HP announces solution to encourage reuse of old laptops

One of the largest OEM PC and laptop manufacturers in the world, HP has announced that it is working on a new solution to enjoy better machines that are often discarded because they are considered “inefficient”. According to the company, a new technology that works at the level of firmware will allow have a better idea about the maintenance cycles and problems that a hardware has faced.

The idea of ​​the company is that the novelty works similarly to the Carfax system, which is already used in many automotive vehicles. It serves as a record of all the damage and maintenance processes that a vehicle has gone through, thus allowing you to get a better idea of ​​how much it still has for life.

“We at HP realize that, to avoid unnecessary digital waste, we needed to collect and make available data and maintenance data for each laptop, such as a pc carfax used”, Explains the company. The idea is to encourage companies to work more consciously with the machines they use in their daily lives.

HP promises a solution that preserves privacy

According to the company, one of its biggest concerns was to create a solution that preserves the privacy of its users. Thus, she decided to use many of the sensors that are already present in most PCs and laptops on the market. They include from temperature, electricity consumption and sensors that detect how a SSD or HDD has written data.

“The key is to collect and store all this data safely but useful”The company explains. Thus, she decided to implement her new firmware level solution: while collected data is stored on computer discs, this ensures an additional software layer that prevents manipulation or access without authorization.

HP also explains that The firmware layer ensures that only reliable data obtained from sensors can be stored. The company will also use as the basis of the new solution its Endpoint Security Controller, a dedicated hardware that is already present in its corporate models and does not require the use of main CPU resources.

Novelty is focused on corporate customers

The company states that its new solution will also be able to collect system diagnostic data, the records of its official support services and more. Even information provided by repairs or exchanges of parts will be stored by the new system.

At least at first, the novelty should mainly affect HP corporate business. With the data obtained, the company will be able to negotiate better automatic device replacement plans, as well as repair policies that are beneficial for both it and its customers.

The company is calling its new PCFax solution, and states that the information will be shared with information technology managers for their partners. Thus, it will be up to them to make decisions about making maintenance, component exchanges or even when it is necessary to invest in new machines.

Fonte: PC Gamer, IEEE Spectrum