Life is beautiful : Live a meaningful life

The song is: “Comptine d’un autre été: l’après midi” composed by: Yann Tiersen
Animation by Aidan Gibbons

Hacking Warning : Anyone can get into your Facebook / Twitter / Email easily without password

http://www.youtube.com/v/9T8xaDoYNmg?fs=1&hl=en_US

Anyone can now hijacking online sessions on Facebook using the Firefox extension “Firesheep” and many other sites such as Myspace, Youtube, etc.

The way they’re gaining access is through your public wifi connection.

To prevent YOUR account from being stolen, do NOT log onto public wifi in your area that you can not trust.

What is Public Wi-Fi ?

Any FREE wi-fi connections that your computer, laptop, cell phone or iPad can detect, which do not require any password in order to connect to it.

What is FireSheep? How do I protect myself?

Firesheep is a simple add-on for Firefox that can let anyone scan through open Wi-Fi network and steal account information of users. Account details of websites like Twitter, Facebook, Yelp, Hotmail and several others can easily procured using this add-on. To protect your account details from getting hijacked by anyone. Here are some pointers shared by Butler to protect users in the simplest possible ways:

• HTTPS-Everywhere Extension: Created by Electronics Frontier Foundation, this add-on makes the Firefox browser use only HTTPS (Secured) connection for certain websites. Unfortunately, this works only with definite list of websites only.
• Force-TLS: Yet another Firefox extension that will let users to specify and create own list of domain names for forcing HTTPS requests.
• Virtual Private Network: Using Virtual Private Networks could be an ideal solution for corporate environment and hardly for a home based user.

一次性筷子 : Disposable chopsticks made in China

http://www.youtube.com/v/gqmgSHGU5Ds?fs=1&hl=en_US

一年一度备受瞩目的央视315晚会在京开幕，晚会现场还揭露一次性筷子的惊人黑幕：为使筷子不生虫子竟然使用工业硫磺，为让黑筷子变白用具有很强的腐蚀性和漂白作用的工业双氧水漂白。

以下为节目实录：

陈伟鸿：中国人常常说民以食为天，所以食品安全领域是大家非常非常关心的，接下来聚焦这个领域的老话题，那就是“一次性筷子”。筷子是中国人最常使用的餐具之一，自从出现了一次性筷子之后很多人觉得用起来非常方便，也非常卫生，所以在现在的餐饮服务当中一次性筷子使用相当普遍，在很多人眼中用起来方便又卫生的一次性筷子到底有多卫生呢，让我们一块看看。

（播放录像片）

在湖北怀化我们见证了筷子的整个生产过程，为了使筷子不生虫子他们竟然使用了工业硫黄。为了使筷子手感更光滑还得进行抛光，在抛光机里不光是筷子还有一块块白色的东西。

记者：这是什么？

工作人员：石蜡。

在整个生产过程中记者没有见到厂家对筷子进行任何消毒处理。

怀化市其他厂家情况又如何呢？在当地最大的筷子厂，昌健筷子厂为了使筷子更白还用焦亚硫酸钠进行蒸煮。

江西省宜丰县被称为南竹之乡，这里也是一次性筷子的产地，我们看到刚刚熏过硫黄的筷子在火炕上进行烘干，这时记者看到惊讶的一幕。

记者：你为什么要踩。

现场工作人员：为了使筷子翻个。

在调查中记者发现一些黑筷子并没有被扔掉而是继续进行加工处理。记者看到了黑筷子如何被煮白的一幕。

工业双氧水具有很强的腐蚀性和漂白作用，经过双氧水煮过的黑筷子确实变白了，为了使速度更快甚至有人使用其他的材料，工业无水焦磷酸钠。记者了解到用工业双氧水把便黑的筷子煮白了再卖已经成为行业内公开的秘密。经过加工处理一次性开子会产生多种化学残留，记者在怀化和宜丰的一次性筷子生产厂没有看到消毒环节。筷子就这样从厂家到批发商手里，有的被批发到加工厂做成一次性餐具，在湖南怀化记者遇到了供货商马连森。

