The Linux desktop allows for up to 8 users reducing the systems total power usage
Just got back from MSU’s Design Days, where College of Engineering students present their semester projects. There were a lot of great student projects, including a solar powered vaccine refrigeration system sponsored by ATC. There were also some other great appropriate technology projects created my the Engineering students. A group of students known only as “Team 2” had a really neat design to deliver computers to rural Tanzanian classrooms. Their design uses a single desktop running Linux power up to 8 simultaneous user sessions at different workstations. Team 2′s description of their project:
Lenovo is supporting development of a system to allow charging of batteries using solar panels, then powering one or more computers, a satellite Internet link, and 4-8 LCD-based seats. Prior work in 480, and by a team of Telecomm students, and by ECE personnel have produced a working system, but it is not maximally power-efficient and lacks the monitoring/control and safety features needed to make it usable in the field. The Fall ’08 MSU team and two EE students from the University of Dar es Salaam will explore technology tradeoffs, internet connectivity tradeoffs, and power monitoring/control, so that a user can look at an LCD panel and LEDs on the main module and determine solar charge rate, present power consumption, time until battery exhausted at current rates, internet connectivity, LAN connectivity, and a variety of fault conditions. Simultaneously, the teams will also implement open-source (Linux-based) software to allow users to browse the Internet, with the capability to restrict access to a specified list of sites.
-Ben Connor Barrie
Photo Credit: Team 2
good read. yeah, solar energy can do great things in remote locations. it is heartening to read about people trying to make a difference
Great combination, solar power and a reduce of electricity use. It is all about using solar power, and using less energy for common devices. This is great way to aproach solar energy
Pretty good post. I just bumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have actually enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way, I will be signing up to receive your feed and I hope you post again very soon.
Solar Energy is one of the best ways to get clean energy. Today the efficieny of solar power is a bit low but with advances in technology, solar cells will become more and more efficient in harnessing the energy of the sun.