energy

A new report has found that Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser uses less power than the competition. According to a study commissioned by the Redmond, Washington-based firm, Internet Explorer is 18 per cent more energy-efficient than Google ... Chrome (version 26) and Mozilla's Firefox (version 21). The study was carried out by the Center for Sustainable Energy Systems, which examined the power consumption of web browsers running on laptop and desktop computers. PC Magazine notes that if every user of Chrome or Firefox switched to using Internet Explorer 10 and the Windows 8 operating ... (view more)

The United States Department of Energy has been attacked by hackers. The unknown assailants reportedly gained access to employee personal information. News agency Reuters recently acquired a letter between the US Department of Energy (DOE) and its ... employees. In that letter, the DOE admits that the attack "resulted in the unauthorized disclosure of employee and contractor Personally Identifiable Information." Employee Personal Data Lost to Hacker The letter indicated that employee and contractor personal information was lost. However, it also noted that none of the stolen information was ... (view more)

Environmental organization Greenpeace has issued a widespread warning about the technology used to host the Internet. According to Greenpeace, much of the online space is dependent on 'dirty' power. The group says that some of the largest web firms ... are intentionally moving their servers and other power-hungry facilities to geographical areas that can provide cheaper, although more environmentally harmful sources of electricity. The criticisms were recently published in a report titled: "How Clean Is Your Cloud?" The title is a reference to the current emphasis on cloud computing , ... (view more)

Facebook has launched a new tool that allows its users to compare how much electricity they consume and compare the number with their Facebook friends. The idea is to give millions of people some added incentive to cut down on their wasted ... electricity. The free application allows users to link their Facebook memberships to their power company accounts. As long as they give permission, they'll automatically have their total monthly power consumption published on their Facebook pages. The new tool will then rank each user against all their friends with the power-counting app installed. This ... (view more)

A recent study has found that some smartphone applications unnecessarily waste battery life. The worst offenders appear to be free games that make money for their developers by bombarding gamers with advertising. Most free apps fall into one of ... three categories: Promotional tools or pieces of larger information campaigns. Trial or demo versions of apps that charge for their "full" version. Advertising-supported apps that normally display advertising as they operate. Excessive App Power Use: Researchers Identify Causes Apps in the third category -- ad supported -- have attracted the ... (view more)

Google is among several firms testing a new device that could replace the need for receiving electricity through power cables. It coincides with the search giant getting a license to buy and sell power in bulk, most likely to get a cheaper supply of ... energy. The device, known as the Bloom Box, is produced by the relatively new firm Bloom Energy. It's roughly the size of a refrigerator and is filled with fuel cells which can create electricity through an emissions-less chemical process. The process hasn't been fully detailed (the company plans a public launch shortly) but it involves a ... (view more)

At the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California last week, the most powerful laser ever made was readied for a variety of important tasks, from monitoring nuclear weapons to studying deep space planets and solar systems. The official ... name of the new super laser is the National Ignition Facility (NIF), and late last week it was unveiled with much fanfare at the Livermore laboratory in Livermore, California. World's Strongest Laser State governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who scared the beejezus out of us all with his futuristic, laser-eyed cyborg routine back in the 1990s, was on hand ... (view more)

We all hate spam for the same reasons: it is annoying and wastes time that could be better spent doing something else. Now, a new study claims that spam not only affects our Internet routines, but is also hazardous to the ozone layer. The report was ... issued by McAfee Inc., creators of anti-virus and computer protection software. The popular security tech company claims that the energy used to transmit, process and filter spam emails wastes a total of 22 billion kilowatt hours each year. Every Spam Message is a Carbon Footprint Spam emails create a large amount of unneeded carbon emissions that ... (view more)