BOTBP: Microsoft CTO Asks – Is Green Computing Just Marketing Hype?

Today on my weekly radio show, Business Off The Beaten Path, I interviewed Dr Joseph Williams, the CTO of Microsoft Worldwide Enterprise Sales. It was a really fascinating and comprehensive conversation about the world of Green Computing.

I encourage you to listen to it by clicking on the link above to learn more from this fascinating IT expert from Microsoft.

Below are just a few of the topics we discussed during the show:

• What is Green Computing?
• What is Microsoft doing in the world of Green Technology?
• What is “Green Washing?” How are companies taking advantage of the consumer by making wild and sometimes inaccurate claims about their contributions to the reduction of their carbon footprint in their industry.
• What are the real myths about “going green” in the corporate world today?
• Should there be a “Green Buster Blog?”
• Is “Going Green” in Technology all marketing hype or is there really a future for Green Technology?
• Where is the IT world headed in the world of Green Computing?  Read more on the blog from, EcoGeek.org
• Can companies today embrace “going green”  and still survive economically?
• How are the rising second world economies and their rising number of consumers going to impact the worlds of resource availability, consumption and environmentally sound resource disposal?

As promised here are the links to other resources for more information on Green Technology as discussed during the interview:

• www.microsoft.com/green
• www.ecogeek.org
• www.WorldChanging.com
• http://ecotechdaily.com/
• http://news.cnet.com/greentech/
• Book: Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
• Article by Dr Joseph Williams and Lewis Curtis: “Green: The New Computing Coat of Arms?” Although currently there’s a lot more hype than science or engineering
  behind green computing, there’s also great promise behind achieving the
  goals that are being articulated. For the complete article, go to the IT Professional, January/February 2008 Issue, or please click here:
• More Articles about the fascinating world of Green Computing in the special green Issue of IT Professional Magazine, January/February 2008, are listed below: .

In this January 2008 Issue of IT Professional Magazine

This issue of IT Professional presents some interesting views about green computing. Each of the authors has a lot of passion for the topic, and their articles will help you frame your thinking and challenge some of the conventional wisdom.

In “Green Supercomputing Comes of Age,” Wu-chun Feng, Xizhou Feng, and Rong Ge discuss how power and cooling issues in supercomputing have evolved from a secondary concern to a primary design constraint.

San Murugesan, in “Harnessing Green IT: Principles and Practices,” argues not only that IT businesses can gain a competitive edge by adopting green IT practices, but also that the IT sector as a whole has a responsibility to help create a more sustainable environment.

“Making IT a Positive Force in Environmental Change,” is a Perspectives article by Jesse S.Aronson that addresses ways to mitigate IT’s negative affects on the environment. Interestingly, though, he also outlines the many ways that technology helps reduce energy use in other industries.

In IT Pro’s new IT Pro/Con department, Barry Shevlin notes the environmental benefits of recycling by selling and using refurbished equipment in the article, “When and How to Use Refurbished Equipment for IT Needs.”

And, in the Trends department, Jan Krikke covers the
booming market of e-waste recycling in “Recycling e-Waste: The Sky Is the Limit.”

12 IT Pro January/February 2008 P u b l i s h e d by t h e I E E E Comp u t e r S o c i e t y 1520-9209/08/$25.00 © 2008 IEEE

So feel free to join in this fascinating and invigorating conversation about the world of Green Technology!