Mandatory energy efficiency standards for computers

The Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO) has released "Analysis of the Potential for Minimum Energy Performance Standards for Computers and Monitors". They are looking at energy efficiency standards in Australia and NZ, for personal computers and monitors, similar to those on other consumer products. Comments can be made to Richard Collins, Consultant to the Australian Government's Equipment Energy Efficiency Team by Friday 7th December (his contact details are on the cover of the report).

Below are some excerpts from the Executive Summary. The only issue I can see with the proposal is that the US standards it is proposed to adopt do not anticipate the new category of low power desktop computer now merging. Units such as the Zonbu, consume less than 20 Watts, which is far less than the smallest 50 W category in the ENERGY STAR computer specifications V4.0. Perhaps an extra 25 W category is needed.

Scope
This report was commissioned, within the scope of the Equipment Energy Efficiency Program (E3), to explore the potential for energy and greenhouse savings through improvements to desktop and notebook/tablet computers and cathode ray tube (CRT) and liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors in Australia and New Zealand.
Current Energy Consumption Computers and monitors consume significant amounts of energy in the Australia and New Zealand markets and this is forecast to increase. It is estimated that, in 2006, computers and monitors consumed more than 6,800 GWh in Australia and 1,300 GWh in New Zealand, resulting in
greenhouse gas emissions of 7Mt CO2-e and 0.8Mt CO2-e respectively. ...

Typical home computer system energy consumption exceeds that of some products already subject to mandatory energy performance labelling.

From an Australia wide perspective, office and home computer system energy consumption dwarfs that of some products already subject to energy performance labelling.

Energy Consumption Issues
This report demonstrates, using international and local data, that it is clear that in the supply sector (hardware), many computers and monitors consume much more power than many equivalent products already in the market place. With the exception of government directives and corporate requirements, consumers generally have little market influence on hardware power consumption.

At the operational level, it is evident that utilisation of ‘built in’ power saving features for computers is less than a quarter. Power saving settings for monitors is much higher, circa 80% enabled. US Environmental Protection Agency tests demonstrate that lower energy computers and monitors are available in the market place, but there are also many other models that consume significantly
higher amounts of energy. Similarly, analysis of European ENERGY STAR data show that low energy monitors are available as are many more that consume significantly more energy.

The following chart, based upon European studies, shows the step reductions that can be achieved by increasing power supply efficiency to 80%, enabling power management only and finally implementing both. These are relatively simple, but significant reductions. ...

Forecast Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

This is influenced by two parameters.

• Hardware trends and market growth.
• What is technically achievable, compared to business as usual. As above, analysis of the international studies indicates that by using more efficient hardware and enabling power management, (addressing market failure/business as usual) energy consumption could be reduced by as much as 45% for some products. The overall impact of improvements in the market place would increase over time, as inferior products are retired and replaced with energy efficient products.

Two growth forecasts have been analysed using business as usual (BAU) data and the introduction of mandatory measures, from October 2009, thus reducing energy consumption from 2010 onwards after current stock is sold.

• A conservative forecast uses growth rates returning to levels experienced prior to the high growth that was experienced from 2003 - circa 8% per annum with market saturation being reached in 2014.
• An aggressive forecast that continues the high growth from 2003 – circa 20% to 2009, with the growth tapering off after market saturation in 2010.

The following charts show forecast Australian and New Zealand energy consumption for the two growth scenarios for the BAU and mandatory measures. In the aggressive growth chart, energy is forecast to reduce after 2009 due increased penetration of lower energy consuming notebook computers and LCD monitors.

Australian greenhouse gas emission savings in 2014 are estimated to be 3.52 Mt CO2-e and 3.18 Mt CO2-e for the conservative and aggressive growths respectively.

New Zealand greenhouse gas emission savings in 2014 are estimated to be 0.41 Mt CO2-e and 0.37 Mt CO2-e for the conservative and aggressive growths respectively. ...

Recommendations
As opposed to voluntary schemes, minimum energy performance standards and energy rating labels have a good track record in reducing energy consumption of a range of domestic appliances and commercial/industrial products.

To address hardware market failure, information failure and power management enablement failure, it is recommended that the following actions be taken.

• Australian and New Zealand Standards are developed, based upon ENERGY STAR V4.0 for computer test methods. Computers to be included are both stationary and portable units, including desktop computers, integrated computers, notebook computers, tablet computers and desktop-derived servers
• An Australian and New Zealand Standard is developed, based upon ENERGY STAR V4.1 for computer monitor test methods.
• An Australian and New Zealand Standard is developed, based upon the Generalised Internal Power Supply Test Protocol Rev 6.1, for internal power supply test methods and computer internal power supply efficiency is no less than 80% when tested to this standard.
• That E3 plans to introduce MEPS, including mandatory power management enablement prior to supply, for computers, based upon ENERGY STAR computer specifications V4.0 as follows: ...
• That E3 plans to introduce MEPS for monitors, based upon ENERGY STAR specification version 4.1 Tier 1 as follows: ...
• That E3 plans to introduce a voluntary ’high efficiency’ energy performance level for monitors, based upon ENERGY STAR specification version 4.1 Tier 2 as follows: ...
• That the Australian and New Zealand standard includes mandatory energy performance labels for computers and monitors.
• To address energy performance of smaller ‘one off’ manufacturers, ’deem to comply’ conditions are included in the computer and monitor standards. Mandatory labelling would also apply.

Proposed Timetable ...

AIIA meeting to flag intentions May 2007
Publication of computer and monitor profile fact sheet August 2007
Australian proposal to AP6 to develop harmonised standards August 2007
Draft technical report for industry comment October 2007
Release of E3 Plan October 2007
Consultation with Industry August – October 2007
Draft standards for Standards working group October 2007
Consideration of draft Standard by Working Group of Standards Committee (TE-01) November 2007

Publication of Draft Standards
Publication of draft cost benefit analysis January 2008

Publication of Standards
Draft Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) May 2008
Stakeholder forum to discuss draft RIS July 2008
Final (decision) RIS clearance September 2008

Green Linux PC Tipping Point to the Networked Organisation in February 2008

What is considered a "normal" personal computer will reach a tipping point in around February 2008. The norm will become low power Linux computers using the Internet for data storage.

The normal computer bought for home or business in 2007 has a DVD drive, multi-hundred gigabyte hard disk, Microsoft Windows and multi-hundred Watt power supply and costs around $1,000. If you buy a $500 low power Linux computer, like the Zonbu or Asus Eee PC, which runs Linux, uses tens of watts and depends on the Internet for storage, you will be considered a bit odd; perhaps a greenie, academic or an anarchist.

However, this may change soon and quite suddenly. By the end of 2008 I expect that the idea that you might spend thousands of dollars on a computer and propose to store data on it long term will be considered more than just odd. To consume hundreds of Watts of power to do so will be considered anti-social. Propose spending hundreds of dollars on operating system and basic office software licenses at at a company and you will be sacked, try it in a government agency and you will be charged with corruption.

The normal PC will have a processor equivalent to a 1.5GHz VIA C7-M or 900MHz Intel Celeron-M ULV 353, 512MB RAM and either 4 2 GB of flash disk or a 60GB hard disk. Most PCs will not have a DVD or CD ROM. There will be minimal hardware support for graphics and the computer will use less than 20 Watts of power. These computers will cost less than $500, some as low as $200.

If this sounds far fetched, consider the change which happened with the Internet and the web in the mid 1990s: this went from being an academic experiment to the mainstream. The change with PCs can happen much quicker, as it has the Internet and web to provide the infrastructure, support and the marketing of the idea.

Carbon Neutral Linux Notebook Computer

Zonbu have added a Zonbu notebook computer to their low cost, low power, "carbon neutral" desktop Linux computer. As with the desktop Zonbu, this machine is sold with Internet based software support and file storage. The laptop is US$475, plus a monthly support fee of US$14.95 Like a mobile phone plan, the hardware is cheaper if you sign up for a longer support plan. Without the monthly fee you do not get the software upgrades or online storage, but can still use the unit.

