Green computers an oxymoron?
We’re not sure how many dead kittens it takes to manufacture a computer, but we happen to think it’s at least a few, at least if the computer can crank out more than a few cycles each second. That is to say, computer innards aren’t exactly grown on trees, so it’s a bit silly to expect them to not spit pollutants into the air/ground/water during their production process, but the green fad is nonetheless growing, and just as we should expect computers to not be the cleanest things on earth, we should certainly expect computer companies to jump on the eco bandwagon.
Forever Geek reports that Dell is one of these green computing forerunners, with the release of their Dell Earth initiative. While Dell’s front page didn’t have any obvious reference to the initiative, some quick digging revealed more information. In short, not only will Dell release an eco-inspired PC later this year, but they plan to become the first carbon neutral computer company. Why this information wasn’t more readily available on Dell’s front page is curious, and begs the question as to whether it truly has the whole company’s support.
In any case, pictures of Dell’s “bamboo computer” can be found at earth2tech, and the concept is worth raising a few eyebrows for. Firstly, some of the materials in the computer are made from recycled parts, while the exterior offers a nice bamboo casing. With the proliferation of greens out on the streets, especially in areas like San Francisco, it’s not a huge leap of logic to assume that these kinds of computers will bring in a ton of sales for Dell, and it’s a shame that other computer manufacturers haven’t announced similar plans. This is especially true for Apple, who seems to be on the forefront of pretty computer designs, and is a logical leader in any emerging green market. Logical as it would seem, however, aside from offering low-power LCDs and downsizing their packaging, Apple’s nowhere to be found with a sweet green concept PC. If anything, a company named after an organic fruit ought to have some natural looking computers out there.
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Why this information wasn’t more readily available on Dell’s front page is curious, and begs the question as to whether it truly has the whole company’s support.
Considering Dell has started the Plant-a-tree initiative in January 2007, and Michael Dell has been relentless on the subject for a good year now, yes, the support’s bound to be there. There’s also regeneration.org about green thinking, and there’s dozen of clips on YouTube of Michael and his execs talking about it. It’s not just a fad.
Although the concept of a bamboo case is complete pandering to hippies, it is a step in the right direction. On a side note, I’m ecstatic to see a non-WoW related mendax article. And with pictures no less, you wild… kard.
@Gwaendar It may not be just a fad at Dell, but there’s still something odd about not seeing a single piece of text on Dell’s front page about the movement.
Okay… a few things first. I like the new Mendax format. Looks much better. I am, however, unhappy about the lack of an obvious comment link. I had to click on the article itself to see if there was a comment link and to see if there were other comments. Is there a way to change that?
On the green side of things…ugh…when did you become a hippie? I thought you were an ultra-conservative hippie hater like me? Where’s the normal German rage? I’m disappointed in you. Sure, environmentally friendly things are fine, but I would expect you to appreciate them silently, so as not to become one of the tree huggers that we’ve spent so much time ridiculing in the past. Besides, I have to wonder how environmentally friendly some of these “solutions” are. Where are they going to get all of the bamboo? Are they going to cut down forests to grow bamboo? Will it end up being just as disappointing “clean” fuel from corn?
To end on a positive note… I like that you’ve finally written about something that doesn’t involve WoW. Well done!