GreenComputing
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IBM rolls out "Mainframe Gas Gauge" for servers
Continuing its push into greener computing, IBM today announced the launch of its so-called "Mainframe Gas Gauge," which promises to let its server customers monitor their exact energy consumption in real time. What's more, IBM also announced that it'll begin publishing typical energy consumption figures for its z9 mainframe systems, following a recent EPA report that advised server makers to do just that. That data will be collected from some 1,000 servers around the world (a process that actually began in May), each of which employ sensors to monitor actual energy and cooling statistics, giving IBM enough info to determine the average watts per hour consumed and the total watts per unit. Individual server users will also get weekly reports on their machines' energy consumption in addition to the real time data, and they'll be able to make use of a new "Power Estimator Tool" to help them determine the most efficient means of expanding their server farms.[Via Slashdot]
TUAW Tip: Turn off your Cinema Display without putting your Mac to sleep
Green computing is all the rage these days, and one of my co-workers champions environmentally sound practices here at the office. One day as we were leaving for lunch he noticed that I just locked my iMac's screen, which in turn locked the 23 inch Cinema Display attached to it. They were both happily displaying the screensaver (yes, I am aware that I am a geek). He suggested I turn off the secondary monitor if I was going to be away from my desk for awhile. I agreed with his suggestion in theory, but pointed out to him that the power button on Apple's Cinema Displays aren't actually power buttons at all. When you press them they put your machine to sleep, and since my Mac was doing some work I didn't want to do that.Poking around the Display options shortly there after (System Preference > Displays) I noticed an 'Options' tab on the preferences for my secondary monitor. Lo and behold, the answer to my quandary was found. The power button on Cinema Display is set to put your Mac to sleep when pressed by default, but as you can see it can also be set to simply power off the monitor or do nothing at all.I now turn off my monitor whenever I am not at my desk, and the world is a little bit greener for it.
Big timers join up to launch Climate Savers Computing Initiative
Although a number of household name computer vendors have already inked their name on some sort of green agenda, now it looks like things are getting a bit more aspiring as Intel and Google have joined the likes of Dell, EDS, EPA, HP, IBM, Lenovo, Microsoft, PG&E, and the World Wildlife Fund (among others) to launch the Climate Savers Computing Initiative. The lofty goal is to"save $5.5 billion in energy costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 54 million tons per year," which translates into an amount equal to removing "more than 11 million cars from the road" by 2010. Supposedly, vendors in agreement with the initiative will abide by the new 90-percent efficiency target for power supplies, which looks to be the main player in garnering such massive reductions. Feeling guilty about pulling the trigger on that 2,000-watt PSU yet?[Via ArsTechnica]
UK's Green Shift could result in dummy terminals galore
While a plethora of companies having already joined forces to create a modern day Captain Planet of sorts, England is making sure it doesn't fall off the green bandwagon just yet by launching a Green Shift taskforce to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. But the most intriguing aspect of the operation is how it could translate into more dummy terminal usage and lower sales of, say, more popular home PC software. Led by the Manchester City Council, the crew will reportedly "host functions such as office applications, email, and internet surfing on data centers rather than on individual computers," and it also aims to use 75-percent fewer resources in the actual production of computers. The initiative is said to be a full out assault on "cyber-warming," as local Government Minister Phil Woolas so eloquently put it, and the service should hit full stride late in 2009 after a brief pilot program gets executed early next year. Unfortunately, mum's the word on how these elusive data centers will connect with users and what types of hardware will be required to run them.[Via PCWorld]