记者：筷子在你这消不消毒？

马连森：消毒。

筷子真的消毒吗，记者来到了吉利来制品厂，结果发现并没有消毒，最终这样的筷子却以消毒筷子摆在我们面前。

陈伟鸿：我们之所以一次性使用筷子就是为了避免病菌交叉传播，但是现在这样的一次性筷子非但成为我们健康的守护神而成为了健康的杀手。在看完刚才的记者调查之后每个人应该反思一下消费习惯，让我们拥有更健康的消费主张。今年以来国家进一步加强和对食品安全的监管，出台了一系列的措施保障食品安全，接下来要进行的是晚会的第四次权威发布。

王小丫：说实在的一次性筷子既不卫生更不环保，所以还是不要用的好。接下来进行权威发布，有请国家食品药品监督管理局，食品安全监管司司长徐景和为大家进行权威发布。

徐景和：为进一步加强餐饮服务监管，确保消费者饮食安全，根据食品安全法及实施条例制定了餐饮服务食品安全监督管理颁发，将于5月1日实施，国家对餐饮服务实行许可制度，申请从事餐饮服务的单位和个人应当依法取得餐饮服务许可证，并依照食品法规及有关要求从事餐饮服务，对社会公众负责，保证食品安全，接受社会监督承担社会责任。办法规定被吊销食品生产单位，其直接负责的主管人员自处罚决定做出之日起，五年内不准从事餐饮服务管理工作，消费者有权举报，餐饮服务的违法违规行为，食品药品监管部门将及时进行核实依法做出处理，维护您的合法权益。

http://www.youtube.com/v/jvFSxgN6JbE?fs=1&hl=en_US

http://www.youtube.com/v/mkD8IbTBST8?fs=1&hl=en_US

http://www.youtube.com/v/12F1NZTSYXI?fs=1&hl=en_US

Advertisement : Low Bandwidth problem

http://www.youtube.com/v/cHdrevWMpf8?fs=1&hl=en_US

Hong Kong broadband advertisement talk about the low bandwidth problem

so, what is Bandwidth?

http://www.youtube.com/v/VWxGtl5J7WM?fs=1&hl=en_US

What is Wi-Fi ("Why Five")

Simply put, Wi-Fi is connectivity. At home, Wi-Fi connects you to your favorite content and communications over your mobile phone, computer, media players and other devices – all without cumbersome cables. When you’re on the move, Wi-Fi let’s you connect to the Internet or your office from an airport or coffee shop and helps you stay productive when you’re away from home. Now, imagine doing all these things easily and quickly – without worrying about finding a wired network connection. That is Wi-Fi.

How does Wi-Fi technology work?

Wi-Fi networks use radio technologies called 802.11 to provide secure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity. A Wi-Fi network can be used to connect electronic devices to each other, to the Internet, and to wired networks which use Ethernet technology. Wi-Fi networks operate in the 2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands, with some products that contain both bands (dual band). They can provide real-world performance similar to basic wired networks.

Is Wi-Fi for Me?

Everyone can use Wi-Fi, almost anywhere in the world. Home Wi-Fi networks can connect multiple devices to each other, to audio and video content, and to the Internet via a single high-speed connection. A Wi-Fi network can connect a family’s computers, media and display devices together to share hardware and media resources such as printers, audio files and Internet access. That means everyone in the family can share stored files, photos and documents and print them out on a single printer attached to one desktop computer – all without unsightly cables running throughout the home.

Wi-Fi products are easy to connect together.  The Wi-Fi Alliance has awarded over 6000 product certifications to devices that have been tested for interoperability and to ensure that they are good neighbors to other Wi-Fi equipment.   This means that they won’t interfere with operation in other products.  When you purchase Wi-Fi CERTIFIED products, you can be confident that they have been tested to operate well on your wireless network, and contain the latest security features.

Is Wi-Fi for my business?

Large corporations and campuses use enterprise-level technology and Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ products to extend standard wired Ethernet networks to public areas like meeting rooms, training classrooms and large auditoriums. Many corporations also provide wireless networks to their off-site and telecommuting workers to use at home or in remote offices. Large companies and campuses often use Wi-Fi to connect buildings.

