I guess the debate over whether you should power off your own PC or not is a
fun water cooler question with no right answer to it, but if I remember, the
original post had to do with how much Ford was saving by turning off
computers during evenings and weekends. This is a huge issue in the computer
industry right now, and IBM, Intel, HP, Sun, Dell and others are investing a
lot of money into having computers consume less power. This isn't just a
green environment friendly issue, but it's big dollars for big companies
with a big information technology investment. It's more than the cost of the
power as well. Companies have to build up their physical infrastructure and
power grid to handle the power needed by their computers.
Remember too, that Ford and others aren't talking about turning off
computers doing valuable work but rather shutting down systems that don't
need to be running. Of course, the question becomes how do you determine
which systems are needed and which aren't.
Also, on the issue of wear and tare, I'm guessing the wear and tare on a
system booting up is probably off set by the wear and tare generated by the
heat of a running system. Even if it isn't, I think most systems for most
people become obsolete before they break down due to wear and tare.
For my own part, I turn my system off when I'm not using it, but I also have
no qualms leaving it up over night because of scheduled maintenance or a
file transfer. Research and development in advanced power management is also
helping keep me and some of my employees gainfully employed.
--
Christopher
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-----Original Message-----
From: Visually Impaired Computer Users' Group List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Mike Pietruk
Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2010 5:30 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VICUG-L] Turning Off Computers
Without expressing an opinion on this and I don't have a strong one:
this question has been debated back and forth by countless pc gurus with
absolutely no discernable aggreement. Probably more energy is spent
discussing the question than anything else.
And probably more items in the typical office or home drain far greater
amounts of electricity than the lowly personal pc.
Keep in mind that not only must power issues be considered, but also wear
and tear on the components involved, what others items remain powered when a
pc runs, what is lost in time value with pcs running or not running, etc.
It's a fun question to discuss over the water cooler, but I doubt that there
is a real right ansswer to it.
As for what we do around our home, we generally leave desktops on during
waking hours or when scheduled to do recordings; turn them off at night or
during t-storms.
Remember, your time is also worth something.
VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
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