The new Zonbu consumes far less energy than used by a everyday light bulb. The cost for such an eco-friendly notebook-$279 down and $14.95 per month afterward for two years tech support. This includes automatic data backup, and remote access to those files. If, perish the thought, your Zonbu should break, the service gets you a free replacement. In fact, the company claims it will send out your new laptop the day you report your system failure.

This comingnew year, Zonbu, a company out of Menlo Park, Calif., will beoffering a new 15.4" widescreen laptop with a unique data storageand warranty service. The Zonbu runs on a proprietary operatingsystem and is manufactured by Everex. You get a 1.5GHz C7-MVIAprocessor, you also get a less than spectacular 512MB of RAM,however the beauty of Zonbu is less about the hardware, and moreabout the service they offer.

Basically,the notebook comes loaded with 20 software apps, such as theaforementioned OS, firewall, and virus protection, all of whichthe company will upgrade automatically and for free.

Zonbu also provides its users with automatic data backup on anonline storage site, and remote access to those files via theZonbu computer or any other computer. If the Zonbu hardwareshould break, the service gets you a free replacement of thatlaptop. In fact, the company claims it will send out your newlaptop the day you report your system failure. And all of yourfiles will be backed up, remember, so no worries thereeither.

The cost for such a product-$479 down and $14.95 per monthafterward with no commitment. If you commit to their service forone year, the down payment goes down to $379. Commit to twoyears, and you save another hundred-with a down payment of $279.Break the commitment, and you could be looking at up to $200 incharges.

(In comparison, the Zonbu Desktop Mini-where the company got itsstart-comes at a down payment of $99 with a two-yearcommitment.)

That's all well and good, but Zonbu claim to fame is itsgreenness. The 5.3lbs (2.4kg) laptop produced by Everex isdesigned to earn the Green Electronics Council's EPEAT silverrating. It is also Energy Star 4, and meets RoHS standards. Foran idea of what this means, let's again compare with the DesktopMini. It uses just one-tenth the energy of a regular desktop,thanks in part to it not containing a fan or hard drive. Also thelaptop's low power design reduces CO2 emissions, and is totallycarbon neutral, and consumes far less energy than used by atypical light bulb.

And when (hopefully after years of sterling service) Zonbu givesyou the green screen of death, the company offer a free take-backprogram to recycle your used laptop responsibly. E-waste isquickly becoming a global concern. Millions of tons of electronicwaste is dumped in landfills and incinerators every year. Simplyreturn your Zonbu laptop and they will settle the tab for safelyrecycling all the components. They'll even recycle the originalbox it came in! And the 60GB hard drive that comes with thelaptop? Everything is stored on flash memory and backed up on thecompany's servers via the Internet.

The whole deal sounds zerific, right? But here's something to askZonbu if you decide to give them a call: What privacy guaranteesdo they make that they won't access your stored files on theirserver, or let someone else?