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1.  

   Big boob tube

   

   Anonymous Coward, Jul 5th, 2007 @ 10:09am

   
   

   "for example, consume more electricity than old tube-based sets."
   
   My HDTV *is* "tube-based". So I guess I'm using 10 times the power of an old tv? Riiight.

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2.  

   

   that guy, Jul 5th, 2007 @ 10:10am

   
   

   Something needs to be done with the massive amount of waste heat generated by corporate servers. It should be re-routed to heat the building in the winter and maybe used to heat the hot water year-round. Right now the solution is to build huge air conditioners and not worry about it.

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3.  

   I've noticed PC power supplys keep getting bigger

   

   Haywood, Jul 5th, 2007 @ 10:13am

   
   

   100-250 watt power supplies at one time were the norm, now 500w may not get it. I notice the heat coming out of the case more now as well. No one forced me to build a dual SLI gaming rig, and I wouldn't want to go back. More powerful electronics draw more power, duh, but most of us wouldn't want to go back to the old stuff.

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4.  

   Re:

   

   mac84, Jul 5th, 2007 @ 10:18am

   
   

   goes back to that simple economic principle. The simple way to make corporations look at these more novel means of saving energy is to make it in their economic best interest. an accross the board tax increase in the tax on energy is all that is needed.

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5.  

   Re: Re:

   

   gdwntx, Jul 5th, 2007 @ 10:48am

   
   

   You must be one of those left wingers that thinks the government can run things better then we can. Get the gov. out of buss. and buss. will run it better cheaper and much more efficent. We cause the demand for more power and we do demand it. NO MORE TAXES YOU IDIOTS

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6.  

   

   Anonymous Coward, Jul 5th, 2007 @ 12:32pm

   
   

   Except for the occasional Enron or Healthsouth Debacle...

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7.  

   Re: Re: Re:

   

   Anonymous Coward, Jul 5th, 2007 @ 1:18pm

   
   

   getting the government out of business will not be great. while its hit or miss with each regulation/law on how well the government regulates things, it does do a significant amount to protect consumers (there are many regulations, quality assurance, and what not in place because of the government. false advertising is a good example). Plus cheaper isn't always best for the consumer OR the environment OR EVEN efficiency. Cheap != efficient and unfortunately big companies prioritize cheap over efficient A LOT of the time.
   
   and who is "we" referring to anyway in your first statement?
   
   and i have no clue what your point is about "we cause the demand for more power and we do demand it." what does that mean? what are you trying to say?

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8.  

   Re:

   

   Anonymous Coward, Jul 5th, 2007 @ 1:21pm

   
   

   the problem is the need for how quickly the servers need to be cooled. there's no practical system that could keep them at a constant cool temperature. nothing can transfer the heat away quickly enough other than just putting something really cold (whether it be air or some other material) on it.

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9.  

   Re: I've noticed PC power supplys keep getting big

   

   Anonymous Coward, Jul 5th, 2007 @ 1:22pm

   
   

   thats not completely the point. they're saying that instead of just continually increasing the power of electronics, we should focus on making what we already have much more efficient.

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10.  

    Re: Re:

    

    that guy, Jul 5th, 2007 @ 2:02pm

    
    

    "the problem is the need for how quickly the servers need to be cooled. there's no practical system that could keep them at a constant cool temperature. nothing can transfer the heat away quickly enough other than just putting something really cold (whether it be air or some other material) on it."
    
    Yeah, then you take that working fluid (water, air, refrigerant), and instead of dumping the heat outside as traditional A/C units do, dump that heat inside during the winter.
    
    Without some regulation businesses will usually pick the cheapest alternative. Do you think _any_ industry would impose emission standards on themselves? They wouldn't, and they didn't in the past. They just built the smoke stacks high enough that your neighborhood didn't get sprayed with soot.

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11.  

    

    Mark, Jul 5th, 2007 @ 4:07pm

    
    

    Liquid-cooled turbo-charged PCs. Technology is coming that will draw much less energy (magnetic/bubble memory, light based circuits, solid-state "drives") but like anything else it isn't here quite yet.
    
    If HDTVs and other devices use so much energy, why is it several can be used on a single 15A circuit? The old RCA TV from my youth would sometimes pop the breaker just turning it on. Anyone remember the clunk from those old power supplies as the caps charged?

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12.  

    This issue hits close to home.

    

    Chronno S. Trigger, Jul 5th, 2007 @ 5:42pm

    
    

    I just moved into my own apartment. I have to pay the electric bill. Since I run a server 24/7 I would have it no other way. With the server, 32" HD LCD TV, Xbox, 360, GQ, Wii, PS2, ext... they combined use less than 10KW/h. Turning on the AC (not even that high) kicks it up to 50+. Now I'm no electrician nor do I really understand exactly what a KW is but I know that it costs me $100/m with the AC on. So all you Greenpeace people out there, I'm sweating my ass off just to save power. Be happy. (and I moved 20min closer to work to save gas.)
    
    I do remember hearing my TV turn on before I got the LCD.

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13.  

    Re: Re: Re:

    

    Anonymous Coward, Jul 5th, 2007 @ 6:58pm

    
    

    Until some company decides to offer to build a device or A/C that allows the working fluid (which isn't actually always hot after its used) to be re-used, I don't expect a company to all of the sudden become engineers and devise a way to bring the heat created by the AC (which isn't always there). Chemical Reactions can absorb heat (hence they feel cold). Temperature isn't always a zero-sum game. If something goes up 5 degrees, it does not mean something else went down 5 degrees. Energy is lost in several forms.

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