MS cuts PC use

Microsoft researchers have slashed desktop energy use with a sleep proxy system that maintains a PC's network presence even when it is turned off or put into standby mode, reports PC World.

Microsoft has deployed the sleep proxy system to more than 50 active users in the Building 99 research facility in Redmond, Washington, according to the Microsoft Research Web site and a paper that will be presented at the Usenix technical conference in Boston later this month.

"A number of studies have noted that most office machines are left on irrespective of user activity," Microsoft researchers write in a paper titled 'Sleepless in Seattle no longer'.

The US Army's new best friend when it comes to recycling waste, conserving energy and keeping hazardous materials out of the waste stream is a chipmunk - a Kurt Chipmunk, that is, writes CleanTechnica.

The Kurt Chipmunk is a new energy-efficient metal compactor and recycler installed at the Tobyhanna Army Depot in Pennsylvania, and its success there could mark a big step forward in defence-related waste reduction initiatives.

While the metal compactor is not quite as glamorous as other US military green programmes, in addition to environmental goodness, the Chipmunk offers significant bottom line benefits that could motivate private industry to invest in sustainable new technology sooner rather than later.

A Hong Kong-based company has introduced what it bills as the world's only solar-powered light bulb with the hope of reaching millions of people with little or no access to electricity, reports CNET News.

The Nokero N100 solar LED light bulb is meant to replace kerosene lamps as a lighting source in the developing world. The company says 1.6 billion people still lack sufficient access to electricity, and many burn fossil fuels for light, which can be dangerous and expensive.

The N100 solar bulb is about the size of a standard incandescent bulb and has four small solar panels in its rainproof plastic housing. Five LEDs and a replaceable NiMH battery inside provide up to four hours of light when the device is fully charged. People hang it outside during the day and then turn it on at night.