New external hard-drive available in any colour you like, as long as it’s green
By John Lister
Tech firm Fabrik has released an external hard drive that it’s billing as the most eco-friendly in the world – starting with a casing made of bamboo from a sustainable source. As well as the bamboo, the drive is also made from recyclable aluminium, while the power adaptor is certified under the Energy Star programme as being energy-efficient.
Running the drive should consume less power as there’s no fan: instead the metal sides soak up the heat. There’s also an automatic ‘off’ function, though this appears to simply switch to a stand-by mode which uses a tiny amount of power, rather than being a complete shutdown. The firm estimates this will cut power use by about 90%, which it points out is equivalent to 475 lbs of carbon dioxide emissions during the drive’s expected lifespan. That’s about the same amount produced by an average car in five months.
There’s also minimal packaging: the instructions are printed on the inside of the box, and the cables are taped to the box rather than stored in plastic bags.
The drive also comes with a feature to automatically back-up your data on encrypted secure servers. That’s a minor eco-feature in itself as it removes the need buy writeable DVDs, USB sticks or any other physical product. The catch is that you only get 2GB storage, which obviously won’t be much use for a 500GB drive. Unlimited online storage is available with the firm for a few bucks a month.
The firm’s marketing chief, Matt McRae, said Fabrik was “making an effort to support the environment, while adapting our products to better meet consumer needs and interests. We know we have a lot more work to do across the board as a company, but we’re committed to change and hope we’ll make a small dent in improving the environment.”
Of course, most buyers won’t choose computer equipment solely for its environmental benefits. And how well the drive performs won’t be known until it’s been tested, particularly by real users. However, at $160 for a 500GB drive, it’s certainly in the region of traditional drives, suggesting you won’t be paying a hefty premium for the sake of going green.
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