Dell confirmed Tuesday that chief executive Michael Dell preannounced a "green" consumer desktop at the FORTUNE Brainstorm: GREEN conference on Earth Day.
Scheduled to be released later this year, the computer is approximately 81 percent smaller than a standard mini-tower desktop, uses 70 percent less energy and comes in recycled and recyclable packaging.
"Ten years from now, we will look back and credit 'green' IT for helping to mitigate the effects posed by climate change, strengthen global industries and chart a new and prosperous low-carbon economy," Dell said, according to a company spokeswoman. "It's a historic opportunity that we must act on now."
No word yet on the specs or pricing. It's an intriguing concept, though, and I'd bet the R&D dollars Dell put into this will pay off across its product line.
When it comes to going green, I try and do my best to protect the environment. I outfitted all of my lamps with CFLs. I never leave a gadget charger plugged in after it's finished charging my digital camera or phone. I always turn off the light when I leave a room, and I wash my clothes in cold water only.
It's not easy being green, as Kermit the Frog says, but taking small steps (like recycling your old cell phone or reducing computer power) will certainly pave the way to a cleaner planet. And what better time to start than on Earth Day?
Check out my list of 10 Ways to Save the Planet, and let us know the steps you've already taken to going green.
Also, please visit our sister blog, GoodCleanTech, for lots of green-tech news.
I've been carrying around the Targus Grove Topload EcoSmart bag for a while now, and I gotta say, it may be eco-friendly, but that doesn't mean it ain't sturdy. The big selling points for this bag are that it's PVC-free, the metal hardware is nickel-free, and the plastic hardware is recyclable. As I didn't know bags typically had PVC and nickel in them, these weren't big selling points for me, but it turns out the Grove is a great bag, and the eco-friendly stuff is a nice side bonus (or the other way around, if you prefer).
[Targus is offering free shipping of its eco-friendly bags to celebrate Earth Day! Get details on our sister site, GoodCleanTech.]
Eco-conscious outdoor-shoe-maker Keen has embarked on a new venture: It's now making carrying cases, like this one, the Alameda 17, for laptops. In fact the bag bears a strong aesthetic resemblance to Keen shoes--which are rugged, comfy, and found on the feet of many fit planet-lovers. Being a fan of non-black cases, I like the orange-and-gray look of my sample bag; it also comes in several other color combos, including a springlike robin's-egg-blue and gray.
One of the bigger surprises at this year's Toy Fair was the general lack of green-themed products. We saw a few green toys here and there, but it seems that the toy industry is lagging behind others when it comes to marketing environmentally responsible products.
As an exception, Southern Californian tech-toy company OWI had a pretty nice spread of solar-powered robot kits. Targeted to children ages 8 and up, the kits are designed to be easily assembled while teaching them the principles of alternative energy sources. Priced between $11.95 and $17.95, the kits are available in a series of different forms, including Peppy Orangutan, Aerial Cable Car, Sonic F1 [racecar], Flapping Sea Gull, and Valiant Viking Ship [pictured above], among others.
Of all the booths I managed to check out at Toy Fair yesterday (and I checked out a lot), die-cast model company Corgi's proved one of the more impressive. The British company showed off a wide array of licensed products, ranging from the Muppets, to Harry Potter, to the upcoming Star Trek film, to Nintendo characters. Maybe it's all that time I've been spending over at GoodCleanTech, but nothing impressed me quite as much as the H2Go car the company was driving around on a little track outside of their booth.
According to Corgi, the H2Go HF Mach 3.0 is, "the world's first and only hydrogen-fueled radio controlled car that requires no disposable batteries." The kit comes with a car, refueling station, a solar panel, and a remote control.
I spoke with a few representatives at the company, and they noted that, the technology may also be utilized in the creation of more environmentally-friendly cellphone and gadget chargers in the near future. In the meantime, we'll just have to settle for the awesomeness that is the RC car.
Check out a video demonstration of the car, after the jump.
You can be green and enjoy your tunes too. While I was searching for eco-friendly entertainment, I came across something called the Eco-Media Player from Trevor Baylis Brands PLC. This player lets you enjoy music, movie clips and more all without the need of external power or batteries. It includes a built-in hand crank that allows you to charge it by winding it up. According to the Eco-Media Player's Web site, one minute of winding gives you up to 40 minutes of playtime. And apparently, this is not only a media player--it also charges your phone. You simply connect the phone to the eco media player with the provided connector, and wind to charge.
The Eco-Media Player can be yours for $350 directly from the website. It also comes with a USB cable so you have the choice of connecting it to your computer to charge it when you need a break from winding it up. But you might want to work out those arm muscles, folks, so you can "wind" to the music. (Take a look at the Baylis Web site for more green gadgets!)
Representatives of PC Magazine, GoodCleanTech, and Gearlog attended the first-ever Greener Gadgets conference, held at the McGraw-Hill Conference Center in midtown Manhattan.
