Category Archives: efficiency

A Kindle for $25 less?

Posted on April 15, 2011 by phh

Would you buy a Kindle reader if it included advertisements and was $25 less? Amazon is offering a version of the already low priced, $139 WiFi Kindle for $114. The “Kindle with Special Offers” version replaces the screen saver featuring … Continue reading →

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Yet Another Wifi Radio

Posted on March 30, 2011 by phh

I find MightyOhm’s WiFi radio project really inspirational. It uses an Asus WL-520gu router, Arduino and a usb audio adapter to create a very low power consumption WiFi radio. It also makes use of small, yet powerful, open source software … Continue reading →

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Insignia Infocast 3.5

Posted on March 19, 2011 by phh

Best Buy USA finally gave me an opportunity to get a Chumby powered device very similar to the Chumby One. As with the WikiReader, I had noticed that Best Buy USA had started selling the Insignia Infocast 3.5″ and it … Continue reading →

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WikiReader $39.95 at Best Buy Canada

Posted on March 16, 2011 by phh

I have been interested lately in offline Wikipedia access and while searching I noticed that Best Buy was now carrying the WikiReader. This wasn’t surprising, I knew Futureshop has been carrying it for $69.95 for a while now but Best … Continue reading →

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A Tale of Three Power Supplies

Posted on November 21, 2008 by phh

I recently had the opportunity to try out the Antec New Solution NSK2480 Desktop Case which includes the Antec EarthWatts 380 power supply. The EarthWatts 380 is an 80Plus certified power supply and access to it gave me the opportunity … Continue reading →

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A Quiet, Efficient Computer

Posted on September 24, 2008 by phh

For many people the easiest way to get an efficient computer is to purchase a laptop/notebook. Most use between 20 and 30 Watts of power when operating and up to about 60 Watts while charging the battery. They feature a … Continue reading →

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The Diminutive Acer Aspire One

Posted on August 26, 2008 by phh

I have been trying out the small Acer Aspire One (ZG5, 8GB SSD, 512MB version) over the last few weeks. It does represent a new low in power consumption for me. At idle it uses 12W and 10W with the … Continue reading →

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Arstechnica Produces Green PC Guide

Posted on February 29, 2008 by phh

I am a fan of arstechnica’s system guides and I was pleased to find that they had produced a green guide for building personal computers. In the guide they profile two machines: The green game machine and the ultimate green … Continue reading →

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Fun with a Power Meter?

Posted on February 11, 2007 by phh

Ok, so hooking up a power meter to a bunch of electrical devices may not seem like fun to most people. There are, however, many people who want to find ways to reduce their carbon footprint or want to reduce … Continue reading →

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The Quest for a Quiet PC

Posted on January 8, 2007 by phh

I prefer a silent computer. When the office is quiet, I don’t like to hear the whirr of the various fans in a typical computer (or the hum of the flourescent fixture above me, but that is a different story). … Continue reading →

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