Processor: 1.5GHz, VIA C7-M
Intel-compatible, low energy use

Display: 15.4" WXGA Widescreen (1440 x 900) and VGA output

Memory: 512MB

Hard Disk local storage: 60GB (58GB for your data)

Optical Drive: DVD-ROM/CD-RW

Graphics: VIA Chrome9 HC IGP (64MB shared memory, 128MB maximum)

Audio: built-in speaker, microphone and headphone ports

3 USB 2.0 ports

Ethernet: 10/100 Mbps built-in - broadband ready

Wifi: Built-in 802.11b/g

Power Supply: 65W AC-DC Adapter, 15W average power usage

Battery: Rechargeable Lithium-Ion, 2h30 to 3h, depending on usage

Measurements: 14.1" x 10.7" x 1.5" (35.8cm x 27.2cm x 3.8cm)

Weight: 5.3lbs (2.4kg)

The Zonbu notebook is similar in concept to the ASUS Eee PC, but is a full size laptop with a hard disk and DVD drive, unlike the Eee's diskless sub-notebook design.

There is room in the market for more such machines, with a size and features between the Eee PC and the Zonbu. These would have screens between 12 and 15 inches, with or without hard disks and DVD drives. A 12 inch wide screen device with no hard disk and no DVD drive might do well. This would be small enough to be very portable but still have a good size screen and keyboard. The Eee PC's SD card slot could be omitted in favor of a USB "thumb dock". This would be one of the USB ports positioned in a recess in the unit, large enough to accommodate USB Flash Drives which are commonly available. It could also be used for 3G wireless, TV tuners or other USB devices.

New Federal Cabinet

The ABC have reported the new Rudd Federal Cabinet (full list appended). Those related to IT appear to be: Broadband, Communications and Digital Economy: Stephen Conroy, Innovation, Industry, Science and Research: Kim Carr, Education, Employment and Workplace Relations: Julia Gillard, Finance: Lindsay Tanner, Attorney-General: Robert McClelland, Climate Change and Water: Penny Wong, Defence procurement: Greg Combet.

There is no word on departmental rearrangements, presumably responsibility for most of IT will remain with the Communications department, with Finance retaining the government's own internal IT coordination role. Education will also have a large IT role, with computers for schools.

Cabinet:

1. Education, Employment and Workplace Relations: Julia Gillard
2. Treasurer: Wayne Swan
3. Finance: Lindsay Tanner
4. Foreign Affairs: Stephen Smith
5. Defence: Joel Fitzgibbon
6. Attorney-General: Robert McClelland
7. Special minister of state, cabinet secretary: John Faulkner
8. Health and Ageing: Nicola Roxon
9. Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs: Jenny Macklin
10. Environment, Heritage and the Arts: Peter Garrett
11. Climate Change and Water: Penny Wong
12. Immigration and Citizenship: Chris Evans
13. Trade: Simon Crean
14. Broadband, Communications and Digital Economy: Stephen Conroy
15. Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government: Anthony Albanese
16. Resources, Energy and Tourism: Martin Ferguson
17. Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry: Tony Burke
18. Human Services: Joseph Ludwig
19. Innovation, Industry, Science and Research: Kim Carr
20. Home affairs : Bob Debus
21. Defence, Science and Personnel: Warren Snowdon
22. Workforce Participation: Brendan O'Connor
23. Superannuation and Corporate law: Nick Sherry
24. Small Business: Craig Emerson
25. Ageing: Justine Elliot
26. Housing and Status of Women: Tanya Plibersek
27. Youth and Sport: Kate Ellis
28. Veteran Affairs: Alan Griffin
    

Parliamentary secretaries:

1. Parliamentary secretary to the Prime Minister, Early childhood education and childcare: Maxine McKew
2. Parliamentary secretary to the Prime Minister: Anthony Byrne
3. Defence procurement: Greg Combet
4. Defence: Mike KellyInfrastructure - Northern and regional Australia: Gary Gray
5. Disabilities and children services: Bill Shorten
6. Multicultural affairs and settlement programs: Laurie Ferguson
7. International development assistance: Bob McMullan
8. Pacific relations Duncan Kerr
9. Social inclusion: Ursula Stephens
10. Trade: John Murphy

Pipes from RSS Feeds

PC Authority magazine contains a excellent article "Absolutely fabulous" (David Kidd, October 2007) on Web 2.0 and mashups. I used their instructions to create a simple RSS feed using Yahoo's Pipes service. This lets you take data from several feeds, filter and sort it and then pipe it out as a feed. It uses a "join the dots" approach, displaying each source and filter as a box, with the information flows as pipes joining the boxes. I used it to create a custom feed of Seminars at the ANU Computer Science and Information Technology Building. This can then be combined with other announcements and displayed on a screen in the foyer.

Replacing the Batteries in a String Trimmer

A few weeks ago I replaced the cells in a mobile phone battery with new "pre charged" ones. This worked so well I have just done the same thing with a String Trimmer. This was not easy, but will be worthwhile, as the new battery should have twice the lifetime.

The "pre charged" (or "Low Self Discharge") rechargeable nickel metal hydride (NiMH) cells are available in AAA and AA sizes. They cost more than regular rechargeable batteries, but are claimed to be able to be charged 1,000 times, twice the usual. Also they have a lower self discharge rate. As a result they can be left for months before use.

The string trimmer (also called a line trimmer), was a few years old and the battery pack was going flat after a few minutes use. The particular unit uses a Ryobi 12 Volt battery, similar to the battery in many cordless tools.

Repacking battery packs for cordless tools is a lot easier than for cell phones, as they are much larger and use standard size cells. The packs for cordless Drills and Garden Tools commonly contain sub-C cells (as fat as a disposable C size battery, but shorter). Higher voltage tools use more cells in their battery pack (1.2 Volts per cell, so 10 for 12 volts).

The sub-C cells are commonly available with solder tags attached for making up into battery packs. However, I decided to replace them with the smaller precharged AA cells. These cost about the same as the sub-C cells. They have about 17% less capacity than cheap sub-C cells, but they should outlast the C cells and retain their charge longer. Also, because they are smaller than the original cells, it is easier to pack them into the original battery box of the tool.

Rechargeable batteries should only be replaced with equivalent types (same chemistry). NiMH ones should be replaced with NiMH. Nickel-cadmium (NiCd) batteries can be replaced with NiMH, but you may need a different charger. The smaller "pre charged" AA cells should work fine in all but very high power drain devices in place of sub-C cells.

Lithium batteries used in laptops and some new power tools require very specialized charging and can explode or catch fire if not charged correctly . Only a Lithium battery specifically designed for the tool should be used. Do not try substituting Lithium batteries for other types.

In this case the line trimmer came with a 12 volt NiCd battery pack. The trickle charger was rated at 300 mA at 12 volts, so I was reasonably sure that it could recharge the NiMH batteries, without damage.

The first step should be to ensure the battery is discharged. I forgot to do this and was surprised by sparks when I accidentally shorted the terminals with a screwdriver. The next step is to remove the screws holding the pack together (in this case five). Inside were ten sub-C cells glued together, with connecting cables and straps welded on.

One cell was holding the battery connectors in place and I decided to retain this one (while electrically insulating it from the new cells with tape). Prizing out the old cells took some effort as they were glued in place, as well as being attached to each other. With one cell out it was easier to get the others out. I cut the straps connecting the cells together, being careful not to short the battery terminals.

At this point I discovered a small can with two wires attached, taped to one battery. This is a temperature sensor, used by a rapid charger to prevent overheating of the battery. The simple charger I have does not use this sensor, but I decided to retain it anyway and left it attached to the connector.

The new set of cells fitted with room to spare. I could have used a battery holder to both hold the cells and electrically connect them, but decided not to (which I regretted later).

To hold the cells together I used high temperature glue from a glue gun. This may not be the best approach, but the cells should not get hot enough to melt the glue. I simply put four cells side by side, glued them, did the same to another four and glued that set on to of the first. The last two batteries went on top. I made the pack with some spacing between the cells, both to provide some room for air circulation to cool the cells and so the cells filled the container and did not rattle around.

