The title of this tip is taken directly from an article on EcoGeek.org with the same name. I found this article rather interesting because many advertisements now tout how ‘green’ their products are. Personally, I don’t take any facts on an advertisement at face value because you can manipulate/stretch them any way you want so this article provides a somewhat objective evaluation.

Tech companies made up four out of the top five spots:  HP at No.1, Dell at No. 2, Intel at No. 4 and IBM at No. 5.  Google was farther down the list at No. 79 and Apple even lower at No. 133.  The criteria went beyond the environmental-friendliness of their products, factoring in things like the companies’ greenhouse gas emissions, water use, waste disposal, environmental initiatives, pollution policies and even how they were viewed by consumers.

One thing which stood out to me is Apple is rated 133. I do recall one of their laptop advertisements stating it is the ‘greenest’ laptop available. While this may be the case with a particular product, it does not appear to be indicative of their company as a whole considering other major manufacturers are ranked at the top. NOTE: I am not trying to start a pro/anti-apple debate, only pointing out observations.

Another interesting ranking is Google at 79. I have read a lot about some of their progressive ideas for alternate energy/cooling solutions, such as utilizing tidal power, so this does come as a surprise to me.

Of course, these rankings are based on the metrics Newsweek determined so other publications could easily have different rankings based on different measurements. Still, this is a pretty interesting read.

Remember the days when the the Internet was new and when we were all spellbound at the idea of having our own desktop computer? Learning the workings of the computer was of prime importance. You had this piece of powerful equipment on your desk and you wanted to explore all the possibilities it presented.

Fast forward to today. Things have most certainly changed. My question is: has everybody realized that it has indeed changed?

Continued

Do you feel way behind when it comes to technology? Do you find that most tech sites are throwing terms around that you’ve never heard of? You’re not alone.

Some people (like myself) follow this stuff full time. We’re early adopters and we’ve generally tried something and gotten bored with it by the time the rest of the internet catches on. As a tech blogger, I find that I am often way ahead of my audience in terms of what’s going on. It is only natural, though, and it begs the question: how can people keep up with it all and still have a life?

Continued

We all know that the price of gas has increased exponentially for the last several months. Here in the Tampa Bay area, the average price per gallon is around $4.00. It now costs me about $60 to fill up my wife’s Honda Accord. In a word: damn.

Now, my wife and I are lucky in that we don’t commute. My wife is at home taking care of the little one and I work from home. But, for those who do drive to and from work, the gas prices have to hurt.

This last weekend, I had somebody pose the possibility that the gas prices could drive up costs for computers. Is that a possibility?

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Yep, that’s right. I turn 33 today, so you can clicky-clicky on your mouse on over to here or here and send a card to rich@frostedside.com.

Being that I was born smack dab in the mid-70s (1975), my generation was literally the last that experienced the world before internet. As a matter of fact, my generation was also the last before the advent of pagers (remember those?), cordless phones, cellular/wireless phones, cable television, satellite television/internet, home video (VHS/Betamax), compact discs, GPS and so on.

Computers were around, but it was a for-enthusiasts-only club (i.e. nerds) up until well into the 2000s.

Do I long for the days past when we didn’t have all of today’s modern technology around?

Absolutely not.

My opinion is that technology has matured in a way that has without a shadow of a doubt improved life.

Unofficially, consumer-available internet wasn’t widely available until 1996, so let’s turn back the clock to 1995 and compare tech then to tech today in 2008. We’ll also throw some other modern-day tech into the mix here.

Confirming the balance on your checking account

1995: Manually keep a record of your balance in the back of your checkbook, by hand. Wait until the bank opens on a day when you’re not going to work (usually Saturday) and either call or visit to confirm the actual balance is correct – and it usually wouldn’t be.

2008: Login to your bank’s web site and check the balance – anytime.

Placing a phone call for a tow service when your car breaks down

1995: Lock your car and literally abandon it, walk to the nearest payphone, grab the attached phonebook (assuming it has one), find a tow service listing, put a coin into the phone (assuming you have one), place a call to the tow service, walk back to your car and wait.

OR

If there are no payphones around, go to a stranger’s house and do the EXTREMELY awkward thing of knocking on someone’s door and pray to God it’s someone nice that will let you use their phone to place a call to a tow service.

2008: Grab your wireless phone, dial 411 (in the US), be auto-connected to a tow service and schedule a truck/lorry to come by and get your car to the nearest garage. The wait time is the same but at least you don’t have to abandon your car.

Getting turn-by-turn driving directions to anywhere

1995: Use a fold-out map, physically draw your route using a “highlighter” marker, assuming your vision is good enough to read the jumble of lines.

2008: Internet and/or GPS. If using internet, print your map just for the area you need to know (far easier to read). If using GPS, get in the car, punch in the address and go.

Communicating with anyone by voice in a different country

1995: Place a phone call and cringe knowing you’re spending an obscene amount of money every minute you’re connected just to say “hello”.

2008: Use free client-to-client voice communication via internet. Smile knowing that you’re saving loads of money compared to a phone call. And it sounds better than a phone, too.

. . .

The above are just four seemingly insignificant examples but are in fact very significant.

If you use internet and tech in a way that serves (keyword there), you have the advantage of using communication and data mediums that make life easier and better.

Simply put, I don’t miss the pre-internet/pre-tech world and look forward to what tomorrow brings.

As a final note, I still to this day love the fact that the internet is truly a world-serving thing. When I see something as simple as blog comment from people across the USA or from other nations (Canada, UK, Australia and anywhere else that has internet access), that’s just plain awesome.