Wi-Fi networks also work well for small businesses, providing connectivity between mobile salespeople, floor staff and behind-the-scenes finance and accounting departments. Because small businesses are dynamic, the built-in flexibility of a Wi-Fi network makes it easy and affordable for them to change and grow.

Even home offices benefit from the advantages of Wi-Fi technology.  As you work from the comfort of your home office, you can connect your PC, printer, scanner, smart phone, audio/video equipment and other wireless devices with a single access point, and without a lot of wires running under your desk.

Wi-Fi Technology

To get where we are today, it has taken a great cooperation between thousands of companies, researchers, and engineers to develop products that work together seamlessly.  In the mid-1990s, an international consortium of engineering experts from many technology companies began working together through an organization called IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, known as “I-triple E”), to develop industry standards for how these new wireless products should interact with each other.  Out of that cooperation, the Wi-Fi Alliance® was born, and has taken those standards and developed test labs around the world to test and certify that products meet the standards of interoperability and security.

Frequency Band
Wi-Fi products operate over radio waves, in the same way as your cell phone, garage door opener, TV, radio, GPS navigation system or microwave.  Each of these types of products operate in a specific slice, or frequency band, of the radio spectrum.

Radio Band Examples

• AM broadcast band (530-1610 kHz)
• Shortwave bands (5.9-26.1 MHz)
• Citizens’ band (26.965-27.405 MHz)
• Television channels 2-6 (54-88 MHz)
• FM broadcast band (88-108 MHz)
• Wi-Fi (2.4GHz or 5GHz)

Wi-Fi products operate in the 2.4GHz or 5GHz bands.  These bands are designated as “license-free”, which indicates that individuals may use products designed for these bands without a government license, such as those that are granted to TV or radio transmissions within licensed bands.  Because the Wi-Fi bands are “license free”, it becomes more important for manufacturers to ensure that their products pass the standards of interoperability set by the Wi-Fi certifications.  And because they also share these bands with non-Wi-Fi products, such as remote control toys, certification testing ensures that Wi-Fi products are good neighbors and will not interfere with signals from these devices.

Interoperability

Interoperability means that products from different companies will work together, so users don’t get locked into a single brand of Wi-Fi products.  Any of the more than 300 Wi-Fi Alliance member companies can submit products for certification, which means that you have a wide variety of choices in products, and can mix-and-match Wi-Fi CERTIFIED products with the confidence that they will work together.

What is 802.11?

Today’s Wi-Fi products are designated by a Dewey Decimal-like system, developed by the IEEE to differentiate between various technology families.  Wi-Fi products are identified as 802.11, and are then further identified by a lower case letter that identifies which specific technology is in operation, such as 802.11a.  Each certification set is defined by a set of features that relate to performance, frequency and bandwidth.  Each generation also furthers security enhancements and may include other features that manufacturers may decide to implement.

To date there have been four Wi-Fi generations of products available, and more standards are in the works for adding future features and enhanced performance and security.  Each generation is defined by a set of features that relate to performance, frequency and bandwidth.  Each generation also furthers security enhancements and may include other features that manufacturers may decide to implement.

Wi-Fi Generations

Wi-Fi Technology	Frequency Band	Bandwidth or maximum data rate
802.11a	5 GHz	54 Mbps
802.11b	2.4 GHz	11 Mbps
802.11g	2.4 GHz	54 Mbps
802.11n	2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 2.4 or 5 GHz (selectable), or 2.4 and 5 GHz (concurrent)	450 Mbps

Wi-Fi CERTIFIED products are tested to ensure that they work with previous generations of Wi-Fi products that operate in the same frequency band.  For example, the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 802.11g designation indicates a product has been certified to meet the standards for 802.11g, and will operate with devices Wi-Fi CERTIFIED for 802.11b or 802.11n (that support 2.4 GHz).  This means that as you add new devices to your existing Wi-Fi network, you can be confident that they will work together well.