Presented by design blog Inhabitat and research agency Marc Alt + Partners, the conference was quite attended for a first-time event, filling its seats with designers, engineers, college students, members of the press, and various other attendees.
The conference was split between a impressive lineup of speakers and an exhibition floor showcasing the latest in environmentally-minded consumer technology. Check out a few highlights of our coverage, after the jump.
Any self-respecting tech fan surely knows Make Magazine, the tech pub devoted to do-it-yourself projects. Brian Jepsen, one of the magazine's contributing editors, was on hand at the Greener Gadgets Conference--showcasing, among other things, a DIY switch-mode device charger housed in an Altoids gum tin.
The MintyBoost v 1.2 Kit is available for purchase via Adafruit Industries' site, along with downloadable instructions. Of course, if you're not the type of person who has some soldering tools on hand at home, this might not be the kit for you.
We spoke with One Laptop Per Child's former Chief Technology Officer, Mary Lou Jespen, at the first ever Greener Gadgets conference in Manhattan. Jepsen was on-hand to discuss the greener aspects of the organization's newly-introduced XO laptop.
As CTO of OLPC, Jepsen was charged with innovating new, low cost technologies that could be deployed to children in developing nations. As she and her fellow OLPC employees discovered, low cost and green need not be mutually exclusive.
As the need for sustainable forms of energy becomes more urgent, tech companies are working harder to devise creative ways to incorporate efficient methods of consumption into their gadgets. One recent concept is the solar-powered backpack, which powers your portable electronics and also lets you lug them around.
The key to the success of the product is that it serves a function, while advertising the wearer's love for the environment. The solar panels on the backpack are prominently displayed, though at least somewhat subtle.
Solar power was a popular theme in the International room at this year's CES--and concepts of subtlety fluctuate a good deal from culture to culture. Take, for example, these gadget-charging devices from Chinese company Blueline. Its products don't seem to have much (if any) representation in the States, and until some fashion-plate celebrity deems it cool to risk his or her reputation and neck muscles with the baseball cap at left, it will likely stay like that for now
I should also note for the record that this picture doesn't quite give the scope of the hat. It broke while being shipped from China. The panel should actually stand up straight, for full environmental hipness.
I'm told that these Eco-Speakers sound good--unfortunately, Fashionation didn't actually have any demo units out on the floor, which does little to appease my suspicions that they couldn't sound like anything but total crap. Still, even if they're the worst sounding speakers in the world (and I'm sure they're not--would a PR person possibly lie to us about such a thing?), they're intriguing, and pretty damn cool.
The speakers are made from 100-percent recycled materials--what specifically, they don't really specify, but in-person, it looks an awful lot like cardboard. The speakers fold completely flat--that's how they come in the package.
The representative seemed more interested in talking about the different colors that they came in, rather than specs or environmental benefits--makes sense, I suppose, as the things are designed by a company called Fashionation. The company's eco line includes some other cool earth-friendly items, like iPod cases made from grass.
The Eco Speakers are available for $14.95, from Fashionation's site.
One consequence of the switch from analog to high-definition TV broadcasts (set to happen in just 13 months) is that a lot of TV sets suddenly won't work, unless consumers get a set-top box that'll downgrade the HDTV signal. This likely means a lot of TV sets will be stored on the curb over the next decade. But rather than just throwing out that old 13-inch black-and-white, you can try and get a few bucks ($100, actually) for it to trade up to a new HDTV.
From now until March 15, 2008, Sony is offering a $100 coupon toward the purchase of a new BRAVIA high-definition TV at Sony Style stores in exchange for any TV brought in for recycling. The Sony Take Back Recycling Program, a partnership with WM Recycle America eCyling, has been running for a couple of months, but I hadn't heard much about it until now. Maybe the big S didn't want to break the bank by giving out the Benjamins.
I should also mention that the set you're trading in doesn't have to be a Sony. So even though $100 off a Sony TV won't soften the blow if you really weren't ready to make the upgrade to HDTV, at least the old CRT won't end up in a landfill.
Dell confirmed Tuesday that chief executive Michael Dell preannounced a "green" consumer desktop at the FORTUNE Brainstorm: GREEN conference on Earth Day. 
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When it comes to going green, I try and do my best to protect the environment. I outfitted all of my lamps with 
I've been carrying around the Targus Grove Topload EcoSmart bag for a while now, and I gotta say, it may be eco-friendly, but that doesn't mean it ain't sturdy. The big selling points for this bag are that it's PVC-free, the metal hardware is nickel-free, and the plastic hardware is recyclable. As I didn't know bags typically had PVC and nickel in them, these weren't big selling points for me, but it turns out the Grove is a great bag, and the eco-friendly stuff is a nice side bonus (or the other way around, if you prefer). 
As the need for sustainable forms of energy becomes more urgent, tech companies are working harder to devise creative ways to incorporate efficient methods of consumption into their gadgets. One recent concept is the 
