laptop

As you already know, laptops come packaged in a fair amount of cardboard boxing, plastic and other potential environmental pollutants. The retailers receive these items in even bigger boxes. Their enormous boxes contain smaller ones inside, most with non-biodegradable peanuts and excessive padding material to boot.

Power consumption will be cut significantly by Dell and HP in response to EnergyStar5.0 requirements from the US EPA. Improvements in the processor chip (CPU), power supply (PSU), fans and other components will all contribute. Pressure is also coming from tough new European standards on the use of toxic chemicals in consumer products.

PolyFuel announced yesterday that they have a working prototype of their methanol fuel cell laptop which they will demonstrating across the consumer electronics industry. The prototype is a Lenovo T40 that uses a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). This technology converts methanol to electricity to run the computer. It's lighter lasts longer and paves the way for more eco-friendly electronics.

The Voltaic Generator, due out the end of April, is the first carrying bag with solar cells powerful enough to recharge a laptop computer.

Nicholas Negroponte, founder and chairman of One Laptop Per Child project has broken his silence and slammed Intel for its decision last week to withdraw from the organisation’s board of directors, claiming they contributed nothing to the project to deliver cheap, green compupters to poverty striken children.