Simon Ponsford - Agenda Setters 2008

Name: Simon Ponsford

Title: Cranberry founder and CEO

Position: 29    Last year: Not ranked

Why? Greening the PC

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• Peter Sunde and Gottfrid Svartholm
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• Richard Stallman

These days everyone seems to be talking about how to deal with the IT energy crisis but few have any concrete solutions.

One approach is to reduce the power required to run PCs - and this is where Simon Ponsford comes to the attention of the Agenda Setters panel.

Bringing together his studies in environmental sciences with his expertise in thin-client computing, Ponsford heads up low-power computer maker Cranberry.

Cranberry's flagship product the SC20 Smart Client, launched in September 2007, draws only 10 watts compared to the 175 watts consumed by conventional desktop computers, representing a 95 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions.

While efficient and portable (it's the size of a paperback book) the SC20 still offers full PC functionality.

A champion of 'green' causes who speaks regularly on both computing and environmental issues, Ponsford stands apart as one of the individuals bringing green computing to life.