Green Data Center is a standard

I’ve been blogging about Green Data Center for 3 years and been discussing the concept for a bit longer.  When I started blogging about green data centers it was hard to find content I could reference.  Now there is so much out there, I can be selective on what to blog about.

Here is one example of how times have changed.  ZDnet blogger David Chernicoff has a blog called Five Nines: The Next Generation Data Center and here are his latest posts.  Look at all the green data center related topics he discusses.

Five Nines: The Next Gen Datacenter

David Chernicoff

About Five Nines: The Next Gen Datacenter

David Chernicoff looks at technologies that impact data center users and operators, including server consolidation and virtualization, green IT, and the latest hardware advances.

In David’s post  on No Suprise: Green Sells.

For now, “green” is a sales buzzword almost as compelling as “cloud.”  But it will soon enough be simply another expectation and no longer a differentiator.

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Customer Support for frozen Kindle 3, a 15 second fix to hard reset

I wrote about having the Kindle 3, and I use my Kindle 3 much more than my Kindle first generation.  But, it froze on me last night at 9p.  Wouldn't turn off, reset didn't work.  Plugged it in to make sure it had a full charge, within 5 minutes the green light when showing full charge.

Note I have had over 1,000 views of this post, and I wrote a follow on about the users and web analytics here.

And for you Kindle 3 fans, I have the first Kindle signed by William Gibson which was actually the first Kindle he held.

Signed very first Kindle at Microsoft. Actually, *touched* very first Kindle. Appealing unit, IMO.36 minutes ago via Twitterrific

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Symptom
Resolution

Kindle screen frozen or Kindle unresponsive.

Possible cause:

  1. Unplug Kindle from power adapter or computer.
  2. Slide and release the power button. The LED light that surrounds the power button will display green for two seconds.
  3. Shut down Kindle by sliding and holding the power button for five seconds. The LED light will blink three times. Wait for the screen to go blank, then release the power button.
  4. Turn on the Kindle by sliding and releasing the power button.
  5. If Kindle is still not working, you can perform a hard reset by sliding and holding the power button for 15 seconds.
  6. If Kindle is still unresponsive, try charging Kindle before trying to restart the device once again.
If you continue to experience problems, please contact us.

It took me a while (3 minutes) to figure out how to contact amazon.com technical support.  Which now I know is easiest to do based on going to my order history and reporting an issue with an order.

Order:
July 29, 2010 / 105-2727168-6118645

Items:

Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6" Display, Graphite - Latest Generation

Issue Details:

Kindle

- Kindle (U.S.)

- Frozen/defective/damaged Kindle

Within 15 seconds of pressing the submission, my cell phone rings putting me in the amazon.com tech support queue.

I get told the wait is less than one minute.  Tech support was quite friendly and helpful.  I assume the support person was in the comfort of their home office given it was 9p on Saturday night and I didn't hear the background noise from an offshore customer support center.

Within minutes the tech support person told me I needed to have the exact timing of sliding and holding the power switch for 15 seconds exactly, then release.  I did this and the KIndle 3 reboot.

Now the instructions were not totally clear to hold for 15 seconds only and release for a hard reset.  I thought I would hold for at least 15 seconds, then release.

Overall how much better could it have been. I was frustrated, tried on my own for 5 - 10 minutes, contacted amazon.com tech support, within 15 seconds my cell phone rings, after a couple of minutes, I am told how to fix the problem with an exact 15 second hold and release which triggers a hard reset.

Don't you wish other customer support organizations worked this way?

In fact, I am going to add some of these ideas to what a green data center should do for customer support.  How much better would the experience be if you had the option of registering on line with your support issue, and someone calling you within a period of time?

Allowing interruptions to occur at any time is highly disruptive. Even if you can put them off for a few minutes, it can make the overall system work much better.

Anyone who has studied Queueing Theory knows this.

Queueing theory is the mathematical study of waiting lines, or queues. The theory enables mathematical analysis of several related processes, including arriving at the (back of the) queue, waiting in the queue (essentially a storage process), and being served at the front of the queue. The theory permits the derivation and calculation of several performance measures including the average waiting time in the queue or the system, the expected number waiting or receiving service, and the probability of encountering the system in certain states, such as empty, full, having an available server or having to wait a certain time to be served.

amazon.com has this in their DNA, the same way Disney Theme Parks understand queues for lines of people.  If you focus on customer service you need to think of how you manage the queues.

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Why I like my Kindle 3

I have the first generation Kindle and just received the Kindle 3 wifi only.  For $139 it was time for an upgrade.

Reading on the Kindle 3 is much closer to a book.  And, I enjoy a book to focus on learning a new topic.  Reading on the computer or iPhone or other multi-purpose devices is convenient, but many times it is too easy to lose focus as you are hold a computer.  A Kindle is a reading device.

The first book I am diving into on the Kindle is Time and the Soul with a foreword by John Cleese.