Wi-Fi CERTIFIED products will contain a logo identifying which features have been tested and that the product has met all the standards of the notation. Click here to search for Wi-Fi CERTIFIED products!

2010 Most Expensive Laptop in the World

KUALA LUMPUR: Who in their right mind would pay RM42,320 for a laptop?

Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi Mara Balik Pulau in Penang not only paid the price but bought two units of the same brand – Acer Aspire-5052ANWXMI, at a whopping price of RM84,640, said the Auditor-General’s Report.

In addition, the college purchased 450 units of computer CAD with network card at RM3.45mil for 12 labs. Each 19-inch monitor costs RM8,500 while a 17-inch monitor costs RM7,500.

“A check with local companies showed that the market price for the latest model is between RM5,350 to RM6,500 each. Worse still the computers, Precision 390 Dell, that were supplied are no longer in the market,” it said.

Also purchased were 15 laser printers, Hewlet Packard P3005X, at the price of RM7,722 each when the market price was about RM5,000 per unit.

In reply, Mara said the equipment were purchased in a lump sump and there was no price breakdown for the laptops.

The price breakdown was only done after the equipment was supplied for the purpose assets record and it could not be used as a basis for reference.

“Nevertheless, Mara has created a task force and is conducting a price adjustment for all the equipment,” it said.

The report also stated that the college had paid between RM1,398 and RM2,945 for 204 teaching manuals.

“Checks found that the teaching manuals supplied were bound using comb binding. The teaching manuals obtained at a cost of RM358,476 is a waste because they were never used,” it said, adding that the supplier has been notified to provide the original version of the teaching manual in hard cover.

Mara also spent RM2.08mil buying computer software it didn’t need.

Audits also found many discrepancies in prices paid for the same equipment, including the same LCD projectors that costs RM3,500 and RM8,000 for two different laboratories.

“Swivel stools were also purchased at three different prices – RM340, RM350 and RM450 per unit and they did not even meet the agreed specifications in the agreement.

“Other swivel chairs were bought for between RM810 to RM1,050 per unit when the college had bought the same chair previously at RM336 per unit,” it said.

The report also stated that the German-Malaysian Institute which was picked as the consultant, had proposed a ceiling price of RM84.5mil for the purchase of equipment for the college while the Economic Planing Unit (EPU) fixed the price at RM127.65mil.

“The reason for the higher price was to speed up the process of obtaining the supplies. In the end the agreed contract was fixed at RM112.42mil. Mara had submitted a letter to the Finance Ministry to say that the figure was reasonable.

“Audit found that the agreed price for the purchase of equipment is not reasonable. This is because the approach taken by Mara did not fufill the criteria set by the Finance Ministry, which is to negotiate for the lowest price possible.

Source : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/10/22/nation/4953964&sec=nation

Google Self-drive car – Driverless Car

http://www.youtube.com/v/-nYhKD8leAg?fs=1&hl=en_US

Google: Tested Self-drive Cars

Google has tested cars that drive themselves. These cars, according to Google, have already done thousands of miles all on their own. Engineers at Google pride themselves at having tested a self-driving car on California streets, the company announced.

These cars use radar sensors, a laser range finder, and video cameras that are mounted on the roof in order to ‘see’ other road traffic, said software engineer Sebastian Thrun. At all times, the cars are manned by a trained driver, who is always ready to take control, together with a software expert.

Google has high hopes that the cars have the potential to reduce road traffic as well as reduce the number of accidents experienced today. Mr. Thrun added that the cars had already covered 140,000 miles of road distance. They have managed to cross the iconic Golden Gate bridge of San Francisco, negotiated the famous sloping streets of the city, driven right between Google’s offices, and made successfully around Lake Tahoe.

Engineers recently told New York Times that generally, the highway forays have been incident-free, except for one bump when the car was reported to have been hit from behind near a traffic light stop. Mr. Thrun, in his blog post, insisted that the project’s first priority was safety.

He says that routes are pre-planned, mapped by real drivers, and local police briefed beforehand. But he alluded to figures provided by the World Health Organization, which indicate that 1.2 million people die each year in road accidents. He said that this number could and ought to be reduced.

