outnumber sales of hybrid vehicles.

This item will experience low sales volume.

Thanks Linus!

[Altheus]

You engineer software for Transmeta, but what the hell, we'll just give you credit for creating their processors too!

(Saying thanks Linus is about as absurd as thanking your local mechanic for the sleek body styling on your new BMW.)

"thanks Linus!" ?

[Vic]

Why are you thanking Linus? Does he actually have anything to do with designing the processor? I thought he was just helping on the OS side of things from Transmeta. There are probably other Transmeta engineers who deserve more thanks for that hardware, eh?

Not that Linux doesn't deserve help for starting Linux! :)

Cheers,
Vic

NuCycle Plastic: more info

[L-Train8]

A press release with a lot more details than the product page is here.

From the press release:
In addition, the PowerMate eco is also made of NuCycle(TM) plastic - an NEC patented plastic that is 100% recyclable. NuCycle is made of polycarbonate resin mixed with a special, flame-retardant silicone compound. Other computer plastics have flame retardant brominated coatings applied, which do retard flames, but produce harmful gases in the process. NuCycle's flame retardant is non-toxic and built-in, requiring no toxic coating.

Crusoe is not a desktop processor

[FWMiller]

I've been using a Fujitsu laptop now for about 3 months and I've decided that I will probably not buy another machine with a Crusoe chip in it. The function is fine and the clock speeds are reasonable.

The problem is, it "feels" slow. There's just this little bit of latency, particularly as something starts up for the first time, i.e. as the morphing is doing its bit. The more you are exposed to it the more annoying it becomes.

Its little things like this that are what ruin companies. Transmeta needs to do something about this or they will never make it as a mainstream desktop processor.

Re:Crusoe is not a desktop processor

[steveha]

The problem is, it "feels" slow. There's just this little bit of latency, particularly as something starts up for the first time

It is very unlikely that you can really notice the speed of code morphing. It seems much more likely that you have a very slow laptop hard disk.

Stuff your laptop full of memory; put as much in as it will hold. Then see if it feels better. Things will still be slow, as they load from disk, but once they are loaded they should be much faster.

This is especially important if you are running a RAM hog of an OS such as Windows XP. When your system is low on memory it swaps some memory pages out to your hard disk; swapping to a slow laptop disk will be painful.

Also, if you have XP or Windows ME, be sure to turn "system restore" off!

Maybe someday you can install Linux on it; I would be interested to know if Linux feels any better.

steveha

Re:More info: the price

[man_ls]

The harmful chemicals are integral to the manufacture process...Unless technology changes, PCB substrate will always be created out of harmful chemicals.

However, this is a major step in the right direction, to reducing the amount of technological waste in the environmental facilities in addition to conserving power.

Tree hugging bunny fuckers!

[sam_handelman]

Tired of those self righteous earth freaks and their santimonious love for the "environment?" If you are, buy one of our EcoHostile (TM) PCs.

1) Comes pre-installed with our special Cartmania! Linux distro. Whenever you open an xterm window, it hacks into that network of things they put on spermwhales to track them, and causes the tracking device to emit a lethal shock, killing the damned stupid animal and notifying the japanese of the animal's position so that you can collect your bounty. If you provide it with a list of god damn dirty hippies, it will notify them of each of the oversized fish you kill so that you can call them up and listen to them cry.

2) Uses silicon doped with enriched uranium, which has no desirable semiconductor properties, for no reason.

3) Onboard gasoline powered generator serves as an uninteruptable power supply, and runs constantly, even when machine is off.

4) Using our patented "bassmaster" technology, fan produces constant, 110 decibel throb (roughly as loud as a car horn,) at a frequency of only 175 Hz, to maximally penetrate floors, walls and ceilings. This places you in handy violation of most of those intrusive noise ordinances that red meat eating, tree hating Americans despise so much. For a small extra fee, we can supply you with special "superscreech" hard drives to supply treble.

5) Special catalytic circuitry produces extra ozone - with the fan running at full capacity, and a constant supply of ozone-free air, the mother board alone produces 25 mg of ozone per minute; that's enough to sustainably exceed the OSHA safe limit of 5 ppm in a 5,000 square foot room. Don't worry! At ground level, ozone is a deadly pollutant - it won't rise into the upper atmosphere and can't do anything to screen out the sun's deadly ultraviolet rays.

So, if you're a real american, and if you hate the earth, you should definitely try our EcoHostile PC. Building a more dystopic tomorrow!

Already better: $200, 30 Watts

[shoppa]

The VIA C3 EPIA motherboard in the ITX form factor, while mainly targeted at home entertainment-type applications, also makes a really spiffy server as well as a desktop. Mine draws 20W at idle, 30W at load, with a 7200 RPM drive in it; that's a third what the "Green PC" needs.

And most impressive: it's got a solid-metal case that's much more recyclable than any plastic, and costs one-eighth ($200) what the "Green PC" does ($1600).