This book is addressed to everyone who is starved for time, i.e. everyone. We are all living in a culture that traps us into doing too many things, taking on too many responsibilities, facing too many choices and saying yes to too many opportunities. Nearing the end of over a century of inventions designed to save time, we find ourselves bereft of time itself.

What used to be considered a sign of success--being busy, having many responsibilities, being involved in many projects or activities--is now being felt as an affliction. It is leading us nowhere. More and more it is being experienced as meaningless.

This is the real significance of our problem with time. It is a crisis of meaning. What has disappeared is meaningful time. It is not technology or the accelerating influence of money; it is not global capitalism that is responsible for the time famine. The root of our modern problem with time is neither technological, sociological, economic nor psychological. It is metaphysical. It is a question of the meaning of human life itself.

I should finish the book in a day which I rarely do anymore, but today is a day of thinking and meditating after 3 days in SJ meeting lots of cool data center people.

One of the first things I noticed is how much easier it is to read on the Kindle 3.  Then I noticed the "fi" ligatures.  From my early days at Apple, I was obsessed to use the right fonts, and hated font remapping when you print.  I used Word 1.0 while everyone else was using MacWrite. And my font obsession led me to  The fact that the Kindle 3 has ligature support shows how far they are pushing the typography on the device.

Here are fi and fl ligatures.

Two common ligatures: fi and fl

If you are a book lover, then the Kindle 3 may be the one to get you switch. 

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Data Center Wisdom, learning from past mistakes

Wisdom can be interpreted by people in different ways.  A classic definition is

Wisdom is a deep understanding and realizing of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to choose or act to consistently produce the optimum results with a minimum of time and energy

MSNBC has an article about the CIA bringing back a retired spy

Retired spy hired to run CIA clandestine service

by ADAM GOLDMAN, MATT APUZZO

WASHINGTON — The CIA brought one of its most experienced spies out of retirement to run the far-flung U.S. intelligence network, the agency said Wednesday.

John D. Bennett witnessed the emergence of al-Qaida in Africa in the 1990s and was on the front lines of the war on terrorism as the station chief in Pakistan. From his seat in Islamabad, he oversaw the unmanned Predator drone program, which has become the agency's most successful weapon against terrorism.

"John has impeccable credentials at the very core of intelligence operations — espionage, covert action, and liaison," CIA Director Leon Panetta said. "He has been at the forefront of the fight against al-Qaida and its violent allies."

What is a bit controversial is he surpassed the professional managers who were jockeying for the job.

Until his retirement in May, Bennett, 58, was the agency's most senior station chief, having served four tours in that position, including in Pretoria, South Africa. In taking this new post, he leapfrogged several other senior CIA officials who had been angling for the coveted job.

WSJ covers Boeing bringing back retired engineers.

The mission of these retired elder statesmen is to brainstorm with current Boeing engineers and project managers. But their advice often comes packaged in blunt terms that reflect their willingness to call things as they see them.

As a result, Boeing's past managers occasionally have been derided as "bean counters," and engineers on a failed project have been jestingly accused of "smoking marijuana." That's language not often heard in the buttoned-down Boeing empire.

One good thing about guys who have retired, they have no fear of upsetting the system as they have already quit.

Quick-witted and sturdy, Mr. Sutter has a no-holds-barred attitude and strong opinions about the company's past, present and future. Asked whether the Sonic Cruiser—a short-lived proposal in 2001 for a large jet that would travel at nearly the speed of sound—was a real effort or simply a smokescreen to confuse European rival Airbus, Mr. Sutter answered without hesitation. "It was a real effort," he said, "by people who were smoking marijuana."

Ideally if you are going to green a data center, you would want to look for data center wisdom. But, where do you find the wisdom?  Internal groups, consultants, and vendors who know part of their job is to hide the mistakes.

Maybe it is time to a lesson from ancient Chinese wisdom.

Ancient Chinese Wisdom, of Mencius and Others: Learning From Mistakes

In Ancient China, correcting one's mistakes was considered a moment of revelation and a key element in one's character development

Epoch Times StaffCreated: Dec 3, 2008Last Updated: Dec 10, 2008

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Mencius (372 – 289 BCE), an ancient Chinese philosopher, held that human beings were inherently moral. (Public domain image)

Older generations of Chinese people believed that even a saint could commit an error. Ancient texts mirror the adage that no man is infallible of making mistakes, but learning from them is one of man's greatest virtues. This leads to the betterment of one's conduct. Confucius was wont to say, “If you know you made a mistake and don't correct it, then you have really made a mistake.”


To err is human, but to recognize the error and correct it and learn from it gains respect from others.


Neglecting to do so, or even hiding the mistake, leads to loss of self-respect and the respect of others. Zi Chang, one of Confucius' students, said: “Human beings' mistakes are as blatantly obvious as a lunar or solar eclipse; everyone notices them, and when they disappear, people marvel in awe.”

Luckily I have hanged around enough data center people and technology projects to figure out where the wisdom is and isn't.

Wise men may not be learned; learned men may not be wise.

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