Intel, HP explain green initiatives

Reaffirming their commitment to green computing, technology giants Intel and HP recently revealed their respective planet-saving initiatives at the Greenergy forum, a slight twist from the traditional Synergy event that the two firms have been jointly organising in the Philippines since 1997, states PCWorld.

"There's been a lot of talk about efforts (that) everybody's doing, steps they are undertaking in terms of greening," said Ricky Banaag, country manager of Intel Technology Philippines.

Intel's approach to eco-technology is driven through four pillars: sustainable manufacturing, energy-efficient performance, design for the environment, and policy and industry, explained Banaag.

IBM produces the most powerful and energy-efficient computers on the planet, according to the latest supercomputing Green500 list from Green500.org, says VNUnet.

The top 20 most efficient supercomputers are built by IBM, or use the company's high performance computing technology, according to Green500.org. Overall, Big Blue holds 39 of the top 50 positions, in a list made up of computers used in astronomy, meteorology and pharmaceuticals research.

"Modern supercomputers can no longer focus only on raw performance. To be commercially viable these systems must also be energy efficient," said David Turek, VP of Deep Computing at IBM.

Spurred into action by a phone call from Google co-founder Larry Page, the University of Michigan (UM) is on its way to becoming a leader in green computing, hoping to save money and the environment, according to Freep.

The campus-wide volunteer effort involves a number of initiatives designed to save hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy used to power the school's 80 000 desktop computers, half a dozen data centres and more than 100 server rooms.

Teams of more than 90 UM students, faculty and staff members are working to purchase more energy-efficient computers and other technological devices, reduce the number of server rooms on campus and get everyone to turn off computers and printers when they are not using them and print only necessary documents.