Friday, November 14, 2008

Laptops and Sun

A definitive goal for purchasing a pc is to fit individual wants and needs from a computer, so to make all personal computers personal they must become, in a way, “one size fits all”. The design intent of microprocessors in 1975 allowed for tremendous amounts of people from all backgrounds to buy into this idea of uniformity on an exterior basis but a unique experience for a user. This then enabled mass pre-production in 77’. Business and home have since split what software was valuable three quarters to one, and the capabilities of a home computer for entertainment in games. Communication through email again made separation for individual choice while fitting in the design intent needed for all. From 1975 till 2002 approximately a billion computers were shipped worldwide and blended all uses, allowing many functions needed for work or play and established affordable costs so that one computer could fit all depending solely on the software. An inspiring example is the One Laptop per Child association (OLPC), where the chairman and founder Nicholas Negropote hopes to educate every child with a conventional product, the XO laptop.

A passive solar design of a building is to make a building efficient while using the essentially free energy of the Sun. Having a house that faces south is essential in the design, and shading should not detract the south wall from the Sun. The angles of sunlight during the summer and winter solstice determine where it is appropriate to have shading. Essentially, solar design is eco-effective if it maximizes the heat gain in the winter and maximizes the heat loss in the summer using environmental advantages such as the Sun.

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