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Technology Stocks : The *NEW* Frank Coluccio Technology Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (17802)	11/15/2006 10:27:25 AM
From: axial	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 46821

"Qualifying which entities and elements to include as components of "the 'Net" is a formidable task, itself." Yes. I was thinking in terms of the old phone network as a starting point, then adding everything that has become "attached" to it. Every method of description one can use has some failings, though. "One estimate that I read very recently - but cannot locate at the moment - attributed approximately 20% of the nation's power consumption to data centers alone." Wow. Then the whole "basket" of communication technologies (mobile and fixed wireless, data centers and storage sites, and so on) could conceivably reach 25% or more? "As for optical, huge amounts of power are consumed in WDM and OADM gear, but their capacity yields are astronomically higher than their earlier copper counterparts." So, in terms of transmission, that's a high-efficiency area. Just speculating, but all-optical, where advances continue to be made, promises even more efficiencies in capacity, and power usage. These efficiencies should eventually penetrate to the PC (though probably not for another 20 years). Fascinating stuff, not widely discussed. Regards, Jim

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (17802)	11/15/2006 11:29:31 PM
From: axial	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 46821

There seems to be a lot of information up to around 2001. Then, the amount of material seems to drop off sharply. Maybe better searches will reveal more. This PowerPoint file is quite dated, now. It seems almost funny, when it discusses the amounts of power used by various equipment - "Average PC + monitor" rated at 150 watts. OK, monitor power usage has declined as CRTs have disappeared, but a PC with less than a 300 watt power supply? Some of the figures seem suspect, but maybe your 20% figure makes sense, when viewed against the 1999 figure of 4.7%. "High tech accounted for only 4.7% of all electricity purchased by U.S. manufacturing industries in 1999." ipcmail.ipc.org What about cooling? Seems to me that has to be figured into the power equation - and with so much silicon running very hot these days, a significant cost (and a lot of wasted energy). Another dated reference: TELECOM HVAC: COOL CONNECTIONS hpac.com Jim

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (17802)	1/20/2007 12:43:29 AM
From: axial	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 46821

Frank, we had difficulty getting recent energy usage figures. More accurate estimates are on their way, at least for consumer electronics. "This third-party study fills the information void in the energy efficiency debate," Johnson said. "Until now, energy consumption discussions have been largely informed by limited and incomplete data from the late 1990s." Taking a look at CE power consumption tinyurl.com Jim

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (17802)	1/22/2007 9:25:37 AM
From: waitwatchwander	Respond to of 46821

Another take on power is from the quality side. With the shrinking of semiconductor manufacturing techniques (ie 130nm, 90nm, 65nm ...) and the propensity towards higher power leakage within lower nanometer chips, shouldn't one expect the potential life of chips to decline. That is, without "finer" power delivery requirements, won't chips wear out sooner. Message 23202641 ecmweb.com We have all gotten use to our electronics lasting well beyond the feasible life of it's application. Maybe, we are entering a new era of disposable computing. Do transistors degrade through continual power leakage?