TV & Internet...

Months after it was first announced, I'm sure many people had given up waiting for the CherryPal, a desktop PC with no moving parts that promised to use just 2 watts of power.

Well guess what? The CherryPal SSD C114 ships next week -- at a bargain-basement price of just $249.

It will take some time for reviews to come in, but until then, let's look at the innovations that are expected with this tiny-but-powerful machine:

• It uses just 2 watts of power -- 98% less than the 114 watts used by the average desktop computer.
• It has no moving parts, so the company says it will last for up to ten years.
• It uses 80% fewer parts, so less waste is created in its manufacture.

The CherryPal has a few other features of note. It boots up in just 20 seconds (no more wasted time and energy during the start-up phase). Most of the software isn't located on the hard drive; it's on the Internet, so you have fewer worries about upgrades and downloads (good luck using the PC if your Internet is out, though). It comes with a wide range of open-source programs, so it's ready for use right out of the box. And it doesn't make any sound, which is something I wish could be said of all computers.

Obviously, with a price of just $249, the CherryPal doesn't come with a monitor, and you can't seem to buy one directly from CherryPal, so that's one more item that needs to be packaged and shipped, but if you're buying a green computer, you probably have a green monitor in mind, too.

Worth a look!