Green IT

Each year, green fuels and energy grow more popular as the technology becomes more efficient and less expensive. Just earlier this week, AORA unveiled a new CSP (Concentrated Solar Power) system in southern Spain.

Google's motto of "Do No Evil" apparently extends to its environmental policies, as the company was recently ranked first on Greenpeace's Cool IT Leaderboard for overall green practices. Google grabbed the top spot for the first time, ranking high due to recent disclosure of its own carbon footprint as well as its investment in utility projects such as a large-scale solar project taking place near Sacramento. Other reasons it made the top of the list? The RechargeIT.org project which was designed by Google to demonstrate the technology used in plug-in electric vehicles and to accelerate their adoption, as well as other actions such as increasing its renewable energy purchasing and creating a subsidiary called Google Engery.

I'm all for saving energy, especially if it means saving money on my utility bills. But I'm not sure that Energy Saving (€20, 14-day free trial), an application designed to help you monitor and reduce your use of energy and other resources, can really help with that task.

I have boxes of unopened floppy disks. Is there an organization that could put them to good use? If not, can someone suggest a best place to recycle? Thanks!

Join us and hear from Kaseya mobile IT management experts as we discuss core strategies for supporting the mobile revolution on a shoestring budget, and offer tangible best practices from Kaseya's new software suite that will pave the way for mobile productivity within your organization (making top-level and strategic mobile decisions, maximizing the existing app landscape, securing the mobile data stream, and responding to end-user requests).

Found: data center certs for Google

Cisco this week expanded its smart grid portfolio for utilities with a reference architecture, products and services intended to modernize the electric grid.

Apple has launched a recycling scheme that could help you make money from your old iPhone, iPad, Mac or even Windows PC.

Startup Vioguard got FDA approval for a cool, self-retracting, self-disinfecting keyboard for hospitals that appears to work well enough, but overstates the problem, overestimates its effectiveness and doesn't appear to be as cost-effective as competitors.

Chinese data centers and the environment

How cool is your data center?

Facebook has hired Google’s former “green energy czar” Bill Weihl, in a move designed to demonstrate the company's commitment to low-carbon computing and renewable energy. Weihl will begin the new post in January 2012, Facebook confirmed.