Desktops & Laptops | GreenerComputing.com

Robert Metcalfe, inventor of the Ethernet and founder of networking company 3Com, says that if green tech is ever to take off, it needs to learn the lessons of IT and the Internet.

Dell has taken a hard shot at Apple's ads proclaiming the MacBook to be green, has criticized Apple for misleading advertising, and says Apple isn't really a green company at all. In fact, Dell says in a blog, "Apple hasn't stated any goals, just made claims, which as far as we can tell, are not accurate."

Virtualization to be replaced by the cloud and telework? Culling toxics from products and boosting takeback? Power management over hardware upgrades? No matter what shape it takes, experts agree that green IT will figure prominently in the new year.

Adding more momentum to the green IT movement, the Green Electronics Council has joined forces with EcoLogo to make it even easier to certify and promote electronics that are energy efficient, easily recyclable and free of toxic chemicals.

The deepening recession won't slow the pace of Green IT initiatives, and may in fact increase their pace. So says a just-released report from Forrester, which finds that Green IT has begun to take a central place in mainstream IT practices.

IBM applies its computing expertise -- and the idle processing power of 400,000 civilians -- to explore ways to make rice fields more productive by analyzing the grain's proteins and come up with higher-yield and more nutritious strains.

Wonder which IT suppliers have the best green records? According to Ceres, an environmental and public interest investment coalition, IBM Dell, and Intel are at the top. And the technology industry in general is more environmentally responsible than other industries.

The Sony VGN-SR290PDB laptop is the lucky recipient of the 1000th EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) label.

HP will be the first to offer Boston-Power's batteries, which can be recharged 1,000 times without degrading.

President-elect Obama's choice of Nobel award-winning physicist and head of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Steven Chu is good news for green IT. Dr. Chu has already launched a project at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that could drastically reduce the energy needs of supercomputers. You can expect more green IT breakthoughs from him as well.

This tool from Hewlett-Packard offers advice on how you can green your entire organization's printing, and save money at the same time.

Asserting that existing labeling programs are not broad enough -- and aiming to help businesses make more environmentally friendly computer purchases -- the company has begun rating its products on materials used, recyclability and energy consumption.

Use this simple spreadsheet-based calculator to estimate typical savings from Energy Star-qualified computers and/or power management features.

Estimate your projected savings from using computer power management with the EPA's simple calculator.

The environmental movement can learn big lessons from efforts to harness the Internet and technology in this year's U.S. election, Microsoft's European chairman explained at a conference last week.