Then I soldered the batteries in series, using a soldering iron and some insulated wire. At this point I regretted not using a battery box, which would have avoided the need for the soldering, which is difficult on the flat terminals of the batteries. With a battery box I would have just had to install each cell and connect two leads from the box.

I then soldered the two leads from the new battery to the old connector of the battery pack. I had some difficulty fitting everything back in the case, but succeeded after a few attempts. I then tested the battery with a multimeter, to make sure the voltage was correct and I had the batteries wired the right way around. Apart from the tool not working correctly, connecting the batteries the wrong way (negative terminal to positive), may damage the tool, the charger ,or cause the battery to explode.

Replacing the battery in the line trimmer showed it was working. I then tried it out on the lawn and then recharged the battery.

Of course, in the end it might have been easier to buy a replacement battery pack. ;-)

See also:

1. Pre Charged NiMH batteries
2. String Trimmers
3. glue guns
4. Battery chargers
5. replacement battery packs

Medicare EFTPOS System

Last week I tried the new "Easyclaim" EFTPOS based system for claiming a Medicare rebate. The system worked but could be made simpler, both for the patient and particularly for the doctor's staff.

With the Easyclaim system, the patient first pays for their treatment to the doctor. This can be done by EFTPOS using a credit, debit or banking card. The Medicare rebate is then claimed using the same bank EFTPOS machine. The patient's Medicare card is first swiped, the details of the claim entered and then the patient's transaction card swiped for the details of where the refund is to be made. The result is that two cards are involved, with three swipes over two transactions.

One difficulty is that the doctor's staff have to pre-set up the system with the types of services provided using the EFTPOS keypad and display for input. The EFTPOS unit has only a numeric keypad and small LCD screen making this data entry difficult.

Some ways the system could be made simpler would be to have a bank account pre-set by default for all payments to the patient. This would remove the need for their transaction card to be swiped each time. This could be a bank account chosen specifically for Medicare payments, or could be one for all government payments. That would also reduce the risk of fraud.

Also there could be an option for the doctor's staff to enter the setup details via a secure web page, rather than via the EFTPOS terminal. This would allow for easier data entry.

However, the Esiclaim system, despite some problems, is worthwhile. It is relatively small, simple and inexpensive, compared to the Australian Government Smart Card Project, which the policy of incoming ALP government rightly intends to scrap.

Web to help Australian Government Changes

The ALP released policies for savings of $10B in Australian government expenditure, leading up to the federal election. These policies involve new programs and streamlining of existing ones. ICT will play a significant role in implementation of these polices. The internet and the web, in particular can be used to make the process much easier.

The savings and offsets announcements were in three annoucements. These were provided to the Treasury and Finance departments, so no doubt work has already started on how to implement this policy:

• Labor's $3 Billion Savings Plan, Media Statement, and Savings document, Lindsay Tanner, ALP, 2 March 2007
• Cleaning Up Government, Media Statement and Background Information, 8th August 2007
• Labor Delivers On Savings, Media Statement, Lindsay Tanner, ALP, 22 November 2007

The policy included:

1. Replacing the work skill vouchers with more TAFE places ($623 millio),
2. Abolishing the Access Card Project ($933 million);
3. Implementing a Solar Schools initiative with funds from the Green Vouchers program ($285 million);
4. Better Dental Plan for Australians in place of the Chronic Disease Dental program ($372 million);
5. Implement Better Tax Plan ($3.1 billion);
   
6. Increase tax compliance ($740 million).
7. 2 per cent increase in the efficiency dividend ($1.5 billion);
8. Introduction of common purchasing arrangements ($150 million); and
9. Reduce MPs printing allowance ($23.4 million);
10. Reduce ministerial staff by 30 per cent ($101.5 million);
11. Reduce parliamentary liaison officers ($52.5 million);
12. Abolish the Government Communications Unit ($19.6 million);
13. Cut back on media monitoring ($12 million).

Everex Green PC

Everex are selling a GPC (Green PC) through Walmart in the USA for $US199. This comes with the gOS distribution of the Linux operating system and a mix of open source (Mozilla Firefox, OpenOffice.org 2.2 and GIMP) and Google Applications such as gMail and Blogger. The hardware specifications are similar to the Zonbu PC, with a 1.5GHz VIA C7-D Processor and 512MB RAM, Ethernet Port, VGA, 6 USB 2.0 Ports, but unlike the Zonbu it has a 80GB Hard Disk and is in a conventional PC mini-tower case. While the Everex and Walmart web sites mention a CD-ROM/DVD burner, it is not clear if this is included in the $US199 price.

It is likely that we will see more such "Green" computers, made by using a low power CPU, Linux and a minimum of peripherals. Both the Everex GPC and the Zonbu are over-specified for the application. The Everex uses large standard PC components to lower cost, with a cheap beige box, whereas the Zonbu appears to be using an over-engineered set-top box case. A lower cost unit could be designed using the same VIA single board computer in a simple steel case larger than the Zonbu, but smaller than the Everex. To reduce the cost further, the Fash memory (for a diskless unit), could be via a USB connector, omitting the flash card slot of the Zonbu.

It will be interesting to see which packaging of components and which level of features will appeal to the consumer and to business. A box which looks like a PC will appeal to some consumers, even though this will be mostly empty space. A small slim box will appeal to others.

Pervasive Technology for Environmental Sustainability

A workshop on Pervasive Persuasive Technology and Environmental Sustainability is to be held at the 6th International Conference on Pervasive Computing, 2008, May 19-22, Sydney, Australia. Pervasive computing is also called Ubiquitous computing:

From the Call for participation:

The key theme of this workshop around environmental sustainability will be addressed threefold:

1. Providing people with environmental data and educational information – via mass communications such as film, TV and print and new media, ­or micro communications such as pervasive sensor networks...

2. Pervasiveness can easily turn invasive. It has already caused negative consequences in biological settings (e.g., algae in lakes and oceans, kudzu vine in the southeastern US, rabbits and cane toads in Australia). Pervasive can be a dangerous term when the ecological impacts are disregarded. ...

3. Addressing the 21st century Digital Divide: The mass uptake of pervasive technology brings about digitally networked and augmented societies; however, access is still not universal. Castells and others use the notion of the ‘digital divide’ to account for those whose voices are not heard by this technology. ...

Blended meetings with ICT support

Greetings from the Australian Computer Society Council meeting in Sydney. This will be the last meeting of the ACS Council, due to a change in the decision make process. Over about ten years I have reported on the progress with adoption of IT by the ACS to improve its decision making. Here are some comments on the state, as at the last Council.

Physical arrangement of the ACS meeting room are much the same as for the November 2005 meeting. There are about 25 people in a meeting room in Sydney sitting around a U shaped table. At the open end of the U is an electronic projection screen with the agenda and papers on it. in front of them.

About 20 of the 25 people have their own laptop computer in front of the them, there are connected with a WiFi node which the ACS brings to meetings and through the hotel network to the Internet. The agenda and papers are provided electronically on a secure part of the ACS web site. The agenda is a HTML web page, with the agenda papers linked to this. The agenda papers are mostly PDF files, with some Microsoft Word documents and Powerpoint presentations. The full set of papers is also available from the web site as one zipped file.

Previously the ACS had a separate "internet" web site for the meetings. This has now been incorporated into the main site, with Council members authorized to the additional materials.

When someone wants to make a presentation at the meeting they can stay where they sit and be passed a wireless microphone and a video cable for their laptop. Most times prepared presentations are given. Sometimes after discussion proposals are modified live on the screen using a word processor. This was everyone can follow the details of what changes are being made.

One change for this council is the use of a conference audio system. This is a Phillips "Digital Congress System", similar to the one I used at the Beijing Olympics 2008 meeting in China. The chair and executive at the meeting each have their own microphone, other delegates share one microphone between two people. The microphone units also have a loudspeaker and a push to talk button. A light on the microphone helps indicate to the listeners who is talking. This system is controlled from a rack mount electronics box.

