Microsoft has big impact in slimming Windows energy load

Microsoft Corp.’s environmental impact isn’t limited to its massive data centers or its commuting employees. With hundreds of millions of PCs draining batteries and tapping into power outlets around the world, even a small tweak in Microsoft Windows can influence global energy consumption.

One study estimated that changes in Windows Vista — primarily improvements in the operating system’s “sleep” mode — could benefit the environment as much as taking 380,000 cars off the road.
Which explains why the next version of the program, Windows 7, is such a big focus for Rob Bernard, the company’s chief environmental strategist. Bernard and his team have been working with Windows developers and managers to help incorporate new energy-saving approaches into the operating system — and to figure out how to get companies and consumers to use them.

Windows 7 developers made a series of changes with the goal of reducing the power consumed by PCs — including tweaking the way Windows works with displays, adding new tools for managing energy consumption, and changing the way the operating system runs different services in the background.

Philosophically and strategically, Microsoft’s focus on energy efficiency in Windows 7 has been “much more significant” than in previous versions of the operating system, Bernard said. The company has put a greater emphasis on producing research papers, or “white papers,” about the changes. And it has started working with hardware makers and other industry partners on energy issues much earlier in the development cycle.

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