Times Blasts Data Center Energy Waste; Industry Calls Story Unfair

Data centers can waste 90 percent or more of the electricity they pull off the grid, with idly running servers and backup generators the major contributors, according to a report published by The New York Times, which has garnered some backlash by industry commentators.

The article is the first in a series about how the cloud’s physical structures affect the environment, part of a yearlong investigation by The Times.

Gartner: Cloud to grow 20% this year to $109B market

The cloud computing market will grow almost 20% this year to become a $109 billion industry, research firm Gartner predicts, with business process as a service (BPaaS) and software as a service (SaaS) dominating the market, but infrastructure as a service (IaaS) quickly gaining momentum.

Tablets won’t be revolutionary until they’re $100 or less

This post was written by entrepreneur and academic Vivek Wadhwa.

The high definition screens, faster processors, and enhanced Wi-Fi capabilities of Amazon’s new Kindle Fire tablets are making big news. The price of these devices is getting even more attention: $199 for the 7-inch and $499 for the top-of-the-line 8.9 inch 4G LTE-enabled models. Amazon will undoubtedly sell millions of these.

But I’m not excited.

The Rise of the Internet of Things

The topic of of this post is once again about how something within the scope of communications technology will impact our lives.  This is a big one, and it cuts across a number existing and emerging communications technologies.

It’s a concept known as the Internet of Things (IOT). The IOT represents a huge evolutionary step for the Internet and can, no, WILL, change our lives in science fiction-like ways. The IOT is about inanimate things talking to each other over the Internet and taking action without human intervention, a concept known as M2M (machine to machine) communications.  It’s also about a melding of the physical world and the virtual world. And it’s already in its fledgling stages of existence.

3D printing, BYOD, private cloud now at peak of ‘Hype Cycle’

Every year, the analyst firm Gartner releases what it calls it’s “Hype Cycle,” a visual diagram that shows how deeply technology trends are being embraced.

Gartner says all new technologies follow a predictable path in terms of adoption, starting with their initial creation and adoption (”Technology Trigger”). Then, as the media, analysts, conference speakers, and executives get enamored with the new stuff, it rises in popularity up a steep “hype cycle” curve.

Dark side of the smartphone boom

The rapid growth in smartphone use has been both a blessing and a curse for mobile network operators. While on one hand it has driven uptake of data services and more expensive contracts, on the other it has affected the performance of operators’ networks – in some cases bringing them to their knees.

How Facebook Is Building Next-Gen, Hyper-Green Data Centers

“Feel the little vent on the side of your laptop. It’s warm, right?” Neil Sheehan, principal of Sheehan Partners, Ltd., is describing to me the particulars of a recently completed project--a Facebook data center in Prineville, Oregon. “Now, imagine stacking 42 of those that are far more powerful, one on top of the other; that would be a cabinet. 28 cabinets make up one row, with a total of 56 rows. Then double all that--because it’s just one side of the building. Now double that again because it goes lengthwise as well.”