Microsoft's Poop Data Center matches Apple's 2X Fuel Cell expansion social traffic

Within a couple of weeks Microsoft announced a Poop powered data center, and Charlotte Observer discovered in public permit documents that Apple is doubling its fuel cell capacity.  The first is a supported PR release, the 2nd is not a PR, but a leak for the Apple paparazzi.  Which did better?  From a traffic stand point, they look about equal looking at social metrics on news.com.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57552152-71/microsoft-speaks-poop-to-power/ 

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57557187-37/apple-looks-to-double-its-n.c-biogas-fuel-cell-farm/

Microsoft has a bunch of news covering its poop powered data center.

Commence Giggling: Microsoft's New Data Center Will Be Fueled by Poop

Geekosystem -‎Nov 20, 2012‎

This is really happening!Microsoftannounced in a blog post on Monday that they're building a newdata centerthat will be fueled by the methane from a sewage treatment plant. The newdata centerwill be a 200kW facility built at the existing Dry Creek Water...

Turning poop into power: Microsoft building innovative data center to test clean ...

GeekWire -‎Nov 19, 2012‎

In other words, they're figuring out how to turnpoopinto power. Without energy from a local power grid,Microsoftwill maintain a 200-kilowattdata centerdirectly next to the Dry Creek Water Reclamation Facility waste water treatment plant in Cheyenne,...

Microsoft plans poop-fueled data center

Seattle Post Intelligencer -‎Nov 19, 2012‎

Page 1 of 1.Microsoftplans to build the firstdata centerthat is completely off the grid, recycling "common waste" to sustainably power cloud services, the company announced Monday. The Redmond-based tech giant is spending about $5.5 million in research...

Microsoft speaks poop to power

CNET -‎Nov 19, 2012‎

Microsoftdoesn't want to risk taking any verbal dung from you on such matters, so it announced today that it is building adata centerpowered by, well, waste matter. Yes, yourMicrosoftcloud uploads could soon be powered by your own personal downloads.

Microsoft Uncovers Special Bond Between Computers and Toilets

Wired -‎Nov 19, 2012‎

ButMicrosoftbelieves this will be the first “zero carbon”data center, meaning it won't be responsible for harmful carbon emissions unloaded onto Mother Nature, and it may be the first to actually power adata centerwithpoop— though this has long been the...

Microsoft plans to build data center in Wyoming that runs on human and animal ...

Daily Mail -‎Nov 21, 2012‎

Microsoftis not a company to let anything go to waste, as it proved this week by unveiling a project to build adata centerin Wyoming that runs, well, on waste. The new plant will be operated out of the Dry Creek Water Reclamation Facility in Cheyenne,...

And here is Apple's coverage

Apple Data Center Does Fuel Cell Industry a Huge Favor MIT Technology Review - ‎3 hours ago‎ Apple says the much-watched project (Wired actually hired a pilot to take photos of it) will be one of the most environmentally benign data centers ever built because it will use several energy-efficiency tricks and run on biogas-powered fuel cells and a giant ...   Apple to double size of fuel cell plant at NC data center Apple Insider - ‎22 hours ago‎ Apple to double size of fuel cell plant at NC data center. By Mikey Campbell. A new filing with the North Carlina Utilities Commission reveals that Apple plans to double the number of fuel cells deployed at its Maiden data center, with a total energy output able ...   Apple Doubles Renewable Project at Expense of Duke Energy Customers National Legal and Policy Center - ‎1 hour ago‎ A data center in western North Carolina built by Apple, Inc. has now doubled the size of its associated power-generating fuel cell facility, one which in April NLPC reported was a conflict of interest for Apple director and former Vice President Al Gore.   Apple's Data Center and the Clean Energy Paradox The Green Optimistic (blog) - ‎11 hours ago‎ Apple 300x137 Apple's Data Center and the Clean Energy Paradox According to the North Carolina Utility Commission, Apple intends to double the amount of fuel cells it will use at its data center in Maiden, North Carolina. In November, Apple filed to ...   Apple to double fuel-cell capacity in North Carolina DatacenterDynamics - ‎19 hours ago‎ Apple wants to double the generation capacity of its fuel-cell plant next to its massive data center in Maiden, North Carolina. The company has filed papers with the state's utility regulators, notifying them of the plan to increase the size of the fuel-cell installation ...   Apple looks to double its NC biogas fuel cell farm CNET - ‎Dec 4, 2012‎ Apple announced in May that it intended to have its $1 billion data center in Maiden, N.C., run entirely off renewable energy by the end of the year. The company said it was building two solar array installations in the area, which when combined will bring in 84 ...   Apple to double its already massive fuel cell farm in North Carolina GigaOM - ‎Dec 4, 2012‎ Apple has decided to more than double the amount of fuel cells it is using to generate power at its data center in North Carolina, according to filings with the North Carolina Utility Commission, and first reported by The Charlotte Observer. Fuel cell provider ...