As I suggested after the Beijing meeting, this functionality could be incorporated into wireless laptops. This would be difficult to do with the delegates own units, but might work well with something like the ASUS Eee PC and a $10 desktop microphone. The software used for remote teleconferencing could be used in the room.

Much of the time the attendees are intent reading and typing at their laptops. This can be a bit disconcerting if you are giving a presentation and the audience doesn't appear to be paying attention. But often the audience is actively working on what you are talking about, reading ahead in the presentation, searching and preparing counter proposals.

One Council member was not able to attend in person and so was to join by teleconference. This is done using POTS equipment, not via the Internet. This brings up one of the strengths of this ad-hoc arrangement of technology: the system is relatively robust, due to the different systems used, at the price of complexity. If one fully integrated system was used, the meeting would not be able to continue if the system failed.

Cabaret style meeting room?

The meeting layout is not perfect the U shape allows everyone to see each other, but is an inefficient use of space and the size makes it hard to see the screen at one end of the room and the chair at the other. Perhaps MIT's TEAL flexible learning centre room design might be suitable for meetings, with deligates at round tables and screens around the walls.

See also:

• Running an organization online: The Australian Computer Society, November 25, 2005
  

Zonbu thin Linux Client Energy Efficiency

As I was going to demonstrate the Zonbu Linux PC at the the ACS Green ICT group, I thought I should check its actual power consumption. My first attempt was almost fatal, the second, showed is was much as expected and about one tenth that of a regular desktop PC.

Do Not Try This at Home

I set my digital multimeter to measure Amperes and prepared to attach it to the power terminals. There is then a simple calculation to convert Amps x Volts into Watts. But exactly what was the voltage? I thought I should check that works, so I connected the meter across the power terminals, neglecting to reset the meter first to measure voltage. The meter created a short circuit, there was a loud "BANG", a flash and a cloud of acrid smoke as the multimeter absorbed 10 Amps and saved me from serious injury or death.

Electricity Usage Monitor

I then purchased a purpose designed Electricity Usage Monitor this has a plug to fit into a standard wall socket and the appliance to be tested plugs into the meter. I obtained one for AU$39.90 with an Australian plug. The unit has a small LCD screen to show power measured and a few buttons. The specifications state it is accurate to +-10% or +- 10 Watts. Given that the device I am testing draws only a few tens of Watts, the measurements could be suspect.

To test the meter I plugged in some 60 Watt incandescent light bulbs, these were measured at between 61 and 63 Watts, suggesting the meter was within the 10% stated accuracy.

Connected my the Zonbu computer the power measured was between 14 and 19 Watts. The power supply is rated at 20 Watts, so this is a reasonable reading.

For comparison I measured the power for my Twinhead subnotebook computer. To make a fair comparison, I removed the battery. This gave a wider range of readings than for the Zonbu:

Booting: 34 W
Screen off: 12W
Screen on: 17W

Installing the battery increased the power consumption by 5 Watts. This was when the batter was charged, indiciating the charging circuit was drawi9ng a significant amount of power.

I will test a desktop computer when I have one to hand.

2007 National Architecture Awards

The 2007 Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) National Architecture Awards included several buildings I have visited and blogged:

1. The Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture: State Library of Queensland, South Bank, South Brisbane, QLD, Donovan Hill Peddle Thorp National
2. RAIA Award for Public Architecture: John Curtin School of Medical Research - Stage 1 Redevelopment, ANU, Canberra, ACT
3. The RAIA Walter Burley Griffin Award for Urban Design: Southern Cross Station, Spencer Street, Melbourne, VIC): Grimshaw Jackson JV
4. Sustainable Architecture National RAIA Award for Sustainable Architecture, UTAS School of Architecture , Launceston, TA, SBE & Six Degrees Pty Ltd
5. National RAIA Award for Sustainable Architecture, Council House 2 (CH2), Melbourne CBD, VIC, City of Melbourne + DesignInc Melbourne

Apart from CH2, which I found disappointing, I the judges made reasonable choices.

Australian Government Web Accessibility Test

The Web Standards Group meeting this Wednesday at the National Library of Australia had a demonstration and a talk on accessibility of government web sites. Debra Wells used JAWS screen reader software on a laptop to try to find information on several web sites. complete a set of simple tasks on a number of Australian Government web sites. Ruth Ellison, from Stamford Interactive, then talked on how to motivate web workers and executives to implement accessibility.

Screen reader testing of Australian Government web sites

The first test was to find the Web Publishing Guide on AGIMO's web site<http://webpublishing.agimo.gov.au>. What the audience heard was a very fast, uninteligible synthetic voice reading through the options on the AGIMO web site. It was surprising how much text had to be read through to find the needed option. Those who want lots of text on their web site might be made to have to sit down and navigate this way.

The voice was then slowed down to a rate the audience could understand and the BOM web site was navigated <http://www.bom.gov.au>. Unfortunately the standard screen display was used so that while the audience could hear the voice they could not easily follow where it was reading from on the screen. The BOM annual report was found on the BOM home page, but after reading out a lot of "vertical bar"s.

The same process was then carried out on the Environment Department web site. On this site there were many "bullet link"s read out, but the annual report was found. An audience member suggested that a quicker way to find the annual report was with a search. This was tried, but department's search function listed so many old annual reports for parts of the agency, that the latest report for the whole agency was not found.

The Australian Council for the Arts web site was then tried. This has a Flash animated graphic at the top of the page which is labeled with unhelpful numeric codes such as "1", "2", "3". When this was skipped, there were other objects on the page causing navigation problems. This was the poorest page tried in the demonstration and one which needs attention to bring it up to an acceptable standard.

The annual report of the Health and Aging and Archive Office web pages were then checked at high reading high speed. Each took 45 seconds. By now the audience had got used to the synthetic voice and were able to follow where it was up to, if not understand many of the words.
Debora pointed out that many users would not have the latest reading software, which was being demonstrated, due to the cost. Older versions may not be able to read PDF.

An online survey was then filled in on the Australia government home page. This worked reasonably well, but it was evident how tedious repeated text in a web site can be.

A kids flash page about Parliament house was then tried. The sound of a lawn mower included with an animation then drowned out Jaws voice, making navigation difficult. There was an option to turn off sound which the sighted audience could read, but this was not found using the voice system, making the web content unusable.

Implementing accessibility in Government

Ruth Ellison, from Stamford International, talked about how to get across the importance of accessibility to web designers, project managers and senior decision makers. For those who simply say: "tell them to use the accessibility guidelines", this was a valuable lesson in the realities of motivation.

Ruith gave examples of where accessibility is not just about a group of identified individuals, for example "situational disability", of trying to use a device on a crowded tram. Some impairments are temporary, others permanent and some develop over time. She argued for a holistic approach and not just something tacked onto then end of the web design process.

Ruith suggested ROIs with reduced compensation claims, maintenance and litigation. This might be more effective than appealing to the better nature of a CFO. ;-) She also suggested looking at accessibility when buying off the shelf and tendering for development. She showed images of ZoomText keyboards, Braille displays and alternate mice.

See also books and products:

• Books on Accessible Web Design
• ZoomText Large Print Keyboard
• braille devices

Carbon Neutral Linux Computers, Canberra, 21 November 2007

On Wednesday I will talk in Canberra at th4e ACS Green ICT Group about the Zonbu thin client computer and Green ICT in general. All welcome:

Australian Computer Society
Green IT Special Interest Group
November Canberra Meeting

Topic: Carbon Neutral Linux Computers

Speaker: Tom Worthington, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, ANU Computer Science Department and Char of the ACS Green Technology Group

Venue: Australian National University, Room N101, Computer Science Building, North Road, Canberra
Date: Wednesday 21 November 2007
Time: 5:30pm drinks/nibbles for presentation 6pm-7pm
Event Prices: Free.
Registration: At the ACS Events System

Note: this topic replaces the previously announced talk by Michael Smith.

