A new website, Blackle, aims to act as a starting point for eco-conscious web searchers. The site, which serves as a front end for Google searches, reverses the color schemes of search-result pages so users see light-colored text on a black background. It’s a trick that, allegedly, cuts the energy consumption of computer monitors. Blackle claimes it had saved more than 5,500 watt-hours of electricity since its debut in March. Blackle also has an Indian version too!
The Google cache version of the site’s “about” page, which carries some white screen space from Google atop the black page, explains that the site was inspired by a blog by Mark Ontkush claiming that if Google went all-black, it could save 750 megawatt-hours a year (a megawatt-hour is one million watt-hours). But as the blogger mentions, the savings are most likely to accrue from older CRT (cathode-ray tube) monitors, rather than the more-modern, more-compact, more-energy-efficient LCD (liquid crystal display) screens that have come to dominate the market (representing three quarters of all monitors world-wide as of last year).
On LCD displays, color may confer no benefit at all. Cadmus Group, which specializes in energy and environment, and does work for the government; quickly tested this behavior by loading Blackle, Google and the Web site of the New York Times (which is like Google, mostly white on-screen) on two monitors — one CRT, one LCD — and connecting a power meter to both. “We found that the color on screen mattered very little to the energy color consumption of the LCD monitor,” said David Korn of Cadmus. The changes were so slight as to be within the margin of error for the power meter. Tweaking brightness and contrast and settings had a bigger effect. The bulkier CRT screen did see savings with Blackle of between 5% and 20%. Mr. Korn emphasized that this was a quick test, not a rigorous study.
“Even if the energy savings are small, they are representative of the need for each of us to start taking small steps to save energy,” quoted Blackle’s Dr. Heap in an email. “My hope is that by setting Blackle as their home page people will be reminded of this need to save energy each time they go online.” Similar wording appears on Blackle’s “about” page.
Blackle is part of the Google Co-op program, which means it shares in ad revenue from searches. A Google spokesman said, “Google is not affiliated with Blackle and we do not have any additional comments to provide at this time.”
Google says "We applaud the spirit of the idea, but our own analysis as well as that of others shows that making the Google homepage black will not reduce energy consumption. To the contrary, on flat-panel monitors (already estimated to be 75% of the market), displaying black may actually increase energy usage. Detailed results from a new study confirm this."
source:the wall street journal
rajit said...
I like the Blackle idea; recently i found blackle games
as well. Lol, play games and save the world!!
03 February, 2008