On the heels of all of the buzz about saving energy with a black background on Google, Toby pointed me to Blackle. I’d like to applaud both the effort to help out in the global energy consumption issue and also the ingenious thought which allows Blackle to ride off a popular story that’s going around.
As for Blackle itself, it works pretty much exactly like Google, but happens to be completely black giving you pretty much maximum energy savings if you’re running a CRT. Please note that the whole argument was based on the energy savings from a CRT. That means if you’re using an LCD screen then I suspect the savings are minimal or non-existent since they excluded LCDs from the original article. On the front page you’ll find a total reading of Watt hours saved. If they’ve calculated this number in the same manner as the original article then it should be a pretty close approximation. They also have a page discussing why they’ve taken on this endeavour.
As to the marketing of their website, I like how they’re going about it. They found something popular, acted on it quickly and by going around to blogs like mine are trying to push a grassroots effort to get the word out. That’s just a really smart idea no matter which way you slice it.
Whether you’re an environmentally friendly individual or a fan of good ideas in general, you have to admire what Blackle is trying to do here.
Digital Scales // Jul 21, 2009 at 9:15 pm
I would agree. I just checked out Blackle (after reading your post) and it’s not too shabby. I would agree that it should be applauded 1- their good idea, and 2- trying to save some energy. Kudos to Blackle.
Auto Dealer Supply // Aug 4, 2009 at 1:44 pm
I cant imagine that blackle is truly saving much energy. Most people these days are using lcd monitors, aren’t they?