Summary

A study sponsored by the Australian Computer Society has shown that computers and telecommunications equipment in Australia generated 7.94Mt of carbon dioxide in 2005, 1.52% of national emissions. The ACS issued a Policy Statement for Green ICT, which includes suggestions on initiatives ICT professionals, government, consumers and ICT manufacturers can take to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions attributable to the use of ICT equipment. Tom Worthington, chair of the ACS Green IT Group, will discuss options available and demonstrate a new low power "thin client" computer using a "carbon neutral" processor.

About the Speaker

Tom Worthington is a consulting ICT professional, who represents his client's interests with software engineers, hardware suppliers, contractors and other suppliers engaged on a computer project. Tom has been an expert witness in several court cases involving international patent, computer, web and Internet issues, as well as advising governments and companies on ICT problems. He is a Adjunct Senior Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology at the Australian National University, where he teaches the design of web sites, e-commerce and professional ethics. In 1999 he was elected a Fellow of the Australian Computer Society for his contribution to the development of public Internet policy.

In addition, Tom has an interest in architecture, environmental design, energy and water saving technology. He is the founding chair of the ACS Green ICT Group, and has been invited as a guest lecturer on the effects of ICT on urban design for the Bauhaus Dessau and on smart apartment design at the University of Canberra.

Tom is author of the book Net Traveller and information technology professional, with 22 years experience. He writes about buying and selling on the net, e-commerce, net business, people using the Internet and travel.

Tom is a past president, Fellow and Honorary Life Member of the Australian Computer Society, a voting member of the Association for Computing Machinery and a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

About ACS Green IT

The ICT Environmental Sustainability Group ("Green IT") brings together professionals interested in balancing economic and environmental aspects of information technology and telecommunications. It is a special interest group of the Australian Computer Society. The group aims to hold joint meetings with other professional bodies interested in technology, the environment and sustainability. Sign up now to get updates on ICT and the environment.

Open Source Office in the Sky

The Singapore airlines A380 airliners have OpenOffice.org's office software available from passenger seats. The passenger plus a flash drive into supplied USB socket with their documents, then uses a thumb board and the LCD screen to look at the documents. This must make the A380 one of the biggest mobile offices ever built. ;-)

The only images I could find of the setup were in a Singapore airlines video. Here are two still images from the video of the thumb keyboard and the USB socket on the seat back. There is also a larger keyboard in the video which appears to be plugged into the USB socket.

The eX2-branded upgrade of the Krisworld in-flight entertainment (IFE)
system running on Panasonic Avionics’ S3000i platform will provide 100 movies,
more than 150 TV programmes, 700 audio CDs, and 22 audio programmes – all on
demand.

Passengers will be able to access files on thumbdrives via the IFE by
plugging the drives into at-seat USB ports and using the ‘QWERTY-thumboard’
provided to run documents, spreadsheets and presentations on a system based on
Sun Microsystem’s StarOffice.

From: Singapore
Airlines unveils A380 and lays out service plans, By Kieran Daly, Flight,
15/10/07

City Integration Key to Olympic Success

Lawrence Nield of Bligh Voller Nield Architects, talked on Olympic Designs and his experience in planning and design for the Sydney, Athens and Beijing Olympics at Old Parliament House in Canberra today. There is also an exhibition "Olympic Cities: Designing for Winning" at the same venue until 17 February 2008. There was also supposed to be a display of winning entries in a design competition for a The Athletic Village: Designs to Combat Obesity., but I did not notice them.

This is part of the University of Canberra's Canberra Biennial: Winning by Design: Designing for Sport in 21C. This seems to be a poorly organised and halfhearted attempt at a cultural event. Those responsible should either put the resources into the 2010 or cancel it.

Lawrence Nield gave an excellent talk, despite having just arrived from London, where he has been part of bids for the 2012 Olympic venues. He argued that the sport is an important urban ritual. Cities are more important that countries for the Olympics. He pointed out that an Australian competed in the first modern Olympics in 1896. Later games were not just about sport and incorporated art and some where held in conjunctions with expositions (Paris and St Luis). Helsinki has the most influential Olympic stadium architecture. The architect for the 1940 (unofficial) Olympics is unknown. Mexico had the best graphics. Barcelona integrated the games into public spaces of the city. Atlanta had the poorest public transport. Sydney succeeded by bringing heavy rail into the Olympic venue. Athens similarly used transport well.

Lawrence Nield suggested London 2012 would have been better off using the new Wembley stadium than building a new venue. He said that the time of the games could be extended and cheaper venues used to allow African and South American cities to host the games.

For my more modest contribution to Olympic design, see: Making an Accessible and Functional Website for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Official Website Preliminary Strategy Plan Symposium, Beijing, November 2003.

See also:
Books on Olympic architecture
Web pages on Olympic architecture

Voted Electronically in the Australian Federal Election

On Saturday I casted an electronic vote in the Australian Federal election. This was using the Australian Electoral Commission's system for people who are blind or have low vision. There is a separate system for overseas defense personnel to vote electronically. The system worked and I suggest should be an option for pre-polling at future elections for all voters.

Previously I had voted electronically in the last two ACT (Canberra) local government elections. As I was going to be spending election day at at a meeting interstate, I decided to cast an early vote. The pre polling place was equipped with the trial electronic system and, as I do have less than perfect eyesight, I decided to try it.

I had to wait a minute until the polling official trained in use of the system was ready. I was escorted into a separate room equipped with a computer. Those from countries with less robust democracies may be worried about being taken into a back room to vote and I would have been more comfortable in a partitioned par of the mail room. But this allowed the official to give me an individual and thorough briefing on the process:

The trial being undertaken allows electors to record their votes using an electronically assisted method.

Electors who have some vision may be able to use the 21inch flat screen monitor. The display is either yellow on black or black on white, with an option for larger font.

Electors who cannot use the monitor will be guided through the process by voice instructions using headphones. The voter will navigate the system using a telephone-style keypad, which has large black numbers on a white background. The operation of each key is explained by the voice, but is also available in the voting centre in large print and in Braille.

Voters will be invited to become familiar with the machine by using a practice voting session, and a polling official will assist in this practice. When the voter is ready to vote, the polling official will enable the machine to present the correct ballots to the voter, and will then leave the voter to vote in private.

Once the voter has made their selections, the voter’s preferences will be printed on a small laser printer next to the electronic voting machine. The preferences are contained within a two-dimensional barcode to preserve the secrecy of the vote in the polling place. These barcodes will be decoded later so the votes can be counted along with all other votes. At no time will the voter’s preferences be able to be associated with that voter.

When the voter is finished voting, a polling official will assist the voter to place the votes in the declaration vote envelope, and the declaration vote envelope in the ballot box.

From: Electronic Voting Trials for Electors who are Blind or have Low Vision, AEC 2007

The process worked as described. I used the LCD screen with large yellow on black text. While this is favored for low vision use, I found the brightness and contrast too high, but better than the white on black screen. The system needs to be provided with a lower contrast color combination option.

During the process I noticed a voice in the background, which turned out to be instructions from the headphones on the desk. These are normally removed for people using the screen, but the voice was a reassurance.

The numeric keypad is set in a large flat sloping surface, making it easy to locate. The key has the standard dimple on the 5 key, for easy location. It would have been useful if the keys were marked or shaped as to their function, with an arrow pattern and a larger "enter" key. This might be done by using the numeric keypad of a standard keyboard, with the other keys covered, or an addon keypad.

I did not use the practice session and found the system easy enough to use without the polling official. The system displays the lower house voting first and the Senate. There is a brief descriptive text than the list of candidates underneath. The voter navigates up and down to their first preference and selects it. They then select the other candidates until all are done. even with the longer list on the Senate paper, this proved reasonably easy.

One problem is that bold text is used to highlight a selection. It was not easy to see which was the selected option in menus. It would be better if a bullet marker, or arrow appeared next to the selection.

The barcode printout of the vote is reassuring in that you can feel something has been recorded. But folding the paper to fit in the small pre-poll "dl" size envelopes must lower the reliability of reading the barcodes and considerably slow the process. The AEC should produce some envelopes to hold full size pages, or perhaps use paper small enough to fit in the existing envelopes (assuming full electronic voting is not used).

