Tag: gadgets

Six tips for greening your PC

When you consider that computers now consume about 10 percent of the electricity generated in North America and that a great many PCs still end up in landfills, leaching deadly chemicals, it makes sense to adopt more eco-friendly computing options.

John Hiddema, technical consultant for Nerds on Site, is one of the many people making a conscious effort to go green. He recycles, buys organic produce, uses cleaning products less harmful to the environment, owns energy-efficient appliances, and has configured his
PC to use less energy. He’s also going green on the job. Some of the work he does for clients’ computer systems can be done remotely from his home office, drastically reducing his need for a car.

Here are some tips for making your technology use more eco-friendly.

1. Manage power consumption

Did you know that approximately 40 percent of the energy used for home electronics is consumed while these devices are turned off or idling? Techies refer to computers and related gadgets that draw power while not in use as vampire load. Turn off and unplug everything when you’re not using it. Even simpler: shut down everything and then turn off the power bar. Read More»

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Ten Must-Have Gadgets for Windows Vista Sidebar

Ever since the early days of the “Longhorn” betas, the Windows Vista Sidebar has intrigued early adopters. Sidebar gadgets are basically the Microsoft answer to the Mac’s Widgets—free, downloadable applets that can be useful, fun, both, or neither.

A vertical bar running up the right side of the desktop, the Sidebar can display a varying number of graphical gadget interfaces, depending on the size of the gadgets. If you cram too many gadgets into the Sidebar, it’ll automatically create another page to which you can flip with a single click. Read More»

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