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More Data to get you thinking Mobile, Mary Meeker shares Dec 2012 report

I am still thinking of the 75% 55-65 audience of Uptime's event, and whether understand how big and fast the shift to mobile is coming.  The trouble about most data center building type of people is they have no idea what kind of hardware, let alone software is running in the data center.

Now you may think what's the big deal.  KPCB's Mary Meeker just shared her 12/3/2012 Internet trends and in less than three days there are 400k + views of this presentation.

This is the slide that illustrates the change.

There are 88 slides in the deck.

If you think Mobile means iOS, wake up the rapid growth of Android.  I have iOS and Android devices.  Do you?

With little bitty screens, the mobile devices still are pulling down 13% of the traffic.

And India now has more mobile traffic than desktop.

I made the strategic shift to Mobile a while ago.  Have you?

Along with all this mobile growth is the growth of Big Data.  Mobile + Big Data is the new frontier.

And part of this shift is the transition from an Asset Heavy lifestyle.

To Asset Light.  Which works really well in high growth emerging markets.

Which turn off many of you.  

But, keep in mind.  This asset light approach is driving new flexibilities.

Google's Data Center Photos continue to make the news, Slate publishes Photo Blog post

Google's data center photos continue to show life. Slate has a post just of the photos.

Meeting the Wizard: Inside Google's Data Centers

By Christopher Jobson

 | 

Posted Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012, at 9:30 AM ET

 

 

 

12

 

So it turns out the Internet really is a series of tubes. Last October, for the first time ever, Google posted dozens of rare photographs inside and around its data centers revealing the absurd level of organization, energy, and design that goes into powering some of the largest, most powerful systems plugged into the Internet. My absolute favorite aspect is the color-coordinated design of their infrastructure as it correlates to the Google logo. What wonderful attention to detail. See many more photos of their eight data centers and Street View imagery of their Lenoir, N.C., data center at Where the Internet Lives. All photos by Connie Zhou.

What Data Center facility staff is 75% 55-65 yrs old? Uptime Fall Conference 2012

I was reading the post on Uptimes' Fall Conference 2012 at the Altanta Ritz Carlton, and the post starts with this comment of the problem of retiring people.

One of the predominant themes of the event (and persistent discussions in the industry in general) is the looming retirement of the current generation of data center professionals. The data center industry doesn’t have a very good farm system: an organization or activity that serves as a training ground for higher-level endeavors.

Now, I am used to hanging with old people.  I am 52, but when I saw this comment, I was thinking whoa what a different world of people are at this event.

“Over 75% of our facilities staff are between 55-65 years old,” one attendee said. “We all grew up in the industry together.” And many organizations worry that all of these skilled, experienced people are going to retire together as well, and a second generation of data center operators is not waiting to take their place.

Either there is a real problem in that there is a shortage of the 2nd generation of data center operators.  Or, the 2nd generation data center operators don't hang out with the 1st generation data center operators.

How many of you 2nd generation data center operators wanted to go hang out with a crowd 75% comprised of 55-65 year olds in Atlanta at the Ritz Carlton?

Maybe there is a problem with the young don't want to hang out with old timers.  

Growth of the web saves paper, 21% decline in paper in a decade

Being in the data center business we don't mind the decline of print.  But, the pulp and paper industry is going through some serious changes as the decline of print is faster than the rise.  Seattletimes has an article from the minneapolis star on the print industry.

As society sheds paper, an industry shrinks

The North American paper industry is in rapid decline. Towns from Washington to the coast of Maine have lost more than a hundred paper mills in a wave of consolidation in little more than a decade — a trend most people in the industry expect to continue.

By BY ADAM BELZ /

Minneapolis Star Tribune

How much is the change?  100 paper mills and 21% decline over  10 years.

“It’s kind of disheartening,” said Jim Skurla, an economist at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. “Paper’s never going to disappear, but it’s going to be smaller than it has been.”

River towns in the forest from Washington to the coast of Maine have lost more than a hundred paper mills in a wave of consolidation in little more than a decade — a trend most people in the industry expect to continue.

North American demand for three types of coated and supercalendered paper — shiny magazine and advertising paper — has fallen 21 percent in the past decade, according to the Pulp and Paper Products Council.

There is not enough demand out there and some mills have to shut down.

“All you’re doing is you’re moving around the mills,” Quinn said.

“The reality is the demand is going down. Some mills are going to have to come out.”