Do you need a button to turn off your computer?

BoingBoing Gadgets has a searing review of the EcoButton, a USB-powered button that sends your computer into power-save mode. Guess what ... that's all the button does.

Why go to all the trouble of clicking the mouse three times when you can just hit an oversized button?

Even better, the Eco Button is illuminated, the better to remind you that you're wasting more of the planet's resources unnecessarily just by keeping it plugged into your computer's USB port.

While it would make saving energy easier, I can't help but wonder how much energy it would take to manufacture, advertise, package, sell, ship, and (hopefully) recycle one of these... and how long it would take to recoup the "investment."

The main advantage to having one of these around would be having a constant reminder to reduce energy use. The package includes software to track how much you're saving, so it's a great way to learn to feel good about reducing energy use (if not consumption).

This might be a good way for companies to encourage green thinking and save some dough while they're at it. At my last job, they left the computers on 24/7 -- as a policy -- and it drove me crazy. They could be saving hundreds a year (and tons of CO₂) with these in place.

Going green is as much about changing minds as saving energy, so perhaps there's a place for these buttons. There won't be a place for these in 20 years, though ... we'll either have figured out how to conserve energy without oversized plastic buttons by then, or we'll be competing over the last few drops of oil in the Thunderdome.

GeekSugar has a more friendly review. But rather than pick sides, I'm going to open source my own low-power alternative: a piece of scrap paper with the words "Turn It Off and Plant a Tree" stuck to my monitor.