Blackle

[greenie]

Hi All,
I was just checking out the good deeds threads and someone had posted there about Blackle which is a Google search page with a black background. Apparently this saves energy due to the darker screen. It makes sense to me and given the number of us and the frequency we use google, it's probably worth a switch.

You can check it out at www.blackle.com (http://www.blackle.com)

Thought this lovely green :D bunch might be interested.

Kylie

[Funkychicken]

Thanks for the tip, Kylie. :thumbsup:

All blackled here now!

[Myztik]

sweet it matches my black desktop and everything now :p it's replaced google as my homepage :D

[Harlequin]

I was using it for a while but stopped because I tend to use the "Australia" checkbox, which is missing from Blackle unfortunately.

[Myztik]

I just noticed that when I went looking for the ikea website lol.

[Nomsie]

You can go to au.blackle.com which is the Australian version, and so Australian pages will pop up in the top search, however there still isn't a check box for only Australian pages... oh well lets hope it is in the making!

[Shanaynay]

I wish Blackle would let you have your personalised google homepage :crying:

[canberramomma]

Blackle ROCKS!!!!!

[tbj]

I really love that there is a space here for green minded mums!!! Good work. But I just have to say be careful about some interpretations about the 'green-ness' of things and that unfortunately includes Blackle. There is heaps on the net about how the scientific reasoning behind blackle isn't particularly scientific. But I think it is great that at least you care!!

Below is a small extract from one writing that I discovered but there are a few around :)



Most CRT-type monitors are now being phased out in homes and offices in favour of LCD flat screens because of various, mostly environmental reasons such as the fact that flat screens use fewer materials, take up less space and use considerably less power than a CRT monitor does.
Flat screens do not illuminate pixels on the screen, like CRTs do, but instead the screen is transparent, and a backlight is shone through the pixels. The brightness of this light is uniform across the whole screen and is not affected by the colour of the pixels. Colouring the screen black on an LCD display is equivalent to putting a lampshade on a light bulb - it makes it appear darker but it does not reduce the power consumption in any way.
In other words, for the ever-increasing majority of PC systems being sold now, (by Mark's own estimates, 75% of PCs in active use are now using LCDs) running the black version of Google will have zero reduction in their power consumption. But here's the real kicker...
Although the vast majority of power consumed by an LCD goes into powering the backlight, a small amount is used to colour the pixels on the screen. The liquid crystals used by these screens are naturally transparent, and only become opaque when a current is applied. Varying the current varies the opacity. So a white pixel is produced by turning the power off completely, and a black pixel is produced by turning the power up to maximum.
So yes, that's right, turning the screen black on a modern display without dimming the backlight means that the display is using the maximum possible power consumption.
Going on G4techTV's (http://www.g4techtv.ca/callforhelp/shownotes/0283.shtml?regular) measurements for Samsung LCD TV power consumption, a predominantly white screen on an LCD saves around 1 watt over a black screen. So if 75% of screens are running LCDs, then the power saving of running the white version of Google is 4/15 of Mark's savings estimate for CRTs - 800 megawatts. You can subtract this from his figures, which are dubiously high anyway.source:www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/blackle (http://www.charcoaldesign.co.uk/articles/blackle)

[greenie]

Oh poo. Does that mean I've just convinced everyone to INCREASE their energy use?!!!

If only these things could be more simple.

I've just dimmed my screen too.

[geminihunter]

There are around 25 different versions of “black google” online. The best one I’ve found is www.cleanblack.com. Cleanblack is the only version that allows you to change the text colors of the google search results. Try it yourself by going to www.cleanblack.com/theme/