New Computer Powered By PoE 354
BlakeCaldwell writes "BBC News is reporting about a new PC that's powered via a network cable rather than through a wall socket. The computer only requires 12 watts, lower than the upper limit of 15.4 watts that power over ethernet (PoE) can supply. FTA: 'PoE could end up being a universal power supply system as the cables and connectors for it are the same all over the world. By contrast power sockets and plugs differ by country.'"
First Plug! (Score:1, Interesting)
My initial concern... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Wireless? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:First Plug! (Score:5, Interesting)
Considering that my iBook uses a 65 watt charger, I'd say that 35 is probably sufficient for anything short of the "Desktop Replacement Laptops" (relly more of a portable desktop). My guess is that the laptop will most often run below 35 watts, then trickle-charge the excess to the battery. If the computer needs extra power in the short term, the battery will provide it.
Don't you need a switch which supports PoE? (Score:3, Interesting)
Don't you need a hub or switch which supports PoE? Ethernet sockets may be the same all over the world, but how many PoE-enabled ethernet sockets have you seen on a day to day basis?
Too Less Power to play around.... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Almost Brilliant (Score:3, Interesting)
I recommend flat panel monitors to people based on aesthetics and reliability. Power consumption (30-40 watts for an LCD, 150 for a CRT) is a non-issue with users, since the power bill is paid by a central campus entity and doesn't show up on our departmental budgets at all.
Actually, I don't know who pays the power bill. Maybe nobody!
Re:Overclocking? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Almost Brilliant (Score:5, Interesting)
As a student, I worked at several of the computer labs at a large university (40,000 students). One late night when I was closing down, I thought to myself how silly it was to keep the CRT monitors powered on. This was before things automatically shut-off. So I went around to about 200 computers and shut-off the monitors. The next day I got in trouble by my manager...they didn't like my idea at all and didn't care about the heat or electricity savings. Apparently going around to turn them back on in the morning was too much work! I figure for about 6 years (before the advent of auto-shutoff CRTs and LCDs), this university ran > 1000 CRTs 24/7. Anybody care to guestimate how much electricity they could have saved over this time period?
FYI on PoE (Score:2, Interesting)
One thing that I really like is a lot of our resellers just purchase one large UPS for the PoE switches. If the power to the building goes out no need for remote devices to be plugged into indivual UPS's.
Mid-Span hubs, for those who don't want to upgrade their core switches install these between (mid-span) backbone switches and PoE devices. Usually having data and data+power ports. There are also PoE switches where all ports can be configured to support PoE.
Re:distance limit? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Wireless? (Score:4, Interesting)
Tesla had a more practicle wireless power solution in his tower [teslasociety.com]. That crystal radio that you built as a child is wireless power in my book, even if it is only a trickle. (You're not a geek until you build a crystal radio. Hope we never switch over exclusively to digital)
I have heard rumours about someone living under a transmitter being prosecuted after he was found with a large number of coils in his roof, using them to provide heat, but i have my doubts about this one.
Re:The REAL solution (Score:3, Interesting)
We are moving in the direction of car connectors, but we need too much diversity. Mant devices have panasonic connectors, but they're all different sizes! If companies standarized on one size of panasonic connector, I think everything would be great.
Re:Almost Brilliant (Score:3, Interesting)
We also used to have the Sparc SLC lab - I don't recall them ever powering the machines down and of course you could never power off the monitors separately since the motherboard was built into the screens.
(Still have one of those SLCs in my cupboard after the Computer Society [sucs.org] took a bunch of the SLCs off the Uni's hands and then chucked them out a couple of years later.)
Of course they upgraded the whole lab to Solaris x86 and then to Suse where they have nodoubt forgotten to turn on power management anyway.