Thank you Laura for introducing me to blackle.
Want to know what it's all about? check out: www.blackle.com
or read more here:
How is Blackle saving energy?
Blackle was created by Heap Media to remind us all of the need to take small steps in our everyday lives to save energy. Blackle searches are powered by Google Custom Search.
Blackle saves energy because the screen is predominantly black. "Image displayed is primarily a function of the user's color settings and desktop graphics, as well as the color and size of open application windows; a given monitor requires more power to display a white (or light) screen than a black (or dark) screen." Roberson et al, 2002
In January 2007 a blog post titled Black Google Would Save 750 Megawatt-hours a Year proposed the theory that a black version of the Google search engine would save a fair bit of energy due to the popularity of the search engine. Since then there has been skepticism about the significance of the energy savings that can be achieved and the cost in terms of readability of black web pages.
We believe that there is value in the concept because even if the energy savings are small, they all add up. Secondly we feel that seeing Blackle every time we load our web browser reminds us that we need to keep taking small steps to save energy.
How can you help?
We encourage you to set Blackle as your home page ( set ). This way every time you load your Internet browser you will save a little bit of energy. Remember every bit counts! You will also be reminded about the need to save energy each time you see the Blackle page load.
Help us spread the word about Blackle by telling your friends and family to set it as their home page. If you have a blog then give us a mention. Or put the following text in your email signature: "Blackle.com - Saving energy one search at a time".
Have a look at our energy saving tips page for ideas on steps you can take to save energy.
There are a lot of great web sites about saving energy and being more environmentally friendly. They are full of great tips covering the little things that we can all do to make a difference today. Try Blackling "energy saving tips" or visit treehugger.com a great blog dedicated to environmental awareness.
2 comments:
OMG Miss R. just used big words!!!
(or is that you Steve?)
Blackle.com
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Blackle
Screenshot of Blackle.com
URL http://www.blackle.com
Commercial? Yes
Type of site Search engine
Registration No
Available language(s) English, Portuguese, French, Czech, Italian
Owner Heap Media Australia
Created by Toby Heap[1]
Launched January 2007
Current status Active
Blackle is a website powered by Google Custom Search, which was developed by Heap Media Australia.[1][2]
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Principle
* 2 Functionality
* 3 Criticism
* 4 References
* 5 External links
[edit] Principle
The principle behind Blackle is based on the fact that the display of different colors consumes different amounts of energy on computer monitors.[3] The creators of Blackle cite a 2002 study from Roberson, who tested a variety of CRT and LCD monitors and found that an all black screen consumed less energy than an all white screen on all of them.[3]
The creators of Blackle state that the idea behind the site came from a blog, which estimated that a black Google would save 750 megawatt-hours a year[1]. A megawatt-hour is the equivalent of ten thousand 100 watt light bulbs burning continuously for 1 hour. On the Blackle homepage, the creators of Blackle provide a count of the number of watt-hours that they claim the users of Blackle have collectively saved.
[edit] Functionality
Because it is not owned by Google Inc., the Blackle site lacks many of the features of conventional Google, including the 'Cached' and 'Similar Pages' options, and it does not have as many of the corresponding links that can be found on the Google homepage. These links include items such as preferences, advanced search, language tools, images, groups, news, scholar, and the iGoogle features.
Blackle is a Google Custom Search partner, which allows for the customization of the returned search results. As such, a search in Blackle does not necessarily return the same results as a Google search.
[edit] Criticism
The creators of Blackle have been criticised for lack of clarity regarding the type, size and manufacturer of monitor that the power usage claims refer to. One critic, a technology journalist who reviews computer hardware, tested 4 cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors and 23 liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors, and found that power was saved by the CRT monitors, but was less than that claimed by the blog post that inspired Blackle. The LCD monitors tested showed increased power use in the majority of cases, although most of the larger (24 inch) monitors did use less power displaying a black screen.[1][4][5]
Relative to other energy saving initiatives, it has been suggested that the energy savings of Blackle is small. For example, the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, a consortium of large software and hardware vendors that promotes efficient computing on a large scale, is forecasting a power saving of 10,000 MW by 2010. [6]
Nuff Said.
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