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At CeBIT, Fujitsu Siemens unveiled the world’s ﬁrst ZeroWatt PC. Unlike other computers, the Esprimo E7935 and Esprimo P7935 0-Watt PCs consume absolutely no power when hibernating or in off-mode, yet can still receive software updates (frequently used as an excuse for not turning off PCs). This is enabled by a special device that goes into 0-Watt standby automatically without the user having to use the hard off switch on the PC or at the power outlet. Should the PC need to be administered outside usual working hours – for example to update software – the administrator has the option to deﬁne a time slot in which the PC automatically wakes up. Once the time slot is over, it goes back into 0-Watt standby.

For smaller businesses, software as a service solutions offer low impact computing in relation to the environment and maintenance. The hosted Virtual Open Desktop from Alchemy Systems gives customers a complete solution based on the Open Ofﬁce productivity suite, a choice of email clients (Zimbra and Thunderbird) and the Firefox web browser, all accessed online using an energy-efﬁcient IGEL thin client included in the £9.99 monthly subscription. Open Ofﬁce gives customers all the basic functionality they need, including support for Microsoft document formats. Additional corporate applications such as SAP, Sage, Netsuite or Salesforce.com can be accessed via the Firefox web browser.

done with the Studio Hybrid, which was described as the company’s greenest consumer desktop PC when it was launched last year. To ram home the point, Dell gave customers the option of bamboo casing. Based on Intel Core Duo Mobile processors, the Dell Studio Hybrid is about 80% smaller and uses about 70% less power than a standard desktop PC. It has 75% less printed documentation (by weight) than typical tower desktops and comes with a system-recycling kit.

One way to reduce the environmental impact of PCs is to make maximum use of their capabilities by sharing one device amongst several users. This can be done with desktop virtualisation kits from companies like Userful and NComputing that enable from four to 11 users (depending on the kit) to share the computing power of a single PC.With the NComputing X350 kit, for example, up to four users can share a single PC by connecting their own monitor, keyboard and mouse to an access device connected to the PC. Doing so saves energy, as each access device uses 1 watt of electricity compared to 110 for a standalone PC, and reduces the volume of electronic waste by up to 80%.

Originally targeted at children and then promoted as a secondary device for an existing computer user (not very green), netbooks or m evolved to the point where the computer a light user requires small and require fewer resour transport, power and recycle th ‘greener’ than a desktop PC or Samsung’s new N120 mini no screen; 12in notebook-style ke motion video camera and 10.5 yet weighs just 1.28kg.