The system used was much the same as used in the ACT elections, as both were produced by the same company for a similar electoral process.

Internet Voting

It should be noted that the system I used to vote is not Internet voting. The computer used is not connected to the Internet, it is under the supervision of polling officials in a polling place and the votes are printed on paper. The system used in the ACT elections is more electronic, in that the votes are recorded and counted electronically. But even with this system the votes are not sent over the Internet.

The system being trialled for ADF and civilian staff to vote electronically is more like an Internet voting system. This system uses a web based interface, but is on the secure Defence computer network, not the public Internet :

Remote electronic voting has the potential to provide a more effective voting service than traditional means by reducing the logistical overhead of managing paper-based ballots in remote overseas operational locations.

The secure Defence information technology system is being used as the carrier for the electronic voting data transmission. The system is fully encrypted and meets national security and privacy standards.

The data will be transmitted straight to the AEC through a secure gateway. No one in Defence is able to view the data or the votes that have been cast.

Should there be any technical difficulties with the electronic voting trial, Defence personnel can still cast their votes as paper-based postal votes, which will also be sent to all registered electronic voting trial participants.

From: Remote Electronic Voting for overseas Australian Defence Force personnel, AEC, 2007

Permit Pre-Poll Voting for All

It would be prohibitively expensive to use electronic voting for all electors in Australian federal elections. As with the ACT system, it would be feasible to equip the larger polling places, which are also used also for pre-polls with electronic equipment. Currently the electoral act limits pre-poll voting to a few people. The result is that these polling booths are unused for most of the time. If the Act was was changed to allow anyone to pre-poll, that could allow the collection of perhaps 50% of the votes electronically. This would lower the cost of the election and speed the result, as these votes could be counted electronically, as is done in the ACT elections.

The COMMONWEALTH ELECTORAL ACT 1918 - SECT 200A Grounds of application for pre-poll vote could be amended to remove the restrictions in Schedule 2 and be shortened to say:

(1) An elector may pre‑poll vote.

Gutter Cleaning Robot

iRobot is a US company which makes small household appliance robots. Unlike Robbie the robot, these are each designed to do one specific task, such Vacuuming, Floor Washing, or Pool Cleaning. The iRobot Looj Gutter Cleaning Robot is the latest (September 2007) and appears to be one of their less successful products and the least "robotic". Essentially it is a radio control tiny tractor which drives along the gutter with a flail at the front to throw the leaves out.

In 2006 I attended a talk by Professor Rodney Brooks, Director of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, at the ANU in Canberra. He argues that low cost flexible robots which can be easily set up by workers (not robot experts) are becoming feasible. Robots need not be able to do everything a human can do to be useful, they can do the easy (for them) more repetitive tasks.

However, it is difficult to see the difference between the iRobot Verro 300 Pool-Cleaning Robot, for example and previous automatic pool cleaners.

Printing and Banking with the Zonbu

After three days with the Zonbu thin client computer I stared to forget it was any different to any other desktop computer. I had a query from a "Sundowner" asking how it would go in a caravan and for banking. It should work well in a vehicle and I would be more confident of the security of a Linux computer than a Windows one for Internet banking (St George's Internet banking worked fine).
Adding a pinter will cause confusion for many people. By default documents are "printed" to PDF files and that works very well. When I plugged my old Cannon i250 ink jet printer in, the system recognized it, but then offered me an Apple printer driver. This Cannon is not in the list, and when I went to check the web what to use instead (turned out to be a bjc-7000), I somehow stopped the printer installation wit a CUPS error. The system then locked and I had to turn off the power to restart the machine. I have not been able to install a printer using the utility. While the computer locking up is annoying, my Windows XP laptop does this every few days (I then have to remove the batter to restart it) and have regular problems with printers under Windows.

The Zonbu certainly looks robust enough to survive being used in a caravan. I am not sure about RF output for a Caravan TV, you might be better off with an LCD TV which has VGA input as well.

You will need a 12 to 5 Volt adapter to run it from a car battery and will need someone to solder the unusual three pin DIN plug on the adaptor.

My limited experience of Telstra Next G is that it works fine. Just be careful of the data charges and that you get a data interface which does not need special software on the computer. I have found plugging wireless into a router and the router into the computer eliminates a lot of problems. The NetComm N3G001W 3G Wireless Router works with NextG, but is not cheap.

Security for Internet banking should be better with the Zonbu than with a Windows computer. But if your bank has any Windows/Internet Explorer specific software it may not work. I tried it with St George Bank and it worked fine.

ps: Another option would be the ASUS Eee PC diskless Linux subnotebook computer. This has a similar processor and software to the Zonbu, but includes a screen, keyboard and battery. But the last time I checked, these were not available in Australia.

The soft worked satisfactorily on a high speed Internet connection, I took it home to try my slower 256/64 kbps wireless iBurst link. As expected this worked okay; the applications and data are stored in local flash memory, along with documents. It is only when you need something from the Internet, such as the Zonbu documentation, which is on the web, you notice the slowness.

Zonbu at Home

After the Zonbu thin client computer worked satisfactorily on a high speed Internet connection, I took it home to try my slower 256/64 kbps wireless iBurst link. As expected this worked okay; the applications and data are stored in local flash memory, along with documents. It is only when you need something from the Internet, such as the Zonbu documentation, which is on the web, you notice the slowness.

The unit worked successfully with a different mouse, keyboard and screen. On booting the unit detected a large DELL 2405FPW LCD wide screen was installed and the Zonbu set the resolution ot the screen's native 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution, giving a very good image. Unfortunately, even with this large screen the "large" system font is still too small for comfortable reading.

A USB external hard disk (originally from a Windows XP laptop) was connected and worked satisfactorily, with the Windows files being accessible. The WiFi USB was attached, was recognized by the software and several WiFi stations were detected.

One issue is the effect of files copied to Zonbu Online Storage on my limited broadband allocation. Data is being continuously uploaded. This does not seem to effect the web use, but there were 204 items in the queue to be uploaded at one stage. So optimization of this process may be possible as it is unlikely that many of the temporary working files need to be backed up.

After several hours of use the reason for the heavy aluminum case for th Zonbu became apparent, the whole case became warm, apparently acting as a heat sink for the CPU. When mounted tower style, the fins on the sides carry away heat, but the top becomes almost uncomfortably warm to touch. The top of the case was the hottest to touch. With the room temperature now at a comfortable 20 degrees, it would be interesting to see how hot the unit would get on a Canberra day of 40 degrees.

Carbon offsets for Australian ICT

Had a call from Matt Kocaman at Australian Carbon Pty Ltd (Australian Carbon) . He is looking to sell carbon offset packages to the IT industry:

... Auscarbon offers a variety of services to meet the needs of Australian households and organisations of all sizes. ...

All our projects and programs produce the highest quality offsets available (NGACs - NSW Greenhouse Abatement Certificates) and (GFACs – Federal Governments Greenhouse Friendly Certificates).

Auscarbon International develops and implements greenhouse gas reduction projects including Joint Implementation (JI) and Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects under the Kyoto Protocol and Verified Emission Reduction (VER) projects under voluntary and emerging Government programs in Australia. ...

Carbon Sequestration (Forest Sinks)

We specialize in large scale, fully accredited, commercial forestry plantings to generate significant commercial quantities of carbon credits for the next 100 years. We provide turn key solutions for clients that wish to have direct ownership. Customers have the choice to own their own carbon sink or pool with others. ...

Fugitive Gas Capture & Flaring: We have experience in recovery, control, capture and utilization of methane gas from farm waste biomass, council waste water treatment facilities and solid waste landfills. Our specialists can conceive, design, build and manage projects throughout Australia and South East Asia. ...

Solar Solutions: Our staff have considerable experience in assessing, designing and installing commercial solar systems. With both State and Federal Governments providing generous rebates now is an opportune time to significantly reduce your carbon emissions and your power bills. ...

Renewable Energy: Our personnel have experience in developing renewable energy projects and it is an area of great interest to the company. Auscarbon is actively working on more efficient combustion systems and energy efficiency that result in reductions in GHG emissions. ...

