Archive for August, 2011
How Green Is The Internet?
The Internet is perhaps one of the greatest technological advances of our time. It gives us the ability to be connected and to share information instantly with the potential to dramatically reduce our need for travel; thereby reducing the amount of CO2 emissions we produce. But how much CO2 is the Internet itself producing?
We asked Aaron Handford President of Solar Energy Host how much carbon the net itself is generating and he had some surprising answers. According to Handford The Internet has a big carbon footprint. Its estimated that globally it takes about 868 billion kWh kilowatt hours of electricity per year to run the Internet associated PCs routing infrastructure and phone networks.; http://uclue.com/index.php?xq=724.
He notes Of this about 112.5 Billion kWh are used to power data centers which are the servers that store all the websites.”
This represents a lot of energy and potentially a lot of CO2 emissions. What can be done to reduce the carbon footprint of the Internet? Handford has some suggestions for those willing to research the net itself for answers. There are web hosting packages now available that are responding to the need to be carbon friendly. My company Solar Energy Host powers our websites directly with solar energy.; Handford adds If your website is currently sitting on a server powered by energy from the grid then you are tied to a system where you can never be sure where that energy is coming from possibly from the burning of coal or other greenhouse gas producing sources. Solar Energy Host offers consumers another choice ndash; a way to get your website off the energy grid.;
A new wave of these solar powered companies is on the leading cusp of moving away from traditional power sources.
Says Handford: A server such as ours is Carbon Free; which is a step beyond Carbon Neutral; because you are not adding more pollution and then buying carbon credits to make up for it.;
It has been estimated that as of early 2007 there were about 108810358 of these websites in existence. See the link below for further details. http://www.boutell.com/newfaq/misc/sizeofweb.html
This means that on average each website uses about 1020 kwh of “data center” energy each year.
Handford went on to explain that the data center used by Solar Energy Host stops the emission of the following gasses/toxins:
* 19890 lbs of Carbon Dioxide CO2/GHG per year
* 5.9 lbs of Nitrous Oxide NOX/smog per year
* 0.45 lbs of Sulfur Dioxide SO4/acid rain per year
He is also following a socially responsible business model by giving back. We donate five dollars from each account to the Gardens of Hope Project; says Handford. This money funds the planting of one tree and helps link five communities in Lesotho southern Africa into a network of projects that share ideas skills resources and common purpose while supporting the educational needs of orphaned and vulnerable children.;
Solar Energy Host is part of perhaps the only commercial carbonfree data center in existence.
We had to ask what happens to your server at night? Good question; laughed Handford We have a large set of batteries a propane generator and as a last resort the conventional energy grid which we have never needed to use!;
Looks like the future is now.
For more information about Solar Energy Host please visit:
www.solarenergyhost.com.
About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Deirdre Rowland is a media specialist and communications consultant who works with visionaries and organizations with a values based lens. Her favorite projects are the ones that make the world a better place.
Deirdre is Principal Publicist of CME Communications and Floating World Web Development.
Host Up-time An Important Consideration For Web Hosting Services
Visit the site of any web hosting service provider and you are sure to see one statement being made almost everywhere We provide 99.99 up time to our clients. Just so you know 99.99 up time means that 99.99 of the time you will be able to connect with the host through the Internet.
With this kind of connectivity you are sure to almost find the best web hosting service. Obviously any web hosting service that promises you to be online with the host for 99.99 of the time is worth investing. But isnt it too good to be believed? Is the 99.99 uptime a concept for real or is it just for keeps?
To find out the truth we studied the offerings of about 10 web hosting service providers. All these providers promised the same thing 99.99 up time. After studying all of what they promised to offer and after interacting with some customers who were using the web hosting services we came to a conclusion that the 99.99 concept was all but a truth!
First the 99.99 up time means that this is the time when you can be connected with the host. This obviously means that the down time with the host will be very marginal. But with that being said network maintenance programs that are frequently carried out by the companies do not find a mention in the calculation.
The companies can very well carry out regular maintenance operations and yet claim that they are working on the 99.99 concept. Based on our research we can tell you different instances where people thought they made the right decision but at the end of it they felt cheated. This happened only because they did not understand the concept of 99.99 uptime clearly.
Bottomline 99.99 up time is an important consideration for people in terms of choosing web hosting services but this consideration has to be studied in entirety.
Hostgator hosting services provides 99.9 uptime guarantee. . Get more information on the best deals and discount coupons for Hostgator hosting here.
About the writer: Bandeep Jaswal is an Internet marketer Article marketer Website developerInnovator PPC marketer.
Hook The Website Visitor
A website must behave like a platform that does not allow the visitor to move astray once he has logged on to it Good web design must be like a blockbuster movie where people engage themselves seriously in the lost world. Website design must make the visitors engage in a further process that leads to the visitor fulfilling the purpose from both ends: The goal of the firm as well as the customer.We see these things on many dayday sites that we bump into.
A registration form
This form contains the user id password residential and personal information. This can be used to study the persons background likes and dislikes. The information about email id etc may also help you to forward newsletters and updates to the patrons. The information is to be kept personal and there must be a note on that.
Discussion forum
There must be a forum where customers can post their common questions and get answers to them. This must be a commonplace to inform visitors about the specifications about the websites offerings on a personal note. The people here must be able to have a communication platform where they read peoples feedback and queries and at the same time post their own questions.
A chat group
Several websites put a person for support services and he chats further with the visitors and customers. However some others allow chat room facility on the website itself and users hook on to it get information about their queries network with people with all views and have a mutual gain.
Feedback column
There must be forms or columns specially designed for people to sent their feedback about their expectations and their reviews about the product. The webmaster and the organisation must be considerable enough to genuinely look into matters of grievance to customers and solve them.
Lucky dips
There can be several competitions and throw away packages. This will hook up customers and advertisers to your website like moths to a flame and help your business to progress. You can also get important numbers and mail ids of people and get them to patronize your business through regular correspondence to them.
Announcements
There can be an announcement column for new launches and products. You can thus provide a medium to users for new launches that behave like an atrium of a multiplex. Ensure that you make the product information available to your customers. Announcements on special discounts and sale can also be put up here strategically.
Review columns
Food and movie business websites offer a review and rate their menus and flicks. You can also use a review and rating column and help customers to come back to view it. This will also help your customers to know the best offers. He will also get to know the most rated and liked products and launches.
Blogs
There can be a facility of making blogs provided by the website.
Classifieds
You can also put up links and advertisements for your users.
About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;David Hunt is a senior partner and experienced web developer with Blue
Light Labs Multimedia Inc. an
Atlanta web design firm and Atlanta Web Development
Agency Georgia
