Technology News: Green Business

New Calif. Standard Nixes Energy-Guzzling Flat-Screen TVs
November 19, 2009

California regulators have adopted the nation's first energy-efficiency standards for televisions, a move that will eventually ban power-hungry sets from the state's store shelves. Wednesday's action by the California Energy Commission could lead the way in a general reform of standards for an industry increasingly focused on wide-view, flat-screen, high-definition sets.

Trashing IT Hardware the Responsible Way
November 19, 2009

Disposing of obsolete and broken electronic devices, or e-waste, is not as simple as taking out the trash. Heavy metals and other poisonous contaminants can leak into the environment if electronic equipment is not properly processed. Without foresight, discarded data is also at risk of unintended exposure.

Obama Puts Stimulus Funds Toward Digitizing the Power Grid
October 27, 2009

The Obama administration is giving a jolt to the futuristic "smart" electric grid, hoping to more quickly bring America's power transmission system into the digital age. President Barack Obama, during a visit to a solar energy facility in Arcadia, Fla., is announcing Tuesday that he is making available $3.4 billion in government support for 100 projects aimed at modernizing the power grid.

The New Darling of the Green-Tech Movement
October 20, 2009

Until recently, Apple was a little too ripe for the green scale. Environmentalists raised a stink over the company's use of toxic chemicals, its refusal to publicly release its carbon emissions, and its overall sorry showing in industry green rankings. "Well, it's important we give Apple credit for the data they just released," said Greenpeace's Casey Harrell, "because it has definitely raised the bar."

The US' Perilous Path to Energy Enslavement
September 28, 2009

Hidden in the messaging at the Intel Developer Forum last week was a goal to dramatically lower U.S. electricity bills and save the country from becoming an energy slave to China by 2020. At the core of this is the view that the current Obama administration may be focused on the right things but in the wrong order.

Working Your Way to a Greener SMB
September 28, 2009

Big businesses often use big bucks to go green. Small businesses, on the other hand, haven't a dollar to spare even for a good cause like saving the environment. Shouldn't they just pass on the whole green scheme -- at least until the economy improves? Not necessarily.

There's Gold in China's Green Tech Potential
September 10, 2009

China potentially could be a $500-billion-to-$1-trillion-a-year market for environmentally sustainable "green technologies," a group of businesses and experts said in a report Thursday that urges governments to ease the way for such initiatives. The report by the China Greentech Initiative pinpointed opportunities from 300 potential green technology options for China.

Does Green Matter to You?
September 07, 2009

I'm at IFA as I write this, and in Europe, green clearly does matter. Here, they even have a viable Green Party, but in the U.S., I sometimes wonder whether we care. This was showcased in a presentation in which Sony ranked geographical areas in terms of the importance of green, and the U.S. came in last.

Keys to an Even Greener Data Center
August 05, 2009

In today's world of hybrid cars and wind farms, consuming energy wisely is on every individual's agenda. Companies and their IT departments should be no different. Statistics aside, there is no doubt that collectively data centers have a huge "carbon footprint" and are the biggest or one of the biggest consumers of energy in every company.

Thinking Outside the Green IT Box
July 07, 2009

"Green IT" has been a tech industry cause celebre for the past few years, first arising as the potential effects of global warming were coming increasingly to the fore and then enjoying a significant boost as the global recession compounded the practical value of data center energy efficiency and power savings.

Best Buy Cruises for Green With Electric Vehicles
July 06, 2009

Best Buy is rolling out a pilot program for a new product category: electronic Segways. The company has announced it will be selling these vehicles in 20 stores in Washington, Oregon and California, with electric motorcycles to join the mix later this summer. There had been expectations that Best Buy would be dipping its toe into the electric motorcycle market.

Microsoft Goes Bing, Palm's Pwned
June 01, 2009

Last week, Microsoft announced its new search push at Google -- and unlike Live Search, which was a joke, Bing looks to have the right stuff. The question is, can Microsoft get people to move? Palm initially looked as though it was going to get iPhone users to move, but that hope started to sputter last week.

Utility Companies Plug In to Google PowerMeter
May 20, 2009

Google will start field testing its PowerMeter software with over 10 million customers of eight large utility partners in three countries. Google on Wednesday announced it's lining up energy companies so it can enlist the utilities' customers to start using the home energy consumption software.

Dell's Timely Push for Efficient Enterprise Computing
April 07, 2009

Traditionally, IT product marketing emphasizes immediate and short-term technical performance. This week's/month's/year's hot new products are compared side-by-side with those of competitors, benchmark benefits are extolled and shortcomings magnified. However, a confluence of global events is making IT customers much more receptive to hearing about longer-term issues.

A Tale of Two Trade Shows
March 25, 2009

Two of the biggest names in CRM had trade shows recently. Oracle and Microsoft each held customer conventions in the same week, but the two could not have been more different. Microsoft attracted thousands of customers, partners, employees and press to New Orleans for Convergence, one of its big annual events.

IBM Dives Into Clean Water Management
March 13, 2009

IBM is dropping anchor in the water management industry with the development of several new technologies and the launch of a new consulting service targeting utilities. This is not an entirely new focus for IBM, although it is clearly a deviation from its pure IT heritage.