Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2008/01/25/green_debate/

When Green Computing attacks - hype or heaven?

You decide

By Team Register

Posted in Science, 25th January 2008 16:12 GMT

Reg Debates Whether you think global warming is the biggest swindle of our time or our greatest threat, one thing's for sure - energy-efficient gear could save your IT department a lot of money.

Some of the best new technology is being developed under the eco-warrior Green label, but you don't have to be an evangelist to want to save cash. More efficient power supplies, packing software on fewer boxes through virtualization and CPU-less clients can all be practical paths to lower costs, right?

So, we're going to fire up a live, interactive debate that will try to discover what goodness actually travels with the green computing bandwagon and what badness we can do without. As planned, this debate will happen online with our editor Ashlee Vance, joining you and analysts from Freeform Dynamics to pepper some of the world's largest vendors with questions about their green computing agendas.

The Green Debate builds on the success of our Virtualization Debate held last November. Thousands of you tuned into that puppy and worked over Intel and VMware, as you learned more about the server and desktop virtualization markets. This time around, we want even more participants on board.

Get to the point, you say. Okay.

On February 27, we'll host a four-hour online session which will include some brief opening remarks from Vance, a couple of analyst presentations and vendor sessions. We'll chat about issues such as improving the energy efficiency of data centers and cost savings through blade PC and thin client computing models.

Four hours may sound like a long time to gaze into your computer's warming glow, but that's where the online magic comes into play. You can come and go throughout the debate as you like, and download any sessions of interest after the event closes.

Those of you who participate during the live affair will be able to submit questions to any of the panelists, and we vow to get every single question answered. Do you think green computing is a bandwagon too far? Do you want to know actual ways to save money in your data centers and on your desktops? Here's your chance to chirp up.

The thought of the vendor presentations may fail to impress, but we've taken special care to ensure you're getting content that's useful. We've spent weeks working with the vendors to yank the marketing fluff out of their slideware and to make sure they're providing concrete details on actual moves to improve the energy efficiency of systems and reduce your costs. In addition, the vendors will only have a few minutes to make their case before you guys get to jump in and lead the discussion.

Face it, your boss or customers will come to you soon enough wanting more information on your green IT strategy, and you'll need to sound smart and well-informed. Is it all hype or is there some substance involved? Let's find out.