Greening your gadgets | May 27, 2009
By Peter Wolchack
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Stop the vampires Belkin Conserve surge protector Many devices in a home—a TV, DVD player, printer—consume power even when not in use. This is called standby or vampire power, and according to Natural Resources Canada it amounts to five to 10 per cent of all household power usage. From Belkin comes an elegant solution. The Conserve is a two-part device: a surge-protected power bar coupled to a wireless power switch. Mount the switch near the door of your home office, for example, and hit it on the way out of the room to kill off all those vampire devices. The Conserve also comes with two always-on outlets, for devices like a Wi-Fi router or PVR that require constant power. The Conserve sells for $50. Belkin www.belkin.com |
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“Greenest MacBook ever” Apple 13-inch MacBook If you’re jonesing for a Mac and you want to make a conscientious choice, Apple says it has the notebook for you: its new 13-inch MacBook is free of mercury, uses arsenic-free glass, employs recyclable aluminum and glass enclosures and comes in a packaging that is 41 per cent smaller. And this Macbook is Energy Star certified and earned an EPEAT Gold rating. It’s also an Apple notebook, so it’s built well and it’s a joy to use. The 13-inch MacBook starts at $1,399 Apple www.apple.ca |
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Born to videoconference Dell Vostro notebooks With companies cutting back on business travel, videoconferencing is taking off. IDC predicts that close to 35 per cent of SMBs will use some form of videoconferencing by 2010. Dell is backing this trend with onboard software added to its blue-suit Vostro line. Three new noteboooks now have Dell Video Chat software installed and configured on units with integrated webcams. The notebooks start at $699 for the Vostro 1520, $749 for the Vostro 1320 and $799 Vostro 1720. Dell www.dell.ca |
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Solid ink = less waste Xerox ColorQube 9200 series multifunction printer New printers are not as much fun as, say, a new MacBook, but if you really want to reduce your environmental impact, consider this: ColorQube printers employ solid ink, and this change alone greatly reduces packaging waste; a feature called Intelligent Ready actually learns your workgroups printing habits and reduces the unit’s power use when print jobs are unlikely; and the operating cost is based on actual usage, so if your group doesn’t print often your costs go down. The 9200 is available as a business lease from Xerox. Xerox www.xerox.ca |
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Feel good about your phone Motorola Moto w233 Renew Motorola has put a lot of work into environmental initiatives, and that work shows up in the Renew. The entry-level cellphone is made from recycled water bottles and the body itself is entirely recyclable and designed for easy disassembly, making post-consumer processing easier. Motorola also claims this is the world’s first carbon-neutral phone: the company bought offsets from Carbonfund.org to compensate for the manufacture, distribution and operation of the phone. The Renew is available from Fido for $0 on a two-year contract. Motorola www.motorola.ca |
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