Direct Ownership of Carbon Credit Generating Assets such as forests. Auscarbon International will create and manage the carbon sink, from Land Acquisition right through to Abatement Certificate generation, on behalf of an organisation looking to own their own carbon sink. This is available for as little as 1 hectare plantings right up to 10,000 hectares.

From: What we do?, AusCarbon International, 2007

Booting the Zonbu

Having obtained the password and user id for the Zonbu thin client computer, I plugged in the screen keyboard and network connection, then booted it. It took 80 seconds to boot Linux, which is reasonable and then after entering the user id and password another 30 seconds to bring up the desktop. Later I found that the system was loading OpenOffice.Org at startup and turning this option off may speed the system.

The results were an anti-climax, being a slightly customized Kubuntu looking desktop. There is a n image of a hobbit-like turf covered building as the background to the desktop. The applications have been pared down, but Firefox 2 and OpenOffice.org 2.3 are present and work as expected. PDF documents display using Adobe Reader 7.0.

There was no documentation or "read me" file apparent on the desktop. But opening Firefox took me to the Zonbu support page. There are some parameter settings which some sort of wizard tool would be useful in helping the user with. As an example the time zone is set for US West Coast. Another difficulty was that the default font and icon sizes are too small for me to see comfortably, even after using "Desktop Setting" to "Large". This could be a problem if the units are sold to older computer users with poor eyesight.

Documents created with the OpenOffice.Org word processor are saved to a documents folder on the desktop. These documents are then periodically copied to Zonbu Online Storage. I was able to create a document with the network disabled and this document was copied to the online storage when the network was reconnected.

A "Storage Settings" utility shows that 2.58 mb of the 2 gbytes of online storage has been used so far. 2GB is the minimum amount supplied by Zonbu, for a monthly fee more can be purchased. The local cache is shown as using 11.05 mbytes out of 2.49 GB. Presumably the other 2.51 GB of the 4 GB flash card is taken up with the operating system and applications.

Here is a sample of the "upload.log" showing the files copied to the online storage. It should be noted that not only are user created documents copied but also files such as the web browser cookies and even deleted files in the trash:

/Desktop/third copy of bp2_expense.pdf
/Desktop/third copy of Aus_Greens_FTA.mp4
/.config/xfce4/desktop/icons.screen0.rc.6101.tmp
/.config/xfce4/desktop/icons.screen0.rc
del:/.config/xfce4/desktop/icons.screen0.rc.6101.tmp
/.mozilla/firefox/3ijd1xdq.default/cookies-1.txt
/.mozilla/firefox/3ijd1xdq.default/cookies.txt
del:/.mozilla/firefox/3ijd1xdq.default/cookies-1.txt
/.mozilla/firefox/3ijd1xdq.default/cookies-1.txt
/.mozilla/firefox/3ijd1xdq.default/cookies.txt
del:/.mozilla/firefox/3ijd1xdq.default/cookies-1.txt
/.gconfd/saved_state
/.gconfd/saved_state.tmp
/.gconfd/saved_state.orig
del:/.gconfd/saved_state
/.gconfd/saved_state
del:/.gconfd/saved_state.tmp
del:/.gconfd/saved_state.orig

When first booted the system seemed a little slow, but after a few minutes a prompt saying the system software had been updated and I should reboot. The system then got faster, presumably having been busy downloading the update. The software download was no more annoying than updates to Microsoft Windows. As delivered the software was Zonbu 6.971 and the download took this to 7.1008.

This is all being done on a broadband connection, operating at about 1.6 Mbps. It will be interesting to see how well the system performs on my slower 256/64 kbps wireless iBurst link. As the applications are stored in local flash memory, along with documents, the system should work acceptably with a slow broadband connection. In thin client terminology, this is a "thick" thin client, with the processing happening locally in the desktop box.

To test the audio I played a video, and in the process discovered several useful videos about the Zonbu. Curiously the person demonstrating how to unbox the Zonbu has an Australian accent:

1. Unboxing the Zonbu
2. Zonbu Linux
3. zonbu $99 linux box tour
4. How to change the Compact Flash card of the Zonbu Mini

Some technical details:

pcor@localhost ~ $ uname -a
Linux localhost 2.6.22.4-zonbu.1 #1 PREEMPT Tue Oct 23 21:32:41 EDT 2007 i686 VIA Esther processor 1200MHz CentaurHauls GNU/Linux
pcor@localhost ~ $ cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor : 0
vendor_id : CentaurHauls
cpu family : 6
model : 10
model name : VIA Esther processor 1200MHz
stepping : 9
cpu MHz : 1197.048
cache size : 128 KB
fdiv_bug : no
hlt_bug : no
f00f_bug : no
coma_bug : no
fpu : yes
fpu_exception : yes
cpuid level : 1
wp : yes
flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge cmov pat clflush acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 tm nx pni est tm2 rng rng_en ace ace_en ace2 ace2_en phe phe_en pmm pmm_en
bogomips : 2394.70
clflush size : 64

pcor@localhost ~ $ cat /proc/meminfo
MemTotal: 449408 kB
MemFree: 8812 kB
Buffers: 15368 kB
Cached: 235272 kB
SwapCached: 0 kB
Active: 194092 kB
Inactive: 161536 kB
SwapTotal: 393208 kB
SwapFree: 393152 kB
Dirty: 68 kB
Writeback: 0 kB
AnonPages: 105016 kB
Mapped: 82580 kB
Slab: 14064 kB
SReclaimable: 5452 kB
SUnreclaim: 8612 kB
PageTables: 2732 kB
NFS_Unstable: 0 kB
Bounce: 0 kB
CommitLimit: 617912 kB
Committed_AS: 420988 kB
VmallocTotal: 581332 kB
VmallocUsed: 8128 kB
VmallocChunk: 573136 kB
pcor@localhost ~ $ xdpyinfo
name of display: :0.0
version number: 11.0
vendor string: The X.Org Foundation
vendor release number: 70101000
X.Org version: 7.1.1
maximum request size: 16777212 bytes
motion buffer size: 256
bitmap unit, bit order, padding: 32, LSBFirst, 32
image byte order: LSBFirst
number of supported pixmap formats: 7
supported pixmap formats:
depth 1, bits_per_pixel 1, scanline_pad 32
depth 4, bits_per_pixel 8, scanline_pad 32
depth 8, bits_per_pixel 8, scanline_pad 32
depth 15, bits_per_pixel 16, scanline_pad 32
depth 16, bits_per_pixel 16, scanline_pad 32
depth 24, bits_per_pixel 32, scanline_pad 32
depth 32, bits_per_pixel 32, scanline_pad 32
keycode range: minimum 8, maximum 255
focus: window 0x2000021, revert to Parent
number of extensions: 29
BIG-REQUESTS
Composite
DAMAGE
DPMS
Extended-Visual-Information
GLX
MIT-SCREEN-SAVER
MIT-SHM
MIT-SUNDRY-NONSTANDARD
RANDR
RENDER
SECURITY
SGI-GLX
SHAPE
SYNC
TOG-CUP
X-Resource
XC-APPGROUP
XC-MISC
XFIXES
XFree86-Bigfont
XFree86-DGA
XFree86-DRI
XFree86-Misc
XFree86-VidModeExtension
XInputExtension
XKEYBOARD
XTEST
XVideo
default screen number: 0
number of screens: 1

