Blackle.com

Infobox Website
name = Blackle



caption = Screenshot of Blackle.com
url = http://www.blackle.com
commercial = Yes
type = Search engine
language = English, Portuguese, French, Czech, Italian
registration = No
owner = Heap Media Australia
author = Toby Heap
launch date = January 2007
current status = Active
revenue =

Blackle is a website powered by Google Custom Search, which was developed by Heap Media Australia.Cite news
title = Search site cashes in on eco-guilt
url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/web/search-site-cashes-in-on-ecoguilt/2007/08/01/1185647951527.html
last=Moses |first = Asher |publisher=Sydney Morning Herald
date=2007-08-01] Cite news
title = Google goes black to go green
url = http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=59315&in_page_id=34
publisher=Metro |date=2007-07-30]

Principle

The principle behind Blackle is based on the fact that the display of different colors consumes different amounts of energy on computer monitors.Citation
last =Roberson
first =Judy
last2 =Homan
first2 =Gregory
last3 =Mahajan
first3 =Akshay
last4 =Nordman
first4 =Bruce
last5 =Webber
first5 =Carrie
last6 =Brown
first6 =Richard
last7 =McWhinney
first7 =Marla
last8 =Koomey
first8 =Jonathan
title = Energy Use and Power Levels in New Monitors and Personal Computers
date = July 2002
year =2002
url = http://enduse.lbl.gov/Info/LBNL-48581.pdf] The creators of Blackle cite a 2002 study from Roberson, who tested a variety of CRT and LCD monitors and found that an all black screen consumed less energy than an all white screen on all of them. In 2008, LCD technology has improved, and black is using more energy to display on LCD screens.

The creators of Blackle state that the idea behind the site came from a blog, which estimated that a black Google would save 750 megawatt-hours a year. A megawatt-hour is the equivalent of ten thousand 100 watt light bulbs burning continuously for 1 hour. On the Blackle homepage, the creators of Blackle provide a count of the number of watt-hours that they claim the users of Blackle have collectively saved.

Functionality

Because it is not owned by Google Inc., the Blackle site lacks many of the features of conventional Google, including the 'Cached' and 'Similar Pages' options, and it does not have as many of the corresponding links that can be found on the Google homepage. These links include items such as preferences, advanced search, language tools, images, groups, news, scholar, and the iGoogle features.

Blackle is a Google Custom Search partner, which allows for the customization of the returned search results. As such, a search in Blackle does not necessarily return the same results as a Google search.

Criticism

The creators of Blackle have been criticized for lack of clarity regarding the type, size and manufacturer of monitor that the power usage claims refer to. One critic, a technology journalist who reviews computer hardware, tested four cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors and 23 liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors, and found that power was saved by the CRT monitors, but was less than that claimed by the blog post that inspired Blackle. The LCD monitors tested showed increased power use in the majority of cases, although most of the larger (24 inch) monitors did use less power displaying a black screen.Cite news|title = Blackle energy saving claims still do not add up|url = http://techlogg.com/content/view/341/1/ |last=Yates |first=Darren |publisher=Techlogg.com |date=2007-08-02] Cite news |title = Blackle vs Google power savings – the final test |url = http://techlogg.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=360&Itemid=1 |last=Yates |first=Darren |publisher=Techlogg.com |date=2007-08-08]

Relative to other energy saving initiatives, it has been suggested that the energy savings of Blackle is small. For example, the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, a consortium of large software and hardware vendors that promotes efficient computing on a large scale, is forecasting a power saving of 10,000 MW by 2010. Cite news |title = Google Joins Energy Saving Initiative |url = http://www.submitexpress.com/news/shownews.php?article=457 |publisher=Submit Express |date=2007-06-18]

References

External links

* [http://greenle.net Green is the new Green] - Greenle has a real effect on behaviour, makes people greener
* [http://ecoiron.blogspot.com/2007/01/black-google-would-save-3000-megawatts.html ecoIron - Black Google Would Save 750 Megawatt-hours a Year] - Blog post that inspired Blackle, according to its creator.
* [http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/08/is-black-new-green.html Google - Is black the new green? ] - Google takes note of Blackle, but doesn't believe it saves energy.
* [http://www.microtech.doe.gov/EnergyStar/info.htm#display US Department of Energy] - DOE Energy Star Desktop Information: Monitor Energy Information