Recycled Green Tech News
Sorting truly sustainable tech from greenwash
Thursday 31 May 2007, 5:45 PM
Is it a bird, a plane? No, it's Super CTO
Our analyst friends at Ovum have put out a piece of commentary that points to the rise of a new breed of "Super CTOs".
Commenting on SAP's appointment of Vishal Sikka as chief technology officer David Mitchell, software practice leader at Ovum writes:
"...central CTO roles are increasing. Microsoft had Ray Ozzie as CTO, before he succeeded Bill Gates as chief software architect. HP will soon have Prith Banerjee at the helm of HP Labs. Sun Microsystems has Greg Papadopoulos as Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Research and Development. Oracle has the likes of Thomas Kurian and Edward Screven - although no single identified CTO.
The individuals taking these roles, however, need to be more technology visionaries - they need to be a credible 'stage act'. Their speaking performances are used by some as an indicator on the state of technology invention in their companies - and their performances are analysed in great detail. It is not quite at the stage of the cult-of-the-personality but the super-CTO is emerging.
The only irony is that end-user organizations recognised the need for this architectural leadership much earlier than the majority of their vendors.
Wednesday 30 May 2007, 5:24 PM
Is video conferencing really the answer to lowering carbon emissions?
I have just been at a rather interesting lunch with some chaps from HP, video-conferencing company Tandberg, the UK Centre for Environmental and Economic Development (EED) and the trade union Amicus. The discussion was around whether video conferencing can really do anything about the damage business travellers are doing to the environment.
And according to Professor Peter James from the EED, its business travellers who are underpinning the major airlines contributing around 40 percent of their revenues in fact and allowing subsidising the cheap consumer fares we all enjoy. So if businesses can really latch-onto video-conferencing in a meaningful way something which the Union Amicus is doing - then the impact on how we all travel good be massive. All the estimates are that airline travel is going to increase exponentially but people like Professor James believe that these estimates don't include the potential for collaborative technologies to reduce the need for some travel. Now, in reality, some work trips are a perk the world of IT journalism is underpinned by the concept that you might not get paid that brilliantly but you get to travel to all sorts of interesting place and meet lots of interesting people. However, if video-conferencing can cut some journeys then that has to be a good thing.
Also looking at some of the cultural aspects of video-conferencing, it's interesting to note that despite some of these systems costing upwards of $300,000 and capturing images in clear-crisp HD the ability to actually record the conversations does not come as standard in the equipment. HP argues that there are privacy and cultural reasons for this people get paranoid enough being in front of a camera and the idea that they might be being recorded wouldn't go down well at all. I can see why recording might be an issue but surely aside from the cost-cutting benefits of video-conferencing, being able to go back to past meetings and review content would be a really useful application?
I also quizzed HP and Tandberg on the carbon footprint of their video-conferencing kit. Taking the idea that video-conferencing is the green alternative to travelling to its logical conclusion then you'd hope that the video-conferencing kit itself especially the massive Halo systems HP sells would be manufactured in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way. HP said some elements of its Halo kit adheres to the US Energy Star rating system, and Tandberg claimed to be looking into the issue, but neither vendor had a very convincing story around sustainable manufacturing.
Friday 25 May 2007, 5:56 PM
Breaking News: Forget Pacino and De Niro - it's Gates and Jobs!
Variety might be reporting that Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are to appear togehter for the first time since Heat on a film called Righteous Kill - but we have that beat. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are taking to a stage together for the first time since 1983 apparently next week!
According to our colleagues at News.com, the two will share a stage togther for a 75 minute joint interview at the D: All Things Digital event in California on Weds 30th May.
Find out more here: http://d.wsj.com/
The dodgy cardigan versus the turtle-neck and white trainers - can an audience endure that much fashion-punishment for over an hour??? We'll keep you posted.
Friday 25 May 2007, 5:23 PM
Wanted: IT Pros for Cuba Cycle challenge
Computer Aid International, the IT charity which takes old PCs from UK companies and refurbishes them for the developing world is organising a charity cycle ride in Cuba next year.
I took part in a similar event in Kenya this year and it was a brilliant experience - not just the amazing countryside but meeting the children and teachers who would benefit from the computers we were helping to donate.
To sign up or find out more, visit: www.computeraid.org/cuba or for your free no-obligation information pack send a blank email with the subject line info pack to cuba@computeraid.org or call Stephen Campbell on 020 8361 5540.
Friday 25 May 2007, 3:12 PM
HP and WWF save polar bears
HP is donating around $2m to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to help with climate change including collaboration between the IT company and WWF scientists in Europe into how tech can help reduce carbon emissions. An online forum around climate change issues and a research and collaboration centre are also being established. (Oh yes, and its a good excuse to run a picture of a polar bear.)
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