PCIN.net Update

From BusinessWeek:

Consumers who want to weigh how their purchases affect the environment have plenty of guidelines and seals of approval to choose from for everything from cars to tissue paper. But finding out just how eco-friendly a computer is can be a bigger chore.

There are several competing yardsticks, each considering a different aspect of a computer’s greenness, be it energy consumption, use of toxic materials, or how easily it can be recycled. None by itself provides a complete picture. And since consumers aren’t demanding environmentally friendly computers in large numbers, makers of those machines have little incentive to market PCs that way.

From the New York Times:

On a recent afternoon at his company’s headquarters here, Michael S. Dell is seated in a spacious conference room named Dobie Hall — in honor of the University of Texas dormitory where, in 1984, he started the computer giant that bears his name.

He boasts that Dell Inc. has just reported quarterly profits that exceeded Wall Street projections. It’s an encouraging sign, he says, that the company — buffeted by high-profile production problems and accounting shenanigans — is finally regaining momentum.

From USA Today:

Anyone who has been inside a hospital probably has been cut off from relatives and colleagues because of a common rule: no cellphones.

But some health care facilities are creating wireless networks to let patients, family members, physicians and staff members use their phones.

The concern about the phones, hospital officials say, is that their signals could create electromagnetic interference with sensitive medical devices, such as ventilators or external pacemakers. Opinion is divided; some experts say the risk has been overblown.

Some doctors even say cellphones promote better communication, which reduces medical errors. And people rely more heavily now on their wireless devices to stay connected to work and family.