Malaysia will have 100Mbps internet connection speed in 2011

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 — Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said two companies will offer 100Mbps Internet access in March.

“They are conducting technical testing now,” he told reporters at the launch of U Mobile Sdn Bhd’s 42Mbps High-Speed Broadband Service here today.

However, he declined to name them.

Rais said the ministry was committed to expand Net connectivity in the country, particularly the villages and new villages, with private sector participants.

He said U Mobile service was capable of delivering online connection speeds of up to 42Mbps, the fastest broadband to date in the country in line with government’s agenda to improve broadband access.

“Every year, we see an increase of between one and two million Net users.

“Based on recent studies there are 17 million users in Malaysia or 65 per cent of the total population,” he said.

U Mobile chief executive officer Dr Kaizad Heerjee said the company would deploy dual-cell HSPA+ (High-Speed Packet Access) connections that allowed the network to send and receive wireless data using two channels simultaneously to achieve download speeds of up to 42Mbps.

“The first set-up point will be in Berjaya Times Square and followed by the commercial deployment of the service within Klang Valley, starting with Subang Jaya and Sunway area as well as Penang and Johor by year-end,” he said. — Bernama

Sabah Web Design

KKBOSS offer Basic web design package as below:

Basic Web Design Package

• Free domain name registration (.com or .net or .org)
• 5 HTML / PHP web pages
• Upto 5 photos / images per web pages
• 1 animated Slide Show
• 2GB hosting disk space
• 20GB monthly bandwidth
• Unlimited email forwarders / email accounts
• Anti-SPAM protection

RM600 only for the first year

RM100 starting from the second year

 

Google container data center

http://www.youtube.com/v/zRwPSFpLX8I?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0

First presented at the Google Efficient Data Centers Summit, hosted at Google headquarters in Mountain View, CA on April 1, 2009.

On April 1^st, Google hosted leaders of the IT industry to discuss best practices for improving data center efficiency. The day was spent discussing how to make significant reductions in resource use while meeting service requirements. Saving electricity and water is not just good for the environment, it makes good business sense too. Being "green" reduces operating costs and can keep our industry competitive; it is the economic advantage that makes efficiency truly sustainable.

 

Introduction

Providing users with fast, innovative products requires significant computing power. Data centers – which are large facilities containing lots of computers – account for most of Google’s energy needs. Google take energy use seriously and, from the very beginning, Google has focused on designing systems that use as little energy as possible. A decade later, Google are operating what they believe to be the world's most efficient data centers.

How efficient is their infrastructure? Google-designed data centers use about half the energy of a typical data center. As a result, the energy used per Google search is very small; to be precise, Google currently use about 1kJ (0.0003 kWh) of energy to answer the average query. This translates into roughly .2g of CO2 (for non-metric users, that's 0.007 ounces). Not only is energy use very small, web searches often take the place of more carbon- and time-intensive activities, such as driving a car to a library or spending hours navigating shopping malls.

To put these numbers into perspective, Google calculated the CO2 emissions of some everyday activities and compared them to "Google searches":

 

Activity	Google searches
CO2 emissions of an average daily newspaper (100% recycled paper)	850
A glass of orange juice	1,050
One load of dishes in an EnergyStar dishwasher	5,100
A five mile trip in the average U.S. automobile	10,000
A cheeseburger	15,000
Electricity consumed by the average US household in one month	3,100,000

 

In the time it takes to do a Google search, your own personal computer will likely use more energy than Google will use to answer your query. (Google care about that too, and in 2007 co-founded the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, a non-profit organization committed to making all computers more energy efficient.)

And Google commitment to sustainability goes beyond just electricity and carbon. For example, two Google facilities currently run on 100% recycled water, and by 2010 Google expect recycled water to provide 80% of our total data center water consumption. Google also carefully manage the retirement of their servers to ensure that 100% of this material is either reused or recycled. Finally, Google begun to share their own data center best practices and are encouraging our industry peers to do the same. This broader impact could be significant; if all data centers operated at the same efficiency as ours, the U.S. alone would save enough electricity to power every household within the city limits of Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.

