Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Microsoft deliberately wasted energy at data center to avoid fine, says NY Times

Microsoft deliberately wasted energy at data center to avoid fine, says NY Times:
Microsoft power wasting
Microsoft's desire to avoid a fine combined with a power company's strict electricity usage rules resulted in the software giant deliberately wasting millions of watts of power, according to the New York Times. Redmond's Quincy data center, which houses Bing, Hotmail and other cloud-based servers, had an agreement in place with a Washington state utility containing clauses which imposed penalties for under-consumption of electricity. A $210,000 fine was levied last year, since the facility was well below its power-use target, which prompted Microsoft to deliberately burn $70,000 worth of electricity in three days "in a commercially unproductive manner" to avoid it, according to its own documents. The utility board capitulated and reduced the amend to $60k, but the messy situation seems a far cry from Redmond's pledge to become carbon neutral by this summer.
[Image credit: New York Times]
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Microsoft deliberately wasted energy at data center to avoid fine, says NY Times originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 10:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Climate is changing the Great Barrier Reef

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Milky Way Is Surrounded By Halo of Hot Gas

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Food for thought: Do family meals really make a difference for child academics or behavior?

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Robot Snakes To Fight Cancer Via Natural Orifice Surgery

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The Best and Worst of Star Trek: The Next Generation's Sci-Fi Optimism

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Two fans who post the geekiest Star Trek: The Next Generation comments below will score copies of the new bonus-packed Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season One Blu-ray collection. To enter, tell us your favorite (or least favorite) Next Generation episodes.

Deadline to enter is 12:01 ...