[tv show] Panorama - Is the cloud damaging the planet?

[Koldov]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001hzb3/panorama-is-the-cloud-damaging-the-planet

 

Discussing the environmental impact of moving all your services into the cloud...?

 

As well as everyone's cat photos of course...

Edited February 6, 2023 by Koldov

[nicholab]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001hzb3/panorama-is-the-cloud-damaging-the-planet

 

Discussing the environmental impact of moving all your services into the cloud...?

 

As well as everyone's cat photos of course...

 

Generally the pue is much better in cloud providers data centres.

[Dos_Box]

It would be interesting to see just what areas the cloud saves on resources.

Large servers running 24/7 in schools, paper (although the thread the other week where some revealed just how much paper a school goes through in a year now was an eye opener), acessability of data and other areas do make the cloud a very good idea, especially, if like us, your work can be where ever you are, and it certainly makes setting up new machines a lot less of a grind than it used to be. It also means that you don't have to break servers when fixing or patching them as that is now someone elses problem and your time can be spent better elsewhere. Microsofts boo-boo last week showed that this is not a given though.

 

I think that it's probably education or businesss that are reaping the benefits here, but a lot of the cloud will be spent storing the aforementioned cat pics, and other data that will just sit there, rarely looked at, that will take up a lot of power in servers just filling up its storage.

I do think the cloud has more benefits than drawbacks though and I'm sure most of us can agree it's no bad thing when utilised correctly, although I do remember when 365 and hosted Exchange were coming along and thee was a lot of resistance in a 'You can have my Exchange server when you pry it from my cold dead fingers' kind of way.

Edited February 7, 2023 by Dos_Box

[Rob_D]

I think that it's probably education or businesss that are reaping the benefits here, but a lot of the cloud will be spent storing the aforementioned cat pics, and other data that will just sit there, rarely looked at, that will take up a lot of power in servers just filling up its storage.

With modern power saving techniques would data "at rest" like that consume much power? I don't see why something like MS Storage tiering couldn't have a "hardly ever accessed" data layer on parked mechanical drives that are essentially off until needed.

 

I do think the cloud has more benefits than drawbacks though and I'm sure most of us can agree it's no bad thing when utilised corectly, although I do remember when 365 and hosted Exchange were coming along and thee was a lot of resistance in a 'You can have my Exchange server when you pry it from my cold dead fingers' kind of way.

Slightly off topic for schools, but what about the Cost of Netflix (and all the other streamers) servers vs the cost of making and shipping physical media?

[jthompson]

Cost of streaming platforms is going to be a function of codecs/protocols being used, so could conceivably be shifted in a good direction, and powered by more renewables as well, whereas physical media will inevitiably create lots of plastic waste.

 

Video meetings vs cost of physically transporting human beings around would be a good one, too.

[Dos_Box]

Cost of streaming platforms is going to be a function of codecs/protocols being used, so could conceivably be shifted in a good direction, and powered by more renewables as well, whereas physical media will inevitiably create lots of plastic waste.

 

Video meetings vs cost of physically transporting human beings around would be a good one, too.

 

As regards video calls. We really noticed this when the financial crash of 2008 happened that pretty much overnight, business trips were replaced with Skype calls. No one had to travel at great expense (flights/trains, hotels, meals etc.) and everyone got to sleep in their own beds. I do think that this was one positive from the whole fiasco.

[LeMarchand]

Slightly off topic for schools, but what about the Cost of Netflix (and all the other streamers) servers vs the cost of making and shipping physical media?

 

I think there's still going to be a market for physical media, but possibly only for proven properties coming out in fancy editions - books are already going this way. Also, given some of the recent changes in some of the media companies (HBO dropping shows from their platform entirely, possibly to a FTA ad-supported platform), there may be renewed fan interest in physical media.

[HarryMonkey]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64429819