Sustainability is good for the environment, but it makes good business sense too. Most of Google work is focused on saving resources such as electricity and water and, more often than not, Google find that these actions lead to reduced operating costs. Being "green" is essential to keeping our business competitive. It is this economic advantage that makes our efforts truly sustainable.

Google's five steps plan

1. Minimize electricity used by servers
2. Reduce the energy used by the data center facilities themselves
3. Conserve precious fresh water by using recycled water instead
4. Reuse or recycle all electronic equipment that leaves our data centers
5. Engage with our peers to advance smarter energy practices

Step 1: Efficient Servers

A sustainable infrastructure starts with making our computers use as little electricity as possible. Most of Google machines are servers, high-performance computers that run all the time. Defining and measuring the overall energy efficiency of a server is harder than it is for appliances such as washing machines, refrigerators, or air conditioners because servers run different applications unlike appliances that perform a single function. Therefore, Google rate the efficiency of Google servers by measuring the power used by each of the actual computing elements (such as processors and memory) against the power used by all other things (like fans and power conversion).

Up to a third of the total energy consumed by a typical server is wasted before reaching the computing components. The majority of these losses occur when converting electricity from one kind to another. The power supply, which converts the AC voltage coming from a standard outlet to a set of low DC voltages, is where most of the energy is lost. A second major source of wasted energy is in voltage regulator circuitry. This circuitry sits on the computer's motherboard and further converts the power supply's output voltages to the voltages required by the microchips. Both sources have traditionally been designed with low efficiency standards to save a few dollars on initial cost. However, this inefficiency causes the owner to spend many more dollars on electricity usage down the road. (So if you're about to buy a new server or computer, buy an efficient one!)

Google servers are different. In 2000 Google began to focus on efficient power conversion and for many years now Google have used power supplies (pdf)that exceed the Climate Saver Computing Initiative's "Gold" efficiency standards. Similarly, Google motherboards use very efficient voltage regulator modules, maximizing the amount of electricity delivered to the components that do work. Google servers only lose a little over 15% of the electricity they pull from the wall during these power conversion steps, less than half of what is lost in a typical server. Efficient power conversion pays real dividends; Google estimate an annual savings of over 500 kWh per server over a typical system.

Additionally, Google omit parts that aren't needed for their applications. For example, their servers don't have any graphics chips.  Google also optimize their servers and racks to use the minimum amount of fan power possible.  Moreover the fans are controlled to spin only as fast as necessary to keep the server temperature below a threshold. Google encourage all their suppliers to produce components that operate efficiently whether they are idle, operating at full capacity, or at lower usage levels, a property we call "energy proportionality." Google's published studies indicate that more energy proportional systems could cut in half the total energy used by large data center operations. Altogether, Google confident that their servers are among the most efficient systems ever deployed.

Step 2: Efficient Data Centers

A cooling tower at our Oregon data center

Reducing the environmental footprint of our data centers starts with reducing their electricity consumption. Several years ago Google surveyed existing approaches and traditional data center designs and realized they could not meet Google goals. A typical data center facility spends almost half of its energy consumption on the systems powering and cooling the computers inside, and not on the computers themselves. In other words, they use twice as much power than they would in a perfectly efficient scenario. In a 2007 report the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) confirmed this sad state and estimated the average energy overhead of current data centers at 96%. Back in 2004 we decided to move much of our infrastructure into new data centers built for efficiency and cost, and our engineers set out to find ways to eliminate wasted power. Our goal was simply to build the world's most efficient data centers. Here's how we did it:

A data center is a fancy name for a warehouse-like building that contains thousands of servers. Because these servers consume a lot of electricity, there is a great deal of electrical equipment required to bring the power to the servers, including equipment to provide power in the case of a utility power failure. Typically 10-20% of the incoming power is lost in this machinery. We first focused on streamlining this equipment with a goal of eliminating most of the waste.