screen #0:
print screen: no
dimensions: 1280x1024 pixels (342x271 millimeters)
resolution: 95x96 dots per inch
depths (7): 16, 1, 4, 8, 15, 24, 32
root window id: 0x48
depth of root window: 16 planes
number of colormaps: minimum 1, maximum 1
default colormap: 0x20
default number of colormap cells: 64
preallocated pixels: black 0, white 65535
options: backing-store NO, save-unders NO
largest cursor: 1280x1024
current input event mask: 0x7a802c
ButtonPressMask ButtonReleaseMask LeaveWindowMask
ExposureMask StructureNotifyMask SubstructureNotifyMask
SubstructureRedirectMask FocusChangeMask PropertyChangeMask
number of visuals: 12
default visual id: 0x22
visual:
visual id: 0x22
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x23
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x24
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x25
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x26
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x27
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x28
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x29
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x2a
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x2b
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x2c
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x2d
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
pcor@localhost ~ $ xdpyinfo|more
name of display: :0.0
version number: 11.0
vendor string: The X.Org Foundation
vendor release number: 70101000
X.Org version: 7.1.1
maximum request size: 16777212 bytes
motion buffer size: 256
bitmap unit, bit order, padding: 32, LSBFirst, 32
image byte order: LSBFirst
number of supported pixmap formats: 7
supported pixmap formats:
depth 1, bits_per_pixel 1, scanline_pad 32
depth 4, bits_per_pixel 8, scanline_pad 32
depth 8, bits_per_pixel 8, scanline_pad 32
depth 15, bits_per_pixel 16, scanline_pad 32
depth 16, bits_per_pixel 16, scanline_pad 32
depth 24, bits_per_pixel 32, scanline_pad 32
depth 32, bits_per_pixel 32, scanline_pad 32
keycode range: minimum 8, maximum 255
focus: window 0x2000021, revert to Parent
number of extensions: 29
BIG-REQUESTS
Composite
DAMAGE
DPMS
Extended-Visual-Information
GLX
MIT-SCREEN-SAVER
MIT-SHM
MIT-SUNDRY-NONSTANDARD
RANDR
RENDER
SECURITY
SGI-GLX
SHAPE
SYNC
TOG-CUP
X-Resource
XC-APPGROUP
XC-MISC
XFIXES
XFree86-Bigfont
XFree86-DGA
XFree86-DRI
XFree86-Misc
XFree86-VidModeExtension
XInputExtension
XKEYBOARD
XTEST
XVideo
default screen number: 0
number of screens: 1

screen #0:
print screen: no
dimensions: 1280x1024 pixels (342x271 millimeters)
resolution: 95x96 dots per inch
depths (7): 16, 1, 4, 8, 15, 24, 32
root window id: 0x48
depth of root window: 16 planes
number of colormaps: minimum 1, maximum 1
default colormap: 0x20
default number of colormap cells: 64
preallocated pixels: black 0, white 65535
options: backing-store NO, save-unders NO
largest cursor: 1280x1024
current input event mask: 0x7a802c
ButtonPressMask ButtonReleaseMask LeaveWindowMask
ExposureMask StructureNotifyMask SubstructureNotifyMask
SubstructureRedirectMask FocusChangeMask PropertyChangeMask
number of visuals: 12
default visual id: 0x22
visual:
visual id: 0x22
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x23
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x24
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x25
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x26
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x27
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x28
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x29
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x2a
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x2b
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x2c
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
visual:
visual id: 0x2d
class: TrueColor
depth: 16 planes
available colormap entries: 64 per subfield
red, green, blue masks: 0xf800, 0x7e0, 0x1f
significant bits in color specification: 6 bits
pcor@localhost ~ $ glxinfo
name of display: :0.0
display: :0 screen: 0
direct rendering: Yes
server glx vendor string: SGI
server glx version string: 1.2
server glx extensions:
GLX_ARB_multisample, GLX_EXT_visual_info, GLX_EXT_visual_rating,
GLX_EXT_import_context, GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap, GLX_OML_swap_method,
GLX_SGI_make_current_read, GLX_SGIS_multisample, GLX_SGIX_hyperpipe,
GLX_SGIX_swap_barrier, GLX_SGIX_fbconfig
client glx vendor string: SGI
client glx version string: 1.4
client glx extensions:
GLX_ARB_get_proc_address, GLX_ARB_multisample, GLX_EXT_import_context,
GLX_EXT_visual_info, GLX_EXT_visual_rating, GLX_MESA_allocate_memory,
GLX_MESA_copy_sub_buffer, GLX_MESA_swap_control,
GLX_MESA_swap_frame_usage, GLX_OML_swap_method, GLX_OML_sync_control,
GLX_SGI_make_current_read, GLX_SGI_swap_control, GLX_SGI_video_sync,
GLX_SGIS_multisample, GLX_SGIX_fbconfig, GLX_SGIX_pbuffer,
GLX_SGIX_visual_select_group, GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap
GLX version: 1.2
GLX extensions:
GLX_ARB_get_proc_address, GLX_ARB_multisample, GLX_EXT_import_context,
GLX_EXT_visual_info, GLX_EXT_visual_rating, GLX_MESA_swap_control,
GLX_MESA_swap_frame_usage, GLX_OML_swap_method, GLX_SGI_video_sync,
GLX_SGIS_multisample, GLX_SGIX_fbconfig
OpenGL vendor string: VIA Technology
OpenGL renderer string: Mesa DRI UniChrome 20060710 x86/MMX/SSE2
OpenGL version string: 1.2 Mesa 6.5.1
OpenGL extensions:
GL_ARB_imaging, GL_ARB_multisample, GL_ARB_multitexture,
GL_ARB_point_parameters, GL_ARB_texture_env_add,
GL_ARB_texture_env_combine, GL_ARB_texture_mirrored_repeat,
GL_ARB_transpose_matrix, GL_ARB_window_pos, GL_EXT_abgr, GL_EXT_bgra,
GL_EXT_blend_color, GL_EXT_blend_minmax, GL_EXT_blend_subtract,
GL_EXT_clip_volume_hint, GL_EXT_compiled_vertex_array, GL_EXT_convolution,
GL_EXT_copy_texture, GL_EXT_draw_range_elements, GL_EXT_fog_coord,
GL_EXT_histogram, GL_EXT_packed_pixels, GL_EXT_point_parameters,
GL_EXT_polygon_offset, GL_EXT_rescale_normal, GL_EXT_secondary_color,
GL_EXT_separate_specular_color, GL_EXT_stencil_wrap, GL_EXT_subtexture,
GL_EXT_texture, GL_EXT_texture3D, GL_EXT_texture_edge_clamp,
GL_EXT_texture_env_add, GL_EXT_texture_env_combine,
GL_EXT_texture_lod_bias, GL_EXT_texture_object, GL_EXT_vertex_array,
GL_APPLE_packed_pixels, GL_IBM_rasterpos_clip,
GL_IBM_texture_mirrored_repeat, GL_MESA_window_pos, GL_NV_blend_square,
GL_NV_light_max_exponent, GL_NV_texgen_reflection, GL_OES_read_format,
GL_SGI_color_matrix, GL_SGI_color_table, GL_SGIS_texture_edge_clamp,
GL_SGIS_texture_lod

visual x bf lv rg d st colorbuffer ax dp st accumbuffer ms cav
id dep cl sp sz l ci b ro r g b a bf th cl r g b a ns b eat
----------------------------------------------------------------------
0x22 16 tc 0 16 0 r y . 5 6 5 0 0 24 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 None
0x23 16 tc 0 16 0 r . . 5 6 5 0 0 24 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 None
0x24 16 tc 0 16 0 r y . 5 6 5 0 0 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 None
0x25 16 tc 0 16 0 r . . 5 6 5 0 0 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 None
0x26 16 tc 0 16 0 r y . 5 6 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 None
0x27 16 tc 0 16 0 r . . 5 6 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 None
0x28 16 tc 0 16 0 r y . 5 6 5 0 0 24 8 16 16 16 0 0 0 Slow
0x29 16 tc 0 16 0 r . . 5 6 5 0 0 24 8 16 16 16 0 0 0 Slow
0x2a 16 tc 0 16 0 r y . 5 6 5 0 0 16 0 16 16 16 0 0 0 Slow
0x2b 16 tc 0 16 0 r . . 5 6 5 0 0 16 0 16 16 16 0 0 0 Slow
0x2c 16 tc 0 16 0 r y . 5 6 5 0 0 0 0 16 16 16 0 0 0 Slow
0x2d 16 tc 0 16 0 r . . 5 6 5 0 0 0 0 16 16 16 0 0 0 Slow