Apr
01
2010
Even though more than half of businesses say they account for all costs associated with a piece of technology before they will invest in it, more than half also fail to account for energy costs when planning their IT budgets.
This according to a recent survey released by Avanade, the business technology services company that was [...]
Mar
31
2010
Given that more and more enterprise and midsize businesses are studying what they should do with their e-waste and how they should deal with it, it’s little wonder that there are several different industry efforts cropping up to claim their attention.
In my mind, there are two big organizations for you to watch: The Basel Action [...]
Mar
30
2010
Oh goody, another eco-label that we get to suss out and assess for relevance! Seriously, though, I just got word that the Dell OptiPlex 908 has been blessed with the TCO Certified designation, which focuses on environmental and high-performance design. This is a label recognized worldwide.
TCO Certified, spearheaded by an organization that hails out of [...]
Mar
26
2010
There’s a great story out today by the New York Times that suggests that the Energy Star label approval process might be vulnerable to fraudulent applications. The story reports that a nine-month-long secret government audit created four fictitious companies, which applied for Energy Star labels by submitting data sheets for, among other things, fake dehumidifiers [...]
Mar
24
2010
Interesting analysis over at Earth2Tech blog about whether or not the onus should be on utility companies to provide near real-time pricing info to consumers via smart meters. Seems Google supports a proposal by the California Public Utilities Commission suggesting that the state should require real-time pricing information for anyone with smart meters by the [...]
Mar
24
2010
The CompTIA technology trade organization has come out with what it is characterizing as the first ever specialized exam for green IT skills. The exam is part of the CompTIA Strata certificate program.
The subject matter includes green technologies, standards, policies and design/support techniques. Topics include proper disposal, power preservation best practices, how to address carbon [...]
Mar
23
2010
You knew it was coming sooner or later: IBM hardware has turned up at the heart of a new smart grid “appliance,” which was put together by IBM and eMeter, a self-professed global leader in smart grid management software. This particular development caught my attention for two reasons:
The eMeter Smart Grid Appliance, which is due [...]
Mar
23
2010
Here’s something that I haven’t thought about all the much, but is bound to become a more important consideration over time: If you want to outsource your data center to a third party to save some power, especially if that somebody is a services company that has both a product and services arm, be prepared [...]
Mar
22
2010
Automotive giant Ford Motor has developed a PC Power Management system for all its Windows desktops and notebook computers, using the NightWatchman software application from 1E as the foundation. It figures the new program will save up to $1.2 million annually on energy, or the reduction of about 16,000 to 25,000 metric tons from its [...]
Mar
22
2010
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy are expanding the testing of products under the Energy Star program, and especially relevant action considering the release of a new consumer survey revealing perceptions of the Energy Star label.
Under the new initiative, the EPA and DOE have begun third-party testing of the six [...]
