Computer System Runs on Just 8 Watts
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 11.30.07
Eight watts. That's with processor and SDRAM running full tilt. Add the 8" LCD monitor at 12 Watts and a folding solar panel and you have a complete off-grid Linux puppy for £499. It was developed for the third world as "a collaborative, open source project of vast possibilities and a highly focused process to rapidly produce and distribute affordable computer appliances for people without reliable access to power. "
That may be so, but it would work fine right here- my wall-warts suck more than 8 watts, let alone the computers.
Specs:
Designed for Rural Africa
Works in places other computers don't.
* During peak performance, the E1 consumes just 8W of power, 4% of what a typical (200W) desktop uses. Runs off a car battery or a cheap solar panel.
* Keep Working During Power Cuts! A UPS that will keep a standard desktop running for 15 minutes will power an E1 for 6.5 hours!
* Everything is stored on a CF card, which can be instantly removed to ensure security of your information.
* Efficient web browser for slow Internet connections.
* Discounted 5-Pack for rural schools available, with low-power displays, solar panel, and battery.
Every application you need and as fast as XP
Puppy Linux is pre-installed. Completely Stable and Fast!
* Practically identical interface to Windows, no learning curve required!
* Office-compatible - create/modify/save Excel and Word files, or even PDFs.
* Spreadsheet program opens in 3 seconds.
Works Off-the-Grid, Available with LCD, Solar Panel
For aid workers, meteorologists, field engineers, and people on the move.
* Ultra-portable version: E1 with 8" Display, foldable solar panel, and lightweight battery.
* Fits in laptop bag, takes 5 minutes to set up.
* Display and E1 run for 3.5 hours on a charge. Can recharge by car.
With Linux getting as developed as it is, one isn't sacrificing much to work on such a machine. It is no OLPC, its not for kids, but it would work for everyone else. They see it primarily as a development platform:
" Our aim is to position the E1 desktop as a platform around which all sorts of applications can be developed. The E1 has the benefits for developers of a standardized spec, a low price, and a Linux operating system.
As a company, our expertise lies in the hardware engineering involved in creating a general purpose handheld and providing reliable email. Rather than attempt to develop software for areas outside our core strength, we would rather partner with NGOs, universities, government ministries, independent programmers, etc. and supply development kits so that great apps can be written for healthcare workers (such as recording vaccinations), farmers (delivering critical information such as crop price and weather in areas without GSM access), and education (interactive content for primary schoolers or paperless tests that can be relayed immediately). "
"£499. It was developed for the third world"
Anybody else see a problem here?
So, that's 20W total with the monitor? Still, pretty darn impressive that the entire thing can be run from a small solar panel. What's the CPU and memory on such a device?
I would just need to get a small solar cell to power my wireless and I'd be all set for the next power outage...
I have a via miniITX 500MHz fanless board with 128M of ram running linux as my home server. Its using a 12v in power supply from a company called minibox and runs about 1A at 12v so its 12W normally. I'm running from an old 128M CF card from our old digital camera.
Look like a good attempt for a 'bush' computing platform. The price is a bit offputting.
The ‘package’ is listed at 499 Pounds Sterling. Or in today’s US Dollarettes, about kilobuc, give or take a barrel or two of oil.
A stand-alone processor unit at the company website is listed at 179 Pounds Sterling. The technical specs are a bit weak:
•Processor: 200MHz x86 CPU, Memory: 128MB SDRAM, Storage: 2GB (included Compact Flash card), Power Supply (US, UK, or EU).
•3 x USB 2.0 ports (12Mbps transfer rate), 1 x 10/100 Ethernet port, VGA port to connect LCD display (supports resolutions up to 1280x1024)
Not quite on par with some of the more advanced PDAs, such as the HP IPAQ 2750 or IPAQ 5550, as they have faster CPUs. Palm and HPC offer several units in the same class – also with much faster processors – and a far lower cost. To be fair, the PDAs do not offer ethernet or USB ports.
A Samsung NEXiO S160 Wireless PDA is in the same price range and is not LINUX based.
Puppy Lunix is an interesting distro – I use it on a USB thumb drive for booting up recalcitrant PCs for troubleshooting. I would not compare it to Windows XP.
You can download Puppy Linux at http://www.puppylinux.org/
and give it a spin for no cost other than the b/w used for the download.
Hmm, the intentions are good, but you can get an Asus EEE PC for $349US (4G Surf) that does all that, draws an absolute maximum of 22W with an average of 11W, and is more portable.
I'm about to replace my Dell desktop 'server' with one of these: Fit-pc [http://www.fit-pc.com]. Draws 5W total, runs linux OR Windows, silent, fanless. Mine is on order - I can hardly wait.
"Specs: Designed for Rural Africa"
And this will no doubt help till fields, plant and irrigate crops and purify those befouled wells?
". It was developed for the third world as "a collaborative, open source project of vast possibilities and a highly focused process to rapidly produce and distribute affordable computer appliances for people without reliable access to power."
I'm taking a guess that people who lack reliable access to power lack access to clean water so are at risk of disease, cook with fire wood so have respiratory problems, and lack many other things that would be a higher priority than a computer.
If I were a research scientist working out of a car and tent, might be a good idea, but then again a laptop can be charged by solar or by car already.
I have checked out a "slow" pc running Linux and it was amazingly fast!
This PC is slow if you measure cycles per second, but I bet its faster than my Vista machine when it comes to opening a program or browsing the web.
I think the synergy of portable, cheap and Linux is a winner.
Now that the computer runs at 8W, that LCD monitor at 12 Watts seem egregious. Why don't people figure out how to get the power of the LCD down?
If you have the patience and geek aptitude to learn more about Ubuntu (and how to build a computer yourself), then you should be able to set up something just like in this article above, and save several hundred dollars.
I've been investigating (on a hobbyist basis) how to set up silent or even completely solid-state computers such as this one for a couple of years now. You can put together something similar to this yourself that runs on all-12-volt hardware by buying a "Koolu" ($199US plus taxes and shipping at Koolu), then buying a small 12-volt LCD monitor (intended to be used in a car) from a site like mini-box.com
I've also blogged several times about how to get Ubuntu Linux set up on a Koolu (plus my overall experiences).
You'll see I've also given my technical opinions on several different "embedded x86" computers now available such as the Koolu, Zonbu, Linutop, etc.
The Everex N1500 laptop line runs 12W max, 2 normal, with 1.5 GHz and Windows Vista. It's been available for quite some time.
I agree with Don, the Asus Eee PC is a better buy, it's completely integrated, mobile, uses comparable power and it's cheaper!
There is a related discussion at the Puppy Linux forum:
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=24072
The are making LCD monitors more efficient. Some now have LED's for backlighting rather than CCFL.
And that's just what we hear about... I'm sure other advances are in the works for LCD and/or other srceen medium (OLED, etc).
Cheers
Steve
200MHz? That's as bad as a Pentium II. The only good thing about this is the screen and solar pack. But the computer itself is not as good as competitor small-form-factor boxes. TreeHugger featured the Zonbu Zonbox before, and IMO, it is FAR better. It costs 300 USD, but has twice the USB ports, four times the RAM, four times the standard storage, and an internal WiFi option. It is a little bigger, and does not include the peripherals, but costs about 60USD less. And its power usage is a little greater: 10W idle, 15W working.
And by the way, the Asus Eee is rather bad for regular computer use. Its screen is WVGA: 800*480 pixels. The stand minimum resolution of today is XGA: 1024*768. You can hardly fit anything on the Eee screen! It is okay for little things you might otherwise do with a PDA or other pocket device, but it is really inconvenient for typical computer functions.