Green Computing

Several months ago I signed a contract to test a new type of computer and to write about how it works and my experiences with it. I received mine last week and it has been up and running ever since. I was in such a rush to set it up that I forgot to take pictures first. The name of the computer is CherrryPal and you can see photos at http://www.cherrypal.com. It is 5.5" wide, 3.5" deep and 1" thick. That is the complete computer. It has video, sound, 2 USB ports, wired networking and wireless networking. You need a monitor, USB mouse and keyboard plus some kind of network connection. Mine was on the Internet as soon as I plugged in the cat 5 network cable. The wireless network took a bit longer because I had to configure the security settings I use on my wireless network. I am writing my blog on it tonight and I have been able to get my email and connect to Yahoo, MSN and AOL messengers. In other words it is a fully capable Internet computer right out of the box. I did find that two USB ports are not always enough. I added a powered external USB hub. Powered because the CherryPal is a very low power device. I have connected to all the other computers on our in house network and can see and read files from any network drive. It will also recognize any USB drive that is plugged into the hub. I will be posting more as I try different devices and different software. It is running a version of Ubuntu Linux which will be new to Windows users, but the email and browser work virtually the same. It really is a working GREEN computer using less than 6 watts of power except for the monitor. I works better than I expected.