Apple's greenest MacBook yet

Happy to note the following about the latest Apple MacBook, dubbed the "Air":

10:32 a.m. Jobs talks about progress on environmental issue. Says Air has an all-aluminum case (recyclable), first mercury-free display, arsenic-free glass.

That new display consumes less power, too, contributing to a battery life of more than five hours (full use with all wireless options on).

With special RemoteDisc software installed (it doesn't come with one of its own), the Air can read optical discs from other computers -- I've always thought it was bunk to have more than one DVD drive in a home, especially with Gigabit Ethernet and 802.11n networks in place.

Other green aspects of the Air, according to today's announcement, include bromide and PVC-free circuitboards, and 56-percent smaller packaging than the current MacBook.

Apple pushed Intel to produce really, really tiny chips for this particular computer, and everyone benefits when Intel makes smaller chips that consume less power. You can bet this technology will find its way into Sony, Dell, and HP laptops soon enough.

Also of note is the option for a 64GB SSD, though at $999 it's no bargain. The Air meets Energy Star 4.0 standards and attained a Silver EPEAT rating.

Someone check my math, but five hours out of a 37 watt-hour lithium polymer battery would mean it consumes about 7.4 watts. That's in the same category as some of the Super-Green Linux Machines we've been covering, and it blows everything else at its productivity level out of the water.

via ZDnet and Slashgear and Apple Store