But Google still had to address all of the power spent on cooling. All the electricity that goes into a data center building ultimately turns into heat, and thus there are fans, pumps, and air conditioning equipment to remove all that heat. In many data centers, cooling alone is responsible for a 30-70% overhead in energy usage. Fortunately, there is a simple way to remove all of that heat – let water evaporate.

Evaporation is a powerful tool. It maintains our body temperature even when outside temperatures exceed our normal 98.6°F. How? Energy is required to change water into vapor; this energy is heat that is removed from the immediate surroundings, causing a cooling effect. Our data centers make extensive use of this evaporative process with cooling towers. Below is a simple representation of a cooling tower. Here's how it works:

The goal of using evaporative cooling is to minimize the time chillers need to run. A chiller works basically the same way as an air-conditioner, except that it could be operating in liquid or air. When chillers are required to run, they can consume many times more power than the rest of the cooling system combined. With cooling towers, Google data centers spend most of their time running in a mode called "free cooling". This means the chillers are off. Free cooling isn't technically "free," but it is really inexpensive and really efficient.

Optimizing every part of the system took a lot of work, but it really paid off. Google reduced the energy-weighted average overhead across all Google-built data centers to 19% versus the average of 96% reported by the EPA. In other words, compared to standard data centers Google reduced the overhead by more than fourfold. To Google knowledge, no other large-scale production data center has ever operated as efficiently. In fact, one of Google data centers is running at an even lower overhead of only 15%, a sixfold improvement in efficiency. (For those interested, read the technical details of our measurements.) Operating data centers at this level of efficiency has a significant impact on both Google operating expense and Google environmental footprint.

Step 3: Water Management

Energy efficiency reduces greenhouse gas emissions and saves money, but it also plays a central role in fresh water conservation. Most people don't realize that power plants require a significant amount of water to operate. On average, two gallons of water is consumed for every kilowatt-hour of electricity produced in the U.S. By using less electricity to power our computing infrastructure, we also save fresh water.  Every year our efficient data centers save hundreds of millions of gallons of drinking water simply by consuming less electricity.

On top of those savings, Google aim to minimize the amount of fresh water directly consumed by our facilities. In Google last report they noted that by the end of 2008, two of their facilities will run on 100% recycled water. Google pleased to announce that they have achieved that goal, and they are planning for recycled water to provide 80% of their total data center water consumption by 2010. The idea behind this is simple: instead of wasting clean, potable water, use a dirty source of water and clean it just enough so it can be used for cooling. Cooling water still needs to be processed, but it's much easier to treat it enough for data center use compared to cleaning it for drinking use. For example, the data center we're building in Belgium will use water from an industrial canal and treat it in an on-site water purification facility before it is evaporated in the cooling towers. Other sites will use alternative sources of recycled water, such as city wastewater or rain water collected on site. While it's not always technically or economically feasible to use recycled water, we're optimistic that we can find sustainable solutions for the majority of our water use. Recycled water isn't widely used in the data center industry today, but Google hope that others will adopt this practice.

The picture on this page shows the water filtration system at our facility in Belgium, which is still under construction. The ability to use recycled water was one of the reasons for choosing this site; once  operational, the Belgium facility will run on 100% recycled water.  Here's how it works: dirty water from an industrial canal enters the system and runs through a number of treatment steps, including these large tanks that are filled with a fine sand that filter out small particles. At the end of the process the water is completely clear and looks like regular water. Although it is not suitable for drinking, it is clean enough for environmentally friendly and highly efficient cooling. 

Step 4: Sustainable Server Retirement

Google commitment to a sustainable computing infrastructure includes a reuse and recycling plan for electronic equipment that has reached the end of its functional life.  Google have worked hard to ensure that 100% of the servers we retire are either reused or recycled. In comparison, the EPA estimates a large majority of U.S. electronic waste ends up in landfills or storage, with only 18% of the equipment retired in 2006 being reused or recycled.

Google believe that reuse is an important part of the solution, and we're proud to say that 68% of our retired server material is re-purposed.  Redeploying existing machines saves raw materials, energy, and carbon dioxide emissions by avoiding the manufacture and distribution of new equipment.  Many of the systems that can't be upgraded or re-manufactured for continued use at Google are sold or donated to organizations in need of computing equipment.

