Microsoft Goes Green with Windows 7 Reloaded

Article by George Norman (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 17 Jun 2009

One of the cool new features that the Microsoft developed Windows 7 operating system brings to the table is reduced power consumption thanks to the OS’s Power Management features. To be completely honest, this is something we already knew about since Earth Day when Microsoft rolled out the “Windows 7 Power Management, Power Management Improvements in Windows 7 Beta” whitepaper (details here). I’m not precisely sure if the Redmond-based software giant is stressing Windows 7’s Power Management features as a selling point, but at least from an environmental point of view you should once again be made aware of how eco-friendly Windows 7 is.

Windows Communications Manager on the Windows Client Communications Team, Brandon LeBlanc, comments on Windows 7’s Power Management features: “These features can help our customers be much more energy efficient. Windows 7 has a strong focus on reducing the overall power consumption which can enable companies to be able to further reduce their operational costs as well as their carbon footprint. I recommend giving the blog post a read to understand how Windows 7 will help people consume less power. Windows 7 is a great example of a product designed to minimize environmental impact.”

Windows 7 comes with these energy efficient features:
Idle Power Management: when the PC is idle, Windows 7 makes sure that no unnecessary activities are performed, For example, when you walk away from your PC, Windows 7 will lower the hardware’s energy consumption to a minimum and will dim the display (this last feature is called Adaptive Brightness).
Active Power Management: Windows 7 makes sure that energy is used in the most efficient manner when you actively use your PC. If you have a mobile PC, the fact that Windows 7 uses energy efficiently translates into longer battery life.
New Diagnostics: IT admins will be able to benefit from new tools to diagnose and troubleshoot power issues at an enterprise level. The diagnostics tool in Windows 7 can for example help an admin determine which apps and devices are using energy inefficiently.
Improved Remote Management: PCs automatically enter sleep mode when they are not being used. IT admins can later on wake up these PCs through a simple network message.

“Energy efficiency — both when the PC is in use and when it is turned off — has been a guiding principle in the development of Windows 7. We’ve built on previous Windows versions and the core design of Windows 7 incorporates energy efficiency features that enable IT Pros to manage energy consumption in their business. IT professionals can easily deploy a power management policy within their enterprise, such as turning off the display and enabling Sleep after a period of inactivity Windows 7 also includes new diagnostics, Idle Power Management, Active Power Management and Wake on LAN for Remote Management to help IT professionals identify and resolve PC power management problems in their enterprise. Windows 7 can also help extend battery life and reduce energy use in key user scenarios,” explains Francois Ajenstat on behalf of Microsoft’s Environmental Sustainability team.


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