http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2326376,00.asp
Fabrik Claims New Drive Is Green, Really Green 07.28.08 Total posts: 1 by Mark Hachman Storage company Fabrik said Monday that it had begun shipping what it calls the world's most eco-friendly hard drive, which uses bamboo as a design element and low-impact packaging. Fabrik also updated its SimpleTech external drive line. On the inside, the new Fabrik [re]drive is fairly standard: 500 Gbytes for an estimated price of $159.99. The company chose an energy-saving drive from Western Digital, although future versions may contain drives from other manufacturers. There is no on-off switch; instead, the drive turns itself on and off, depending on usage. An Energy Star-qualified power adapter is also included. The exterior, however, is more distinctive. A thin sheet of bamboo serves both as an accent as well as a cover, and the rugged striations of the aluminum chassis actually add more surface area, increasing the drive's ability to passively cool itself. Matt McRae, vice president of marketing at Fabrik, said that even the extra bits of aluminum that are carved off during the manufacturing process are recycled into future products. Bamboo has also been used to manufacture keyboards and mice, a monitor, and even a notebook. As one of the fastest-growing plants in the world, it is considered a true renewable resource. Fabrik has also attempted to minimize the packaging, by using just a small amount of corrugated cardboard. Most of the interior packaging, such as plastic bags and thick manuals, has been eliminated, with just a few pieces of tape holding the extra cords in place. The drive rests securely in another corrugated cardboard shell. The new packaging design is also replicated across several of Fabrik's other products, McRae said. Each Simpletek [re]drive comes with 2 Gbytes of free online storage, or unlimited storage for $5 per month. Fabrik also announced the SimpleTech SimpleDrive, with capacities from 320 GB up to a terabyte, from $99.99 to $259.99. The drives ship with "TurboUSB" technology, which attempts to push the USB spec to its limits, and is also used by Buffalo Technology. Finally, the SimpleTech Signature Mini portable drive line added a new 500 Gbyte unit. The family now includes capacities from 160 to 500 Gbytes, and with new colors that include Cayenne and Ice. __._,_.___ __,_._,___ --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ShadowGovernment" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/ShadowGovernment -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
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