PC Advisor Green Computing Channel

Foxconn reports three possible suicides at factories in China

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (Michael Kan) — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:18:00 GMT

Three workers at Foxconn factories in China have fallen to their deaths in recent weeks and police are investigating, according to the company.

Progress at Foxconn factories, but working hours still exceed Chinese laws

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (Michael Kan) — Fri, 17 May 2013 06:03:00 GMT

Employees at the Chinese factories of Apple supplier Foxconn continue to work beyond the country's legal limit of 49 hours a month, according to a report from the Fair Labor Association (FLA). But the Taiwanese manufacturer is making overall steady progress in improving the working conditions at a select group of factories in China, it said.

Swedish data center saves $1 million a year using seawater for cooling

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (James Niccolai) — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:56:00 GMT

A data center in Sweden has cut its energy bills by a million dollars a year using seawater to cool its servers, though jellyfish are an occasional hazard.

Consumers concerned about green issues: GfK global study

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (Veronica C. Silva) — Tue, 14 May 2013 18:35:00 GMT

The good news is that global consumers are aware of some green issues that may affect their lives. The bad news is that not many of them are aware of how to resolve these issues.

Data centers show signs of 'green fatigue'

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (James Niccolai) — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:43:00 GMT

A new survey from the Uptime Institute suggests fatigue is setting in when it comes to making data centers greener, and it may be partly due to overachievers like Google and Microsoft.

Networks in 2020: More traffic, less energy

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (Stephen Lawson) — Mon, 13 May 2013 08:10:00 GMT

Networks could use far less energy by 2020 even though they'll be carrying much more traffic, an industry group says.

A cicada invasion is coming to New York (and other stuff you missed)

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (Kevin Lee) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 11:39:00 GMT

It's ridiculously warm today in New York (20 degrees above average for this time of year), so much so that we're just going to unofficially proclaim today National Fish Stick Day. After all, yesterday was National Empanada Day, so why not a day dedicated to processed seafood? I hope I don't get sick tomorrow from eating all these frozen fish sticks. Apparently the heat's getting to me.

Vodafone, Ericsson test feature to make rural mobile coverage cheaper

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (Mikael Ricknäs) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:58:00 GMT

Ericsson and Vodafone in Egypt have successfully tested a new way to build more energy-efficient networks in rural areas, and make it possible to build networks where they previously could not be built, according to the vendor.

Ingram Micro to distribute CyberPower Systems' products

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (Mike Gee) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 12:15:00 GMT

Leading distributor, Ingram Micro, has signed a distribution agreement with global manufacturer of power protection and UPS products, CyberPower Systems.

Trade groups look for uses for recycled CRT glass

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (Grant Gross) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 18:16:00 GMT

An electronics and a recycling trade group are looking for ways to reuse recycled cathode ray tube (CRT) glass from computer monitors and television sets, with a US$10,000 prize for the best proposal.

Apple issues annual environmental report, touts renewable energy use

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (Dan Moren) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 22:47:00 GMT

While technological progress and the environment often seem to be at odds, many tech companies are working hard to lessen the impact their businesses have on the planet. Over the last several years, Apple has released an annual progress report about its environmental status, and this year is no different. On Thursday, the company updated its Apple and the Environment pages with information about the year gone by, and how it's improved on its goals vis-a-vis the environment.

Smartphone usage driving up greenhouse gas emissions: report

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (Sophie Curtis) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:28:00 GMT

Exponential growth in the use of computers, smartphones and other networked devices could cause the environmental impact of the ICT sector to increase dramatically between now and 2020, according to a new report.

EBay develops 'miles per gallon' metric for data centers

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (James Niccolai) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 23:19:00 GMT

There's a maxim in the data center business that you can't manage what you can't measure, and eBay has come up with the mother of all measurement systems for calculating data center efficiency.

Fujitsu names UniCredit as first European customer for palm-scan authentication

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (Peter Sayer) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 23:02:00 GMT

Fujitsu Technology Solutions has named European bank UniCredit as the first major customer for its PalmSecure authentication system, which is on display at the Cebit trade show in Hanover, Germany, this week.

Fujitsu names UniCredit as first European customer for palm-scan authentication

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (Peter Sayer) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 22:02:00 GMT

Environment Department to build ICT service providers panel

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (Adam Bender) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 23:49:00 GMT

The government seeks to establish an enterprise ICT panel of service providers at the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities.

Almost half of IT pros unaware of EU 20-20-20 energy directive

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (Antony Savvas) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:16:00 GMT

Over 40 percent of data centre IT professionals are unaware of the recent EU 20-20-20 Renewable Energy Directive, although their firms still seem to be blindly working towards complying with it.

Almost half of IT pros unaware of EU 20-20-20 energy directive

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (Antony Savvas) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:16:00 GMT

Over 40 percent of data centre IT professionals are unaware of the recent EU 20-20-20 Renewable Energy Directive, although their firms still seem to be blindly working towards complying with it.

HP to limit student labor in Chinese factories with new guidelines

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (Michael Kan) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 06:30:00 GMT

Hewlett-Packard has issued new guidelines to limit the use of student labor at its supplier factories in China, in what it claimed was the first of its kind for the IT industry.

Beijing's heavy pollution a boon for air quality monitoring apps

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (Michael Kan) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 07:58:00 GMT

On Jan. 13, local developer Wang Jun found that downloads for his app had suddenly skyrocketed, totaling 58,000 in a single day.

Samsung investigates worker's death following chemical leak at chip plant

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (Peter Sayer) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:53:00 GMT

A chemical leak at a Samsung Electronics plant in South Korea has resulted in the death of a contract worker, while four others have been discharged from a hospital after treatment, the company said Monday.

Apple cut ties with Chinese supplier for hiring underage workers

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (Michael Kan) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 07:29:00 GMT

Apple found 11 facilities within its supply chain using underage labor last year, and went as far to sever ties with one Chinese component maker for failing to prevent the violations.

Facebook pushes a new model for buying servers

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (James Niccolai) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 02:19:00 GMT

Facebook has proposed a new model for designing servers that it says will give businesses more choice in selecting components and a smarter way to upgrade systems when needs change, though it remains to be seen how widely its method will be adopted.

Cadillac electrifies line up with ELR hybrid

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (Nick Barber) — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 21:39:00 GMT

Cadillac introduced a high-end hyrbid electric vehicle called the ELR at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit Tuesday.

Workers strike at Foxconn supplier in China

pcadvisor@idg.co.uk (Michael Kan) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 03:26:00 GMT

More than 1,000 workers reportedly went on strike at a Foxconn supplier in China demanding better pay. Riot police are said to have responded by suppressing the protest.