Software giant joins Aug. 27 green challenge, touts new Windows 7 power features
Microsoft is participating in Power IT Down Day and touting new Windows 7 power-management features to address energy usage on the desktop.
Microsoft has joined forces with Citrix, HP and Intel as a sponsor of Power IT Down Day, a challenge to government employees to turn off their PCs, monitors and printers when they leave work on Aug. 27.
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This is the first year Microsoft has participated in Power IT Down Day, which company officials say is part of a broader effort by the software giant to address energy usage on the desktop.
“The whole idea behind Power IT Down Day is to raise awareness for the user and make it easier for the user to reduce energy consumption,” says Kim Nelson, executive director of e-government for Microsoft and a former CIO for the Environmental Protection Agency.
Anyone can participate in Power IT Down Day although the event is targeted at federal workers.
Microsoft’s participation in Power IT Down Day comes at a time when the company is promoting the new power management features in Windows 7. These capabilities build upon enterprise-wide power management settings available in Vista.
“Windows 7 has a number of enhancement that will make it easier for the user to enjoy greater energy savings not just on Power IT Down Day but everyday,” Nelson says.
For example, Windows 7 will feature an Adaptive Display Brightness Feature that allows users to automatically dim displays after a specified period of time, similar to how a laptop display automatically goes into sleep mode when it is on battery power. Windows 7 also supports displays with ambient light sensors so that the brightness automatically adjusts depending on external light conditions.
Windows 7 also has several features aimed at reducing the amount of power used by CPUs. These include reducing the number of services that run in the background such as Bluetooth for wireless devices. These services will now be triggered as needed instead of running all the time. This will allow the CPU to remain idle for longer periods of time, thereby requiring less power.
In addition, Windows 7 will offer troubleshooting advice for network managers that will allow them to diagnose power usage and identify ways to reduce it. The latest version of Windows also makes it easier for administrators to wake up PCs that are in sleep mode.
“We’re trying to make it a lot easier for the typical user to get the most power savings possible,” Nelson says.
Nelson says Microsoft is encouraging its government customers to participate in Power IT Down Day as a way of focusing attention on the power savings that can come from desktops as well as servers.
Nelson says government agencies are more focused on reducing IT-related power usage than many industry segments because of a presidential order signed in 2007 that requires agencies to reduce their energy consumption by 3% per year or 30% total by 2015.
“The focus clearly has been on the data center…but as people look for ways to meet the executive order, they’re going to have to look at the desktop,” Nelson says. “We think our products can help our customers make significant reductions.”
Nelson points to a Natural Resources Defense Council report that says the power management settings in Vista would save customers around $50 per year in energy usage.
“Lots of our users didn’t adopt Vista. We think that going into next year, a large number of our users will go from Windows XP directly to Windows 7. We think there’s a significant opportunity for us as a company to help our customers drive down their energy usage,” Nelson adds.
