Journalists got extremely emotional at Via's press conference yesterday to unveil its ‘carbon-free’ PCs and processors. We didn't resort to name calling, but everyone was unhappy by its new ‘carbon free’ logos.

In our news story we revealed how it certifies CPUs and systems as 'carbon free' if complimentary trees have been planted. Via only offsets the carbon-dioxide produced to power a CPU or system for three years. The manufacture of computer equipment requires four times more electricity than powering a system for its average lifetime, so the program is fundamentally flawed - CPUs and systems are extremely carbon-un-neutral from the word go.

Via claims it can't calculate how much energy is used in making devices because it only designs things, but if the United Nations University (who calculated the 4x statistic) has an idea of what it takes to manufacture silicon, then Via could certainly make an educated guess.

I applaud Via for making low powered CPUs that require a quarter of the electricity of an Intel Pentium D, however the 'carbon free' claim is not true and every journalist knew it and felt they were seriously misleading the public.

Via expects the platform to be a success in the UK due to our green conscience, however the case is different in the US; a spokesman told me that during an American press conference the concern was over consumers thinking 'carbon free' means there is no carbon at all in the PC…