While the Indian Government is yet to put in place a dedicated set of rules to govern the management of electronic waste, Dell has taken a lead in encouraging environment-friendly PC recycling. The vendor has launched two new initiatives to encourage people: Give away your PC and Dell go green challenge.

 Though Dell launched Give away your PC in India in 2006, it recently extended its free recycling services to any brand of PC as long as the customer uses the Rs 1,000 discount coupon to purchase any new Dell PC or notebook.

 The vendor either refurbishes the collected computers or recycles them in environment-friendly manner. The refurbished computers are sold at discounted prices or given out to the needy as a part of the vendor’s CSR activities.

 “It is always better to reuse and refurbish computers rather than recycle them as this increases the overall life of the product and requires much less energy,” added Mahesh Bhalla, Executive Director and General Manager, Consumer, Dell India.

 The vendor has also launched the Dell go green challenge to raise awareness and community involvement in green initiatives. The supplementary forum will offer a platform for the green enthusiasts to gather in the virtual space and share ideas, thoughts and vision on the issue.

 The challenge invites users to share photographs, videos and other innovative depictions of key issues, concerns or thoughts on community green technology. The contest will run for two months, during which the community will vote for their favorite entries. The winning entry will receive a Dell Inspiron 14-inch laptop. The first runner up will receive a Dell Mini, while the second would get the Inspiron Zino.

 Dell, which became carbon neutral in 2008, sources 26 percent of all its power used globally from renewable sources like solar energy and wind energy. The vendor has also put in a lot of thrust on making all its components green. For example, most of Dell’s laptops today are LED-based, which consumes much less power and all of its servers are made from lead-free substance.

 The vendor also uses bamboo-based packaging in some of it products as it is a highly renewable alternative to molded paper pulp, foams and corrugate often used in packaging.

Eurotech Technologies recently launched BestNet fiber optic patch cord. Aimed at environments requiring strong protection of the network cable system, the cord is ideal for applications such as fiber-to-the-desk, broadcasting and FTTx.

 The fiber patch cable features high-quality ceramic connectors at both ends.

 “BestNet cord is especially suitable for harsh environments. By decreasing network installation time, patch cord maintenance and troubleshooting, network installers are now able to deliver a product that can deliver value and savings for their clients,” said Anuj Jain, Managing Director, Eurotech Technologies.

 Eurotech offers combinations of SC, ST, LC, MTRJ, FC connector patch cords in both multimode (62.5/125µm and 50/125µm) and single mode (9/125µm) cable-types, in Duplex and Simplex versions.

 According to the company, the higher durability of the fiber optic patch cord leads to lower maintenance costs, a longer mean time between maintenance and therefore a longer service life.

Intel launched its first Atom platform optimized for networked home and SOHO storage devices.

 The energy-efficient platform consists of the Intel Atom processor D410 single-core or D510 dual-core and the Intel 82801IR I/O Controller.

 The new platform features six PCI Express lanes, 12 USB 2.0 ports, a port multiplier function and eSATA ports that give OEMs the ability to add peripheral devices and expand storage capacity outside of the box. It also features hot plug capabilities for easy capacity upgrades and an integrated gigabit Ethernet MAC controller for improved data transfers. The storage platform also offers the flexibility to support Microsoft Windows Home Server and Linux OS.

 “Today, households and small offices have an ever-increasing number of computers, laptops, netbooks and mobile phones that create and consume digital content. This advancement in mobility coupled with the explosive growth of data and media are creating the need for centralized, easy-to-use network storage solutions for the home and small office,” said Seth Bobroff, General Manager, Intel Data Center Group, Storage.

Hewlett-Packard is refreshing its business ultra portable laptop and hybrid laptop-tablet with Intel Core i5 and i7 processors, becoming one of the first major PC makers to squeeze these powerful processors into a small, lightweight design.

HP EliteBook 2540p

Intel announced the Core i series of processors last year, but to date the chips have been limited mostly to desktops and large-screen laptops. HP's compact EliteBook 2540p and 2740p have 12-inch screens and weigh in at about 3.4 and 3.8 pounds, respectively.

