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To Go Green, Go Dumb (as in computing)

July 21, 2008

The smartest computing solution environment-wise for organizations is to go dumb, as in dumb terminals.  

Richard 'Zippy' Grigonis, executive editor, Internet Telephony reports that network computing either with purpose-built thin-client systems or even 'lobotomized' PCs connected to a network server use less power than 'intelligent' PCs. 

Let's look at the numbers. Assuming flat panel LCD monitors (FPMs) at each workstation, and 300 watts (W) for a router, hubs, and firewall appliances for all scenarios: 

'Smart System' --120W for typical PC  

'Dumb' Systems: --100W for dumb PC 

Or --43.5W (40W alone for the FPMs) for fanless thin-client dumb terminals 

Plus 1000 W for fat server, off two load-sharing power supplies, to support dumb PCs and terminals 

Based on this it only takes 9 to 10 dumb units: thin-clients or dumb PCs connected to a fat server to equal the power consumption of 11 smart PCs. Beyond that you are 'green computing'. 

There are also other advantages of going dumb. These are lower IT support costs and improved security because employees cannot knowingly or unknowingly load sniffer software or 'bot' the system or download and walk off with data. Theft risk is less because who wants a computer that is 'stupid'? 

There are thin-client computers such as by , but by no means exclusive to Devon IT, Netvoyager, and Sun:  

http://www.devonit.com/thin_client_computing/thin_clients_101.php 
http://www.netvoyager.co.uk/ 
http://www.sun.com/sunray/sunray2/ 
 






















Telework: the ultimate green commute

July 14, 2008


The greenest, fastest, and safest commute, one that requires the lowest investment from your pocket and from your tax dollars (compared with mass transit and HOV lanes) is from wherever you are in your home to your home office. The same goes for your employees.

Facet/Teletrips reports that each person teleworked or telecommuted just 1 to 2 days per week then each year they would save 100 - 200 gallons of fuel and 1.5 to 5 metric tonnes of CO2 / employee / year (equates to 7.5 percent -25 percent of an individual's annual carbon footprint). 

Teleworking is like giving your staff a pay raise and a cut in hours for free. Facet/Teletrips reports that it saves them each $2,000 - $10,000 in after tax dollars and frees up 160 hours of their time from commuting every year.

Your organization also benefits from teleworking as it can gain $2,000 - $10,000 real estate and other cost savings / employee / year, and greater staff retention and recruiting. 

https://www.teletrips.com/public/learn.php

The rising gas prices are already reportedly making organizations think about teleworking. Employees, especially lower-paid ones like contact center agents are less willing to travel the same distances to work because they have to pay more out of their pockets.

Telework is also a proven disaster response strategy by distributing the workforce that makes operations less vulnerable to threats and 'events'. Telework ties into the Internet, which was conceived of and created by the US government to withstand and respond to an enemy attack by distributing computers over a network. 

And on 9-11-01 both telework and the Internet delivered.













MyFax Offers Fax Users a Choice

April 16, 2008

Data Centers Find They Can't Afford to Not 'Go Green'

April 9, 2008

In the data center market, the need for green technology solutions to reduce energy consumption is rapidly becoming imperative. That’s according to executives who gathered for a panel Wednesday during Computerworld’s Storage Networking World conference.   Going green is no longer just a matter of moral rightness or social responsibility, Computerworld reported. It is now becoming a business necessity for data center operations to know how much energy each device consumes and to find ways of reducing that energy consumption.

Want More Energy For Computing? Burn Trash!

April 2, 2008

If your company has an extra $5,000 or so in its green technology budget, it might be worth considering a device the converts trash into energy with very minimal emissions. The device is called “the Gigapit,” and is made by startup Data Centigrade, Inc.   The Gigapit is small enough (the size of a small trash bin) to be installed in an office, where it works to turn trash into business-class energy, ByteandSwitch.com said in a Tuesday report. The minimal smoke produced can be piped into the “air pleneum”above the drop ceiling present in most offices, or out an open window.   “Depending on the type of waste being burned, a typical company can reduce its data center power bill by 20 to 40 percent in the first year,” ByeandSwitch.com quoted Data Centigrade’s CEO, Guy Montag, as saying. Fuel efficiency depends on what’s being burned, he added: "Paper isn't great.

IT Execs to Gather in Orlando for Green Enterprise Computer Event

April 2, 2008

If green technology is your thing (and it must be if you’re reading this blog), take note: later this month more than 400 executives from data centers and IT organizations will descend on Orland, Florida for the Uptime Institute Symposium 2008 (theme: Green Enterprise Computing).   The goal of the event, schedule for April 27-30, is addressing operational and strategic challenges associated with developing energy-efficient systems for data centers. Industry benchmarks will be a key topic covered.   Keynoters will hail from some pretty big players in the IT space: Dell, Microsoft, Yahoo, IBM, Intel, Sun Microsystems, VMWare and APC. The event is sponsored (as the name suggests) by the Uptime Institute, a Santa Fe, California-based think-tank and advisory firm that focuses on computing reliability and energy efficiency. 

TMCnet Interviews ON24 CEO

March 12, 2008

TMCnet’s Mae Kowalke recently interviewed Sharat Sharan, president and CEO at ON24 to discuss Webcasting and the impact such technologies might have on the environment.   According to Kowalke, “New communications technologies like online conferencing are making collaboration among geographically-dispersed teams easier than ever before. Companies adopt such technologies for a variety of reasons, from wanting to reduce their travel budgets to seeking ways of operating more efficiently to getting in on the ‘green technology’ movement.”   One of the points Sharan drove home was the notion that in times of economic uncertainty, it makes sense to invest in technologies such as Webcasting to help reduce travel costs.   Said Sharan:   “There are indications that the economy will begin slowing and a recession is around the corner. More companies are already looking to reduce travel and cut costs. Combined with green mandates, I envision Webcasting gaining more prominence in 2008.

Can Virtualization Green The Emerald Isle?

March 12, 2008

Green Technology the Answer to Pollution in Japan?

February 21, 2008

Coal-fired power stations definitely don’t help in the fight against global warming, unless maybe they use “clean-coal technology,” as does a power station in Nakaso, Japan. That station, Financial Times in Japan reports, is run by a consortium of nine power companies and is being championed by the country’s trade ministry as a way to prove that the technology can reduce pollution.   Specifically, the ministry thinks that using “clean-coal” technology can results in CO2 emissions comparable to an oil-fired plant.   "For combating climate change, what is needed is substantive technology that leads to real reductions,” the Financial Times report quoted Takashi Mogi, an assistant director at the ministry’s environmental affairs office as saying. Mogi admitted, though, that such technology may not yet available: “It is not very easy to believe we will achieve that without the help of innovative technology that does not already exist.”   In its report, Financial Times indicated that, as wonderful as clean-coal technology is, Japan may be using this as a way of removing pressure to make more long-lasting changes.

Green Tech Not 'Sexy' Enough?

February 6, 2008

Green technologies companies, CNet News blogger Michael Kanellos said in a Tuesday posting, may face an uphill battle getting customers excited about their products because those products simply aren’t “sexy” enough.   Kanellos pointed out that solar and wind companies sell electricity-generating equipment… not exactly the most exciting thing around. Nor are new types of water filters or home biomass heating systems.   In other words, Kanellos suggested, the majority of green companies “sell commodities you need, but don't desire.”   That may be true, but then again maybe not.
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