2 Watt PC: Due August 4th

[Steven Edwards]

http://www.treehugger.com/cherrypal-computer-d001.jpg

CherryPal: Green Computer
Many people only use their computers to check email, browse the web, do word processing, spreadsheets, etc. For them, many of today's PCs are overkill, but it's not clear what a good alternative would be, especially if they want low energy consumption. Enter stage left: The CherryPal, a tiny PC based on a Freescale CPU and the Linux (Debian) operating system. It's about the size of a paperback book and uses 80% fewer components than a regular PC. To make the trade-off acceptable, the CherryPal will use "cloud computing", meaning that many applications will run on an online server (same basic concept as web-based email). [...]

The CherryPal is scheduled to come out on August 4th, 2008. No word on pricing yet except that the company says it will be "dramatically cheaper" than something like Asus' $400 EEE. (Source (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/06/cherrypal-2-watt-green-computer.php)) This might be worth checking out.

[Steven Edwards]

From The Register:

And the CherryPal name? Well, we’re told that Cherry arrived because cherries are sweeter than Apples. Boo-yah! And the Pal bit points to the community aspect of sharing software via the cloud. (Source (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/17/cherrypal/))

[Steven Edwards]

Price: $249

You get 50gb of online storage for free, but it's ad-supported. (Ads will be shown for a few seconds when you launch applications.)

http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/21/the-cherrypal-cloud-pc-249-ready-for-the-new-world-order/

[Patonb]

Thats a nice price.

Not a fan of ads though.

[Scott Pruett]

interesting for sure. www.cherrypal.com

itunes + firefox + openoffice + web apps = neat little box to pipe into a tv.

the green emphasis is dumb, as that 2 watts will "skyrocket" once consumption from everything else (display, networking, etc) are all tallied up, but whatever.

the mention of www.picnik.com in their FAQ is cool. never heard of it.

[Patonb]

I find the use of "green" funny. In most cases, "bad" part is just displaed from one place, to another.

[PN]

This is a good machine for the non-sophisticated user. There is no concern about viruses, spyware, malware, etc. I am also not a fan of the advertising which pays for the storage. When I surf the net I use ad blocking software.

[Lazlo]

Of course the first thing I'd want to do is strip the pre-loaded OS and load one of my own choice (probably just another flavor of Linux). That would do away with the ads!

[Steven Edwards]

The "green" comments made me think: how practical is this?

Assumption: you leave your computer running 24/7.

At 2 watts an hour max, the CherryPal uses 17,520 watt-hours (17.52 kwh) per year. At a baseline of $0.01/kwh, that's $0.1752 a year.

At 55 watts an hour (safe estimate for desktop CPUs), a CPU uses 481,800 watt-hours (481.8 kwh) per year. At a baseline of $0.01/kwh, that's $4.818 a year. A hard drive shouldn't add too much to that.

Cost savings over the course of a year (at that absurd rate): $4.6428.

For a more realistic estimate, find your state (http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html) and multiply that $4.6428 by whatever number you see for your state under residential.

At Feb '08 rates in South Carolina ($0.0919/kwh), a CherryPal would save about $42.67 over the course of a year when compared to a 55w desktop CPU. In Hawaii ($0.2998/kwh), a CherryPal would save about $139.11 a year.

Eh, not too big a deal, I guess. Oh well. :)