Wanna save a little money..? D'OH! Who doesn't..?
Well, here's how yah do so with your computin' machine ..
DISCLAIMER .. the following is probably not all-inclusive .. I still don't claim to know it all ... but at least these tips may get you thinkin' in the right direction to make your computer more earth-friendly. I'm sure we'd all agree we like the earth .. it's just that some entities and things on the planet need a little tweaking to be in better harmony with this nice celestial body. It is after all the only one we've got .. so we would be well-advised to do our best to take care of it.
So without further adieu ..
#1> Every time you sit down at your computer desk, one of the first things you look at is the monitor. Here's the thing .. is your monitor the old-fashioned type? That is to say, is it the *huge* big boxy-lookin' thing with a CRT (cathode ray tube) inside? Well then, there's the 1st way you can save .. replace it with a flat screen/lcd monitor. And I realize money is kinda tight right now .. but you can find smaller *used* flat screen monitors in lots of places on the internet .. or in your local paper. Because .. the big clunky, *heavy* CRT monitors, the average size (say 15-17 inch) .. they are using about 300-350 watts. Whereas, contrarily, the flat screens of comparable size, are only using about 35 watts. Hmm .. that's 90% *less* wattage! Keen!
And, bonus, the flat screens are virtually *radiation-free*! And with the new display technology for most flat screens out there .. they are also easier on the eyes. And .. they take up a lot less desktop space too! More room for your pen and pencil sets and crayons. Nifty huh?
#2> Check your Control Panel "Power Options" settings. Remember when your Mom used to tell you, "Turn off the light when you leave the room!" Good idea then; good idea now .. in the sense that .. your computer has the smarts built in to automatically reduce power consumption when you're not using it.
The lower the number of minutes/hours you set in the main "Power Options" window, the more energy/money you will save. Here's an example of the settings that I use .. these are just suggested settings .. your mileage may vary ..
And that 1st tab in the above control panel should have sufficient variables for most folks. The other tabs are open for adventuring into, but not absolutely necessary for everyday use.
#3> Doing a regular file defrag. Please refer to my prior blog post on this. This function, as mentioned previously, makes for less wear and tear on your hard drive, thereby prolonging its life. And, reassembling all the file fragments back into single contiguous files allows your computer to work faster, thereby requiring less electricity as well.
In fact, some of the drives in the newer computers have a power-saving feature built right into the drive chip (firmware) programming. Which is to say, after a certain period of no drive access, the drive will power/spin down to idle to save electricity and wear. And, not to worry, it will spin right back up automatically when it senses the need for user access.
#4> Remember the "Turn off the light.." analogy above..? Well, do what your Mom told you and turn things off when you won't be using them. Namely, your computer and monitor .. and peripherals (printers, scanners, modems, etc.) too, when you're not using them. Certainly not when you're just leaving the room and intend to sit back down at the computer shortly .. the "Power Options" will take care of short term energy-saving. But , if you're going out to the grocery store, or for an evening of dining and dancing, or going to bed for the evening .. turn the computer and its connected components all the way off .. you'll save a *ton* of electricity!
And yes, there is the school of thought that leaving the computer and so forth on will help it to attain a much greater degree of electronic stability. I learned this way back in basic electronics, and understand it fully. But back when I learned that .. the 60's .. folks weren't concerned so much about their electric bill or conserving the planet's energy.
And this line of thinking does tend to extend the life of mechanical components by not flipping them off and on with great frequency. So, you have to use your own judgement, and strike a balance with which you are comfortable .. between saving energy, and saving mechanical parts.
*GOOD NEWS* >>> At least as far as the hard drives go, that is already changing. It is now possible to buy computers that no longer have an electromechanical hard drive .. a hard drive with no moving parts. The new iPad from Apple is the most recent example. And an absolutely *wondrous* side-effect of the new solid state hard drives .. instant on! A computer after my own nerdy heart. One of my pet peeves about computers, lo' these nearly 50 past years, has been that they should keep up with the humans! In the latest configuration, with solid state hard drive .. now they do.
#5> Charge your handheld devices (i.e. cel phones, iPods, etc.) while connected to your computer; not in your car. Unless of course you're going on a long trip .. then of course it cannot be avoided. But it has been in the news this week, that by virtue of using gasoline at idle or otherwise, more energy is used to charge your portable devices in the car than at the computer.
Welp .. that's it for this installment.
But *stay tuned* .. for the next *exciting* episode of Blog-O-Matic .. when our intrepid hero Ol' Doc CPU dives into about half a dozen "Browsers .. Your Internet Portals" .. a *very basic* treatise on the most popular browsing programs out there that you should check out and give a look-see.
Like they used to tell me in the Navy .. "That oughta keepya busy for a microsecond.." And that was a compliment! Meaning that I'd be right back pretty lickety split wanting to learn more.
Until next computin' time .. here's computin' at you!
ol' Doc CPU
;-)
P.S. >>> If you find yourself in the Easley, SC area any Sunday between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. .. and feel like some good ol' fashioned *delicious* home cookin' buffet style at a really low price .. you might give some thought to stoppin' by my favorite restaurant out there.
Here's the website for the restaurant >>>http://www.sparrowsnest.com/sparrowmain.html Not only is the food made yummy fresh the same day, the dining rooms are an absolutely *beautiful* setting and wonderful environment to have a peaceful refreshing meal. Off the beaten path in a quiet country setting. And you just cannot beat the price for all you can eat. Check it out! It's where I get my vittles from .. and they don't pay me 1 cent to say this .. it's just that good!!
Jus' give 'em a call to make reservations for your meetings or receptions!
Home cookin' take out too!
;-)
