EcoButton
Getting users to actively participate in energy-saving activities is tough, because it can sometimes impede productivity. Also, it's often difficult for users to realise how much of an impact their actions can have. A new product called EcoButton deals with both those issues, by helping users conserve power on their PCs.
When users walk away from the PC, they simply hit the button to quickly drop the PC into a low-power mode. When they return, they hit any key on the keyboard, and the computer quickly springs back to life. When it does, it shows a splash screen with stats showing how much money and carbon emissions the user has saved that day and for the life of the PC (while it has used EcoButton). Hit the keyboard one more time, and it takes you back to your work.
Right now, this is a good solution for small business. Later this year, EcoButton will be releasing a commercial version of the product that will be friendly to corporate IT departments.