 

While Google design servers to maximize functional life, there are residual components that are more difficult to reuse. So what happens to these components? Google's global program provides an environmentally-friendly method to recycle this type of material. Approved vendors must commit to socially responsible labor practices and a zero tolerance policy for e-waste to landfills, incineration, or export to developing countries. Google committed to the sustainable management of our computing infrastructure throughout the entire lifecycle of each machine.

Step 5: An Efficient and Clean Energy Future

Google cooperating with other members of our community to improve efficiency on a broader scale. In 2007 Google teamed with Intel and other industry partners to found the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, a group which champions more efficient computing. This non-profit consortium is committed to cutting the energy consumed by computers in half by 2010 — reducing global CO2 emissions by 54 million tons per year. You can save money, reduce electricity use, and make computing greener

Moreover, our data center community outreach starts with Google participation in The Green Grid, a global consortium focused on developing standards for facility and IT equipment efficiency. Google believe the sharing of best practices benefits our services, our users, and the environment.

Additionally Google are actively advocating public policies that accelerate the adoption of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.  Just recently Google announced a clean energy partnership with GE focused on improving power generation, transmission and distribution. 

 

Powering a Clean Energy Revolution

At Google, sustainability is a core value that comes directly from our founders. We all need better energy options — not just Google, but the entire world. We’re helping to build a clean energy future in a variety of ways.

RE<C

Business as usual will not deliver low-cost, clean, renewable energy soon enough to avoid devastating climate change. In fact, even producing large amounts of electricity from renewable sources won't make a difference unless Google can find a way to make it cheaper than electricity from coal. That's why in 2007 Google.org launched RE<C, an initiative aimed at creating utility-scale renewable electricity that is cheaper than coal.

Investments

To achieve a clean energy future, we need smart capital to finance new and innovative renewable energy technologies. Through Google.org, they had made several investments in early-stage renewable energy companies, including eSolar, AltaRock, BrightSource, and others. Providing early stage funding helps these companies research and develop their technologies. Google also investing in utility scale energy projects that can accelerate the deployment of clean energy. For instance, we’ve invested $38.8 million in two North Dakota wind farms that generate 169.5 megawatts of power, enough to power 55,000 homes.

Green Energy

In 2007, Google installed one of the largest corporate solar installations in the United States at our Mountain View headquarters. Google facility produces 1.6 megawatts of electricity, enough to power approximately 1,000 California homes. The installation reduces our carbon emissions and makes business sense too; it will pay for itself by 2013. Google also entered into a 20-year agreement to purchase the energy from 114 megawatts of wind generation in Iowa. By contracting to purchase so much energy for so long, Google giving the developer long-term financial security to build additional clean energy projects, spurring real growth in the sector.

Google PowerMeter

Google believes consumers have a right to access detailed information about their home electricity usage throughout the day – to help them save money and make smart energy decisions. That's why we've developed a product called Google PowerMeter that allows people to see detailed home energy information in near real-time right on their computer.

Photo courtesy of Bob Nickelsberg

RechargeIT

Google.org's RechargeIT initiative is aimed at accelerating the adoption of plug-in vehicles and "smart charging" applications. Transportation related greenhouse gas emissions are responsible for roughly one third of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and at least 20% globally. Google believe that plug-in hybrids capable of running on electricity are the best near term option for significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector.

Clean Energy 2030

The U.S. has a real opportunity to transform our economy from one running on fossil fuels to one largely based on clean energy. The energy team at Google has been crunching the numbers to see how we could greatly reduce fossil fuel use by 2030. Our analysis suggests a potential path to weaning the U.S. off of coal and oil for electricity generation by 2030 (with some remaining use of natural gas as well as nuclear), and cutting oil use for cars by 40%. Over 22 years this plan could generate billions of dollars in savings and help create millions of green jobs.

Photos of the solar panels, RechargeIT cars and solar carports are available here.