The world's greenest computer

What if you could make the world a greener place simply through the computer you choose? Consider Zonbu, a desktop computer manufactured by a startup in Silicon Valley, which uses 10 percent of the energy of a conventional PC. The starting price is $99.

A Zonbu desktop is about the size of a hardbound Dickens’ novel, not including the keyboard. It doesn’t have a hard drive, but a FlashCard for storage, just like the kind used in digital cameras. Zonbu runs on open-source software, programs that are free to use.

The Zonbu uses a low-power processor that runs on far less energy than other chips. There is no fan, so no annoying whirring noise; thanks to the low-power processor, there is less heat to dissipate. Zonbu also has lower levels of hazardous substances like cadmium in its electronics. Zonbu consumes 90 percent less power than a standard PC.

“If you can design a computer at least as good as the standard PC, or even better, and make it environmentally friendly,” says Grégoire Gentil, Zonbu’s co-founder, “it can definitely help to solve the global-warming problem.”

Find out more: zonbu.com