'Instant on' computing (power, electric, box, material)

[Brian.Pearson]

Materials researchers say rebooting soon may be a thing of the past

[Drover]

We're already about 3/4ths of the way there with "Hibernate," aren't we? Until a crash a few days ago, I hadn't rebooted my laptop in weeks. It's also basically a non-issue with my dekstop, which hasn't been shut off in months.

[jayrandom]

I think instant on is a lot better than hibernation, which for me at least is far from instant. The advantage of having a truly instant on memory is that you can shut down whenever you aren't using the computer to save power.

It will be a few years at least until we see a product if at all. They haven't even made a transistor yet, much less see how the process scales industrially.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

I think instant on is a lot better than hibernation, which for me at least is far from instant. The advantage of having a truly instant on memory is that you can shut down whenever you aren't using the computer to save power.

But how much electricity does a sleeping computer use anyways? It can't be that much more than say, leaving your cable box plugged in when not in use.

I left my desktop on for close to four years. Never had a problem and never had an outrageous electrical bill.

[Drover]

I think "saving power" is more relevant when you're running on battery.

[Dd714]

I just want the PC engineers to at least program a "stop"/turn off button. Who is the genious that designed a system to turn off the computer by clicking "start" first?
How do you turn off a PC...well you click on "start" and then..., makes sense. Human engineering at it's worst.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by Drover

I think "saving power" is more relevant when you're running on battery.

I put the laptop to sleep, too, and only power off if I know that I will not be using it for an extended period of time, like more than a day.