Zonbu – Green Computing Alternative

Zonbu A great new affordable and green computer planned for September 2007 from Zonbu.com

As more people embrace a green lifestyle, they will also embrance computer makers that put their environmental responsibility in the forefront. Great Green Gadgets has been fortunate to be invited to review a Zonbu beta version of a new addition to this green computing movement.

In case you haven’t heard of the Zonbu before it’s an ultra low-power mini computer. The Zonbu leaves a small footprint on your desk, about the size of a paperback. It has no moving parts, no fan so it is completely quiet, nice when you are using it to play your music files or videos. It uses a 1.2GHz intel-compatible low-power processor chip, has 512 MB of RAM and a 4GB flash drive that holds the Linux Operating System (Gentoo Linux) Currently, you will need your own keyboard, mouse, monitor and a cable to connect with the router for your internet connection. (has Ethernet built-in) It has 6 USB ports and
should work with most USB devices but I have read that there may be problems getting scanners and webcams to work. Here is a link to a Gizmodo article that looks at the device hardware more in depth.

I was struck by the simplicity of it all. I just put in my user name and password and I was good to go. Except it took me a week to find a cable to connect it with a router, but I can’t put that on Zonbu! Finding and using the software was very straight forward, setup for email was easy, all very similar to a Windows XP box. Less computer savvy users might need a little more help getting around – especially if that is Zonbu’s target audience. A simple video tutorial might be useful for each of the major applications and overview of the OS.

One aspect of the Zonbu that might be an issue for many is the pricing. While it is only $99.00 for the computer, you get that price only by subscribing to the $12.95/mo for 25 GB storage (other prices/space available) which also includes automatic update to the software and support. The subscription aspect is very reasonable, imho, when you consider the type of people the Zonbu is likely to target, elderly, young kids, busy moms, people who want a very green, affordable computer, and people who just want a second computer that is quiet and cheap for fairly simple tasks.

The Zonbu’s includes and impressive range of software, considering it’s free. However, it doesn’t seem to easily allow you to install your own software, probably not something most are likely to do as it has everything most people would ever need and automatically updates the software to the latest version, bug fixes, etc. However, Linix savvy folks may be able to install applications on a removable drive and it does include the ability to use the command line terminal.
Applications include Firefox 2.0, a full Office suite that can read and write MS Word files, a large number of games (but no really sophisticated 3D games that require a more powerful processing and graphics chip), a photo organizer, media player,and an iTunes-like program. It also runs Skype and a instant messaging program. Zonbu says the software included would be worth $2,000 if you had to buy the PC equivalent. The open source applications are very similar to Windows and Mac applications – like Gimp for Photoshop, not as full featured but more than adequate for the vast majority of tasks.

For me the real selling point is that if Zonbu’s creaters are successful in promoting this new computer it would give thousands or millions of people a means to seriously reduce power usage from computing. It is a great way to get schools, the elderly, kids and other people on a budget yet still want to have good computer access and capability.

The Zonbu is claimed to be carbon emission-neutral because of its low power consumption and the Zonbu company’s use of carbon offsets. Zonbu also claims they are minimizing e-waste due to the small size and they also offer a take-back program for recycling. Zonbu also states their manufacturing process complies with the standard of the European RoHS Directive to minimize the use of harmful substances in the manufacturing process. Finally, the packaging that the box was sent in is minimal and recyclable.

Few things are perfect and Zonbu is no exception. The box we got seemed a little buggy at times, freezing up for no reason on occasion. My guess is that while the box usually runs fairly cool considering it has no fan, it does heat up at times and I suspect that might be when it gets a little buggy. Most of the time it worked well however. Some of the programs took a little time to start but once they were up and running performed fine. The OS boot up itself was a tad slow for my taste but I am used to a very fast machine. Being a beta version and all, My guess is that Zonbu still has some revisions to go through before its completely stable, I have no doubt this will happen.

Another issue for some users will be the current lack for webcams, scanners or Bluetooth. I haven’t tried to print anything yet but I assume it should work with most leading USB printers. Some people have voiced concern over the subscription service and what will happen if the company goes belly up? A reasonable question but they also offer to sell the boxes for around 250.00 that doesn’t come with the subscription service. You could connect the box to an external USB hard drive and be good to go.

The first thing I thought of with the Zonbu was that it would be good for people who are less computer literate, but I wonder if some may get scared off because isn’t the Windows OS their kids and friends use. Will lack of familiarity with Linix or the open-source applications scare people off? On the Mac, even though the machine and OS are clearly superior to Windows in many aspects, most people won’t get a Mac simply because nobody else they know uses one. However, this might change in time. Perhaps user’s frustration over all the things things that make Window’s computing a real pain – like the buggy software, plethora of virus’s, malicious hacking and ID theft, and expensive software pricing and upgrades increases will sufficiently piss off enough people they will start to open their minds to other ways of doing things. Apple recently has seemed to make some real headway in luring away window’s users – may Zonbu and Linux will be able to do the same. All power to the low-power Zonbu!

This entry was posted on Friday, June 22nd, 2007 at 2:01 pm and is filed under Computers, EcoFriendly, Energy Saving, Home and Garden. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.