From the Desk of Edison Support – How to Manage Multiple User Profiles on a Single Computer

Edison is a global user application, which means that the settings in the application are not user-specific and are subsequently applied to all users on a PC. This is something to keep in mind as you set your work schedule.

For example, if the users of a shared computer tend to use it at different times throughout the day, set the schedule to account for the times that the computer is generally in use for all users.

Check it out!

Wanted to let folks know we’ve now got a couple more channels for sharing information online. In addition to our corporate website and Power Alley Blog, we’ve got a Verdiem Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Facebook is a great way to track our latest news and read all of our Power Alley Blog entries, and the YouTube channel is a good way to learn more about our company and products (the Verdiem YouTube channel also includes a couple product demos for those interested).

Edison featured on CNN and American Public Media

CNN’s “Energy Fix” program last Thursday included commentary on Edison from Verdiem’s Kevin Klustner. To watch the interview online, go here.

If you’re interested in radio coverage, check out this link to hear Kevin discussing Edison and Verdiem’s strategy and goals behind the product on American Public Media’s “Future Tense” program.

According to CIO, SURVEYOR Helps Washington Mutual Cut IT Costs

CIO posted a great piece on how Verdiem SURVEYOR has helped Washington Mutual reduce energy costs, energy consumption and related carbon emissions.

According to the article, Washington Mutual has cut PC-related greenhouse gas emissions by 65% and is on track to save $3 million on electricity costs in 2008.

To learn more about how Washington Mutual has implemented and utilized SURVEYOR, read the article here.

Forrester Analyst Doug Washburn on Green IT Strategies

In a post on SustainableLifeMedia.com, Forrester analyst Doug Washburn calls out two ways companies can easily begin developing their green IT strategies. I’ve reprinted both below, and recommend checking them out.

From the piece, “Green IT Strategy: Where's the Low-Hanging Fruit?”:

1. First measure, then manage. While green IT extends far beyond energy efficiency, reducing IT's energy consumption does offer tangible environmental and economic benefits. To get started, we at Forrester recommend that you measure your green IT baseline – an annual estimate of the energy consumption, CO2 emissions and financial costs of operating IT. By exposing the energy "hogs" within and outside of the datacenter, you’ll be able to prioritize what greening projects will offer the most bang for the buck.

2. Determine whether or not you're in compliance. Depending on your location, proper disposal and recycling of IT assets may be required. If you are not in compliance, now is the time to start. And here's a tip to save time and money: Use your vendors, since they're required to help. If you operate in Europe, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive) imposes the responsibility for the disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment on the manufacturers (a.k.a. your hardware vendors).

Find the full article here.

From the Desk of Edison Support – Explaining Why Some PC’s Just Don’t Want to Sleep

In addition to the Power Alley’s postings on current events and product news, we’d like to use this blog as a forum to highlight some of the frequently asked questions (and answers!) we’ve received from Edison users since launch.

Today, we’re explaining why some computers simply will not go to sleep at the time they’ve been set for.

And the answer is…

Edison uses the built-in Windows power management functionality to put your PC and monitor to sleep. Within Windows is a tool called an idle timer which monitors idle activity on your PC and, when the idle timer deems a system idle for a specified amount of time, Windows moves the PC into a lower power state (i.e. sleep mode).

The lack of sleeping – or what we call PC insomnia -- is generally caused by various applications and processes that can reset the idle timer. Some common examples include search archiving, virus scans, backup processes, and interactive web pages. Media applications, when running, are also common examples of items that would keep your computer awake.

Unfortunately, this problem cannot always be solved. However, if you find it happening to you, you can try to close applications that are unnecessarily running on your machine, like a media player.

For the enterprise environment, Verdiem SURVEYOR solves this issue by instituting a separate idle timer that better monitors and controls sleep settings, ensuring PCs always go to sleep as directed.

How to Make the Most of Your Edison Experience

So you’ve downloaded and are using Edison on your PC, but are still looking for ways to maximize its impact in your home?

Here are a few tips and tricks to help you accomplish just that.

-Customize your “Work Time” and “Non-Work Time” settings – Take a few minutes to consider the ideal amount of time for your PC to stay on when you are using it for work and when you are using it for fun. For example, you may prefer for your display to turn off after 5 minutes when you are just surfing the Internet, but would rather it stay on for 15 minutes when you are using it for work.

-Carefully examine your work schedule – If you have Edison on a home PC that you don’t actually use for work, consider setting your schedule so that everyday is “Non-Work Time” with a stricter policy.

-Make sure your PC’s settings allow for you to wake it via keyboard or mouse activity – Enabling your PC to wake-up in multiple ways will create a better overall wake-up experience. Tip: If you choose to wake-up your PC using the power button, just make sure you don’t hold it down for so long that it shuts off completely!

How do you make the most of Edison in your home? Let our readers know so they can follow suit!

Verdiem announces Edison, the free PC energy management tool for everyone

We are excited to announce today the general availability of Edison, the free PC energy management tool for everyone. The announcement was just made a few minutes ago and in case you missed it, was delivered via virtual press conference with our President and CEO Kevin Klustner joined by Microsoft’s Chief Environmental Strategist, Rob Bernard and Climate Savers Computing Initiative President, Lorie Wigle.

We are really pleased to have the support of Microsoft and Climate Savers Computing Initiative in announcing this news, and look forward to sharing this tool with you and helping you to reduce your carbon footprint at home.

To learn more or get Edison now, just go to www.verdiem.com/edison.

You can also check out Verdiem’s new Facebook page.