Could Cows Power Cheap Laptops?
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OLPC is experimenting with bovine-generated electricity for its low-cost XO laptop...seriously.
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EDS investigated new hardware-based capabilities that are built into PCs with Intel vPro technology. EDS concluded that these capabilities could significantly improve remote inventory, management, security, and update tasks, especially for PCs that are powered down, whose operating system is not working, or which do not have management agents installed. Read the full story in this white paper.
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It's not just your air conditioner -- what many overlook is how much energy their computers use on a daily basis -- the latest federal statistics show computers used more electricity than microwaves, VCRs and dishwashers combined.
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Is that a barbecue in your lap or... When laptop batteries aren't bursting into white-hot flames, incinerating loved-ones, treasured possessions and airline luggage compartments in a ball of fiery plasma â they're right useful products.â¦
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The One Laptop Per Child project suffered a blow this week, with Chief Technology Officer Mary Lou Jepsen quitting the nonprofit to start a for-profit company to commercialize technology she invented with OLPC.Jepsen, who joined OLPC as its first employee in 2005 after Nicholas Negroponte started the effort, will pursue an opportunity to chase after &quot;her next miracle in display technology,&quot; OLPC said in an e-mail sent on Sunday.Jepsen was responsible for hardware and display development for the rugged and power-saving&#160;XO laptop, designed for use by children in developing countries. Though the laptop has struggled to find buyers, it has been praised for its innovative hardware features and environmentally friendly design.Her last day with the organization is Dec. 31, though she will continue consulting with OLPC, according to the e-mail. Dec. 31 is also the end of OLPC&#39;s Give One Get One program, in which two XO laptops can be purchased for about $400, with a user getting one laptop and the other being donated.Satisfied that XO laptops were shipping in volume, Jepsen noted in an e-mail that she was starting a for-profit company to commercialize some of the technologies she invented at OLPC.&quot;I will continue to give OLPC product at cost, while providing commercial entities products they would like at a profit,&quot; Jepsen wrote in an e-mail.&quot;I believe that the work I led in the design of the XO laptop is just the first step in changing computing,&quot; she wrote.Powered by solar power, foot pedal or pull-string, the laptop doesn&#39;t rely on an electrical outlet to run, making it useful for situations where power is unreliable or unavailable. The laptop&#39;s specially designed lithium-ferro phosphate battery consumes between 2 watts to 8 watts depending on usage, compared to 40 watts on commercial laptops depending on usage.The laptop&#39;s battery lasts up to 21 hours because of custom-designed, efficient power-saving features implemented at the hardware and software level. Batteries in commercial laptops may explode at high temperatures, while XO&#39;s batteries can run and recharge in temperatures around 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), Jepsen said in earlier interview.OLPC is also designing a cow-powered generator that works by hooking cattle up to a system of belts and pulleys.For connectivity, the laptop has mesh-networking features for Internet access.
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Look for more consumer electronics products and services from the PC behemoth. Also: SuSE Linux for Dell servers.
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Computers built with Advanced Micro Devices&#39; Opteron processor soon will be able to take advantage of the same power management technology the company has already built into its laptop and desktop microchips.
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The debate is centered on whether cheap laptops are the best way to improve education in the developing world.
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Upcoming chips will lead to relatively inexpensive hardware, company says.
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A low-cost laptop, designed for children in developing countries, finally goes into mass production.
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Review Quality telly for your laptop?
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For a theoretically free operating system, Linux is -- and will continue to be -- a cash cow. A research firm sees a bright financial future for the OS.
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This miniature budget notebook may not be preloaded with Windows, but it ably serves most on-the-go computing needs.
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A device that turns heat to sound and sound to electricity could power spacecraft.
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A laptop under $100 could reach desks if a new venture formed by the former&#160;CTO of One Laptop Per Child, Mary Lou Jepsen, can deliver on its promises.A &quot;spin-out&quot; from OLPC, the company, Pixel Qi is looking to create a $75 laptop and trying to advance low-cost computers and power-efficient laptops, mobile phones, and other consumer electronics that are sunlight readable, Jepsen wrote on the company&#39;s Web site.Jepsen left OLPC two weeks ago to commercialize technologies she invented with OLPC, she said in an e-mail to the IDG News Service at the time. A patent lists Jepsen as one of the inventors of a display system optimized for low-power operation.&quot;Spinning out from OLPC enables the development of a new machine, beyond the XO [laptop], while leveraging a larger market for new technologies,&quot; Jepsen wrote.There is a big commercial market for technology spawned by OLPC, Jepsen wrote. Prices for next-generation hardware can be brought down by allowing multiple uses of key technology advances, she wrote.The company will continue to work with OLPC by providing products at cost, and it will sell devices at a profit to commercial organizations.A similar promise to introduce a low-cost laptop came from OLPC, when it launched the $100 XO laptop in 2005. Since then, the effort has been afflicted by production delays and rising costs, which caused the laptop&#39;s estimated price to rise to $200. It is now beset by waning orders and competition from commercial vendors that threaten to sideline the nonprofit effort.As CTO, Jepsen was responsible for hardware development for the rugged and power-saving XO laptop, designed for use by children in developing countries. Though the laptop has struggled to find buyers, it has been praised for its environmentally friendly design and innovative display, hardware and networking features.Her departure from OLPC spawned a debate, with critics charging that Jepsen was taking advantage of OLPC&#39;s nonprofit inventions for personal gains, but supporters shot back, saying it was the right time for her to leave a sinking ship.Jepsen, who is attending the&#160;International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, was not available for comment.
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Nonprofit and chipmaker have faced off over low-cost laptops in the past, but they're coming together to bring PCs to kids.
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Solid-state drives are increasingly an option for laptop purchasers -- but while manufacturers are pushing the option, few consumers are taking the bait.