The 2540p can be configured with standard-power Core i5 or Core i7 processors or a Core i7 that draws less power--a so-called low-voltage processor. Graphics are provided by Intel's integrated graphics silicon.

Like the prior-generation 2530p model, the 2540p can be ordered with or without a built-in optical drive. Units without an optical drive, can take 2.5-inch 7200RPM SATA II hard disk drives ranging up to 500GB in capacity. Units ordered with an optical drive use smaller 1.8-inch 5400RPM SATA II drives, ranging up to 320GB in capacity.

The 2540p is also available with 2.5-inch and 1.8-inch solid-state drives that max out at 160GB.

Other features include USB 2.0, VGA, DisplayPort, 1394a, and gigabit Ethernet ports. And an option for an integrated EV-DO/HSPA 3G modem is available too.

Battery life for the 2540p is rated by HP at up to 10 hours with a nine-cell battery and 8 hours with a 6-cell battery.

HP has also updated its convertible laptop--which can be used as a laptop or a tablet--with the 2740p model (updating the prior-generation 2730p). The 2740p has specifications similar to the 2540p but does not offer the option for a 2.5-inch 7200rpm hard disk drive.

IBM said the eX5 servers were the result of a three-year engineering effort to improve the economics of operating enterprise-sized, x86-based systems.

Hewlett-Packard has advised resellers and customers with immediate project requirements to seek alternatives to its c-Class blade system based on Cisco switches as component shortages have brought supply to a standstill.

The issue stems from the difficulties encountered by HP's one-time partner Cisco, which has been struggling to supply the channel with certain enterprise kit.

"Cisco is experiencing supply constraints on some components for its Catalyst range of products including switches for the HP BladeSystem c-Class chassis," said Peter Mansell, HP BladeSystem business manager.

He said HP was working closely with Cisco to resolve the problem but could offer no timeframe for the situation to improve.

Facing sputtering sales of its Sony PSP gaming device and bracing for Apple's game-changing iPad, Sony plans to follow in Apple's footsteps in hopes of a turnaround.

Sony plans to deliver a smartphone that plays PlayStation games and a device to compete with the iPad this year, sources told the Wall Street Journal. The devices will reportedly tap into Sony's upcoming online media platform, which launches later this month. Currently called Sony Online Service, the media platform is similar to Apple's iTunes.

Does Sony's comeback bid smack of desperation? "They should have done this years ago, now it's kind of like closing the barn door after the cows have escaped," says analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group. "Apple took the market by trying to do other things, and that's likely the way to take it back ... Sony still seems to be trying to figure out what Apple did so they can copy it."

Sony hopes to leverage its strength in portable gaming by letting more devices tap into its popular gaming catalog. The new device, for instance, will blend features of a netbook, e-reader and Sony PSP, the Wall Street Journal reports.

All of this comes amidst troubling times for Sony. Shipments of Sony Ericson phones took a dive last year, and Sony recently reduced its forecast for Sony PSP shipments. Sony's latest PSP Go device has been criticized for its weighty price tag: $250.

Meanwhile, game developers see the potential for the upcoming Apple iPad as a powerful portable gaming platform. "The number of developers working on that platform-a large number on entertainment titles-is both impressively large and growing," Enderle says.

Ironically, John Koller, director of hardware marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment, told CIO.com that the iPhone has helped boost sales of the Sony PSP. "We don't view the iPhone negatively in our sector," he said. "There's been more positive impact, in terms of attention turned to the handheld sector and the ability for consumers to graduate to PSP after playing iPhone games."

Will consumers give Sony's new products a chance? Despite Sony's copycat approach to the mobile market, Enderle doesn't count out Sony's chances. He thinks Sony's best shot is to come out with a low price for its new devices and service.

"We aren't at the right price yet for this [mobile] market to explode," Enderle says. "The problem is the cost of the data plans, and it may take a few years before that gets fixed. Once these costs come down sharply, expect the market to explode-and explosions do create opportunities."

Tom Kaneshige is a senior writer for CIO.com in Silicon Valley. Send him an email at tkaneshige@cio.com. Or follow him on Twitter @kaneshige. Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline.