Bell Labs Says Networks Can Be 1000 Times More Energy Efficient 156
judgecorp writes "Bell Labs believes that data networks can be more efficient and has launched a consortium which aims to develop technology that uses only a thousandth of current network energy requirements by 2015. The Green Touch initiative is going to focus in particular on wireless, seeking to reduce wasted energy in signal broadcasts. Cynics might say Alcatel-Lucent is using its research division to distract attention from its troubles — the Financial Times described it as 'a poster child for much that is wrong in the telecoms equipment industry' — but Bell Labs still commands respect and support, and the goal it has set is an interesting one."
Speaking of crystal radios (Score:4, Informative)
The first radio receivers [wikipedia.org], about a hundred years ago, needed no batteries, they got all the power they needed from the antenna.
Re:Speaking of crystal radios (Score:4, Informative)
The first radio receivers, about a hundred years ago, needed no batteries, they got all the power they needed from the antenna.
That's true, and you can still build one with a few feet of wire, a ten-cent diode and a set of headphones. It will still work, too, although not very well. You must remember that 100 years ago, there wasn't the plethora of transmitters that currently exist so a receiver did not have to be particularly selective. A simple set as described will generally be overwhelmed by a local station and that's all you'll receive.
Oh, yeah--no FM either.
Re:Speaking of crystal radios (Score:3, Informative)
That was the perhaps most indecipherable thing ever posted to Slashdot. But it looks like you're right, I was wrong--it is possible to detect FM signals with a crystal radio. I stand corrected.
Oh, and by the way, you're about as big an asshole as the guy on solomonsmusic.net.
Re:Not the facts you're looking for (Score:3, Informative)
>This "announcement" reads a lot like a snake-oil advertisement.
Why is this snake oil? Look at modern CPUs and all their power saving functions like speedstep. They make complete sense and save quite a bit of energy.
Now look at your typical ethernet switch. Each port eats up like 5+ watts. Yes, watts, not mW. So you're looking at quite a bit of power usage here to maintain a network connection for 100mbps or 1gbps and to maintain the spec of 100 meters. Well, most computers rarely need that full bandwidth or need the power to maintain a 100 meter run. The idea with greening the datacenter is to write an ethernet spec that dials down the power as needed, like speedstep.
Another idea is to use the cold winter air to help with cooling as opposed to just running the AC at 100% like you do in summer.
Thats not snake oil, those are good ideas, and considering that we're in the middle of energy crisis (not enough uranium to switch to all nuclear and not enough oil for cheap prices) its probably a good time to start proposing this stuff.
Re:One does wonder. (Score:3, Informative)
I find that hard to believe. A few months ago I went from appliance to appliance with one of those Kill-a-watt devices measuring electricity consumption over a 24 hour period. Usage was insignificant for devices in standby mode, this included my PS3, television and other electronics. And by insignificant I mean a couple of dollars a year for everything in total and this is at roughly 22 cents per kWh in my area.
Where I found heavy usage was from appliances used on a regular basis. The dryer, water heater (which I want to get replaced for a gas heater), air conditioning and things like that. Even my PC, which I leave on because of internet phone was only something like $60-$120 a year. I don't remember the exact figures; I'd have to consult my spreadsheet.
I've found that if you want to really cut utility costs you have to do a good bit of sacrificing. That means enduring the heat of the summer and not turning on air conditioning, running a dryer once a week, or better yet hanging your clothes out to dry. Certainly turning off lights in an unoccupied room helps, but with CFLs the savings there are minimal as well. Reducing the number of electronics you're running at any time certainly helps.
The only way to cut down on electricity usage is to take some fairly significant steps. The small stuff matters because when everyone is doing it that consumption really adds up, but on an individual basis it's pretty insignificant. I suppose living in a relatively small home helps.
Re:One does wonder. (Score:3, Informative)