The New Zonbu: Clean Computing

According to its website, Zonbox is the first environmentally-responsible computer minus high hassle and price. And according to me, they’re dead on. Weighing in a smidge over two pounds, the tiny PC consumes four times fewer chemicals and fossil fuels during manufacturing than standard desktops, and also complies with the European RoHS Directive, which restricts hazardous substances often found in electronics. (Lead, mercury, and hexavalent chromium are a few that may be lurking in your current computer.)

In addition to its efficient build, Zonbu’s Zonbox comes in earth-friendly packaging, and when you’re done using Zonbu, consumers can simply ship it on back to the company. They’ll take it back for free, and foot the bill for dismantling and recycling all the components. On top of all that, Zonbu’s ultra-low power—about one third of the energy used by a standard light bulb—combined with a carbon-offset program through the company), make it a zero-emission, zero-guilt buy.

Best of all, the tiny tower retails for an equally tiny price: $99 (with a two-year subscription plan) or $249 with a month-to-month plan. What type of plans are we talking?

Well, Zonbu offers three plans to supplement Zonbox usage in addition to the free 4GB of space that comes with your desktop unit. The available service plans not only bump storage considerably, they offer unlimited internet support and some, remote file access and free overnight hardware replacement.

So what exactly can you expect to get on your Zonbox? I clicked on the whisper-quiet machine and found applications like Firefox web browser, office basics like full e-mail and a calendar program, word processor, spreadsheet program, an all-encompassing instant messenger that works with AOL, MSN, Yahoo and more.

Also on deck is a photo organizer, media player, music library, image workshop, web page editor and games galore. (Sudoku? Check. Solitaire? Naturally.) And hook-ups are golden. You can connect almost any digital camera, MP3 or printer to this baby. Pretty much, you’ll find everything you use on your standard PC squeezed into Zonbox too.

In a new era of electronic gadgets and web wizardry, it seems that Zonbu is just the thing to usher us quietly into the next generation of minute machinery.

For more info on, visit www.zonbu.com .