On 03/05/2005 10:05:37 PM, Jeff Vian wrote:
The argument about cost of electricity may be valid, but just as valid
is the other argument that hard drives (and other hardware items) fail
most often when they are power cycled. Some drives will run 3 to 5
years if never powered down (as done in server environments). The
same
drives are often known to fail in as little as 2 years if they are
daily
(or more often) started and stopped.
What about in California where in 2000 we had a power consumption problem that resulted in people physically dying when rolling blackouts knocked out their cooling on a very hot day?
Power needs to be conserved as much as possible, and I sure as hell would much rather buy a new hard drive a little more often than be part of a power drain that causes rolling blackouts to be necessary.
Most people could cut their power consumption in half if they really wanted to. Those that can't usually already are power consumption conscious.
Yes, the rolling blackouts in California haven't been quite the problem with the last two years or so, but what will happen when gas prices drive people to purchasing hybrid cars?
I apologize for going off topic - but energy conservation, while it shouldn't be a religion - should also not be ignored.
-- Michael A. Peters http://mpeters.us/
