i remember my enviro-science prof telling us that to be truely enviro-friendly, you should only flush the toilet once a day before you go to bed...ha! real fresh.

killthebabysitter

I just discovered that neither Standby nor Hibernate work on Windows if you have apps accessing documents on a network. Which means all you have to do is find all those open documents, close them out, and then standby. Easy!

*cries*

senorbelly

wouldn't hibernate (on a pc) do the same thing? Let's make a hard button for every windows function.

You know, I have this great idea for Outlook. Its a plastic mailbox with a flag on it, and when you push the flag down, it "sends" your email. It plugs into a usb port and is as big as a mailbox.

impliedsurprise

WTF?
Just use hibernate.

werk

Although, come to think of it, a nuclear powered SNAP generator for PCs would be even better.

kbarrett

I want a red button. One that starts up a coal fired steam-punk PC powersupply.

It's been snowing a lot here recently, so I would like to see a little more glowball wormening.

kbarrett

When this is released with Bluetooth functionality, in a 100% recyclable enclosure made of wooden fibers, and painted with lead-free colors...

... I still wouldn't buy it.

Hvedhrungr

Yeah...I think I'll stick to power off myself...I'm not going to pay 1 dollar, let alone 12-18 for a button that (kind of) does it for me.

spatchpatch

my computer has a super ecobutton-i call it power off. this thing uses up another usb slot? brilliant...hippie-tech does it again. (dripping sarcasm)

killthebabysitter

That was easy.

I mean...what do I mean here?

strider_mt2k

Doesn't my mac do this when I tap the power button once?

deepdish

@impliedsurprise: That's almost as good as my giant plastic brush and canvas that controls MS Paint.

Pope John Peeps II

@deepdish:

Maybe he's flushing more than #1 or #2 - after all, he did kill the babysitter

mtopper

Obviously, shutting down your PC is the ultimate energy saver. If you need to buy a gadget to save extra electricity, try this smart power strip that turns off all of the peripherals for you after your computer shuts down:

[www.terrapass.com]

Monty

My power button is set by default to put my computer into hibernate which uses NO power and no extra hardware or software. So what do I need this for again?

TurboFool

@impliedsurprise: Dear God man, have you no shame? You have given some dipshit the fuel needed to manufacture some new piece of crap. Remember that sarcasm is dangerous when a stupid person takes a joke and makes it a reality.

zenpoet

@killthebabysitter:
Depends if you go #1 or #2 a lot.

And how many people go #2 in your house.

deepdish

@werk:
Exactly!!!!!.
And hibernation leaves the PC in ZERO power use.

How can you save more power than OFF?

:?

aec007

"While snoozing in 'ecomode,' the Windows PC will draw less power than if you just left it in sleep or screensaver"
Guys, seriously. First of all, that isn't what the device maker claims it does. The maker claims "energy saving 'ecomode' which ensures that both your computer and monitor draw only the same nominal power as when they are shut down!"

Second, do some thinking about this device. You have three options: Shutdown, Standby (S1/S3), and Hibernate. There is no fourth option.

And by the way, leaving your PC "in screensaver" doesn't save power. Setting your power options to turn off the monitor after a period of inactivity is what saves power.

And you can't get any more power saving while still keeping the instant-on feature with anything past S3 standby, which still has to keep power to the RAM and therefore can't possibly be as power efficient as completely turning the PC off.

What this device claims to do is impossible.

packetsniffer

It's shiny and green, my fav color. I guess that makes it KIND OF cool. But yeah, hibernate, standby--are these not the same? Anyone know for sure? I'm pretty broke, $12 is way too steep for me right now...

bunnypower

@impliedsurprise: Haha! Thats an awesome idea. Sarcastic or not.

evilpotato

@JeffCarr: thats a very efficient-enviro-friendly way to comment- no wasted spaces- al gore would approve.

killthebabysitter

Enable hibernation, and set the power button to hibernate the PC from your Power control panel. Get happy, use a LOT less power (as the computer is OFF), and save the money you didn't spend on this gizmo to buy gas for that jacked-up F350 SuperDuty dualie you drive 30 miles to work every day.

DirkusMaximus

IhavemycomputersetuptoturnonwhenIhitthespacebarwhenit'soff,
andhibernatewhenIhitthespacebarwhenit'son.
See,noproblemsatall,
andIdidn'thavetobuyanything!

JeffCarr

It should come bundled with Log and Civil War Surgeon Playset for Log.

lucabrazi

Doesn't the device consume current and also CPU cycles to poll?

secretmanofagent

The tag line SHOULD read "Buy this waste of earthly material to quietly boast that you're eco-friendly."

faabshaam

too ironic

CooperMaybe

wow, I have a button like that on my keyboard...its called sleep, it works really well on vista and only takes a few seconds to turn back on.
I despise the fact a company tells us that we need to buy their product to save the environment, such a cop out.

simmo

Am I the only one who still turns off my computer?

Phbbt107

Hibernation is not Zero power it is pretty low power usage to be sure (1.8W~) but it is not zero... and it is about the same as power off (PSU switch on)

Pretty much to get to zero you'd have to flip the switch on the back of the PSU.

Ever notice those green lights(usually green) on your motherboard that are still lit with the power off? they are using a bit of power whenever the computer is plugged in and the power switch on the PSU is on.

maddingo

It's true..."if it's brown, flush it down. If it's yellow, let it mellow!"

Though this ecobutton is shiny, green, & seems to capture my attention aesthetically, it seems ridiculous. When not in use, my POS PC goes into sleepy hibernation mode. It's nice & quiet there. So I'll save that $12-18 for something more useful...like adding figurines to my Star Wars collection.

be good kate

Just what I need, a bunch of tacky dedicated buttons in my office. Not like I need my USB ports either. And I get to pay 12 dollars for it? What a steal.

I might consider a dedicated Gizmodo button, but Im only saying that to suck up. It sucks when people think I dont have eyes, or a nose, and that my skin is grey.

T_Town_Pharoah