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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Economist Article on the fight between Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon

The Economist has a great article on the competition between Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon.

The article closes with an excellent point that the regulators could change the game rules.

The Others

Watchdogs in Europe and America have been looking into accusations that Apple has colluded with some publishers to break Amazon’s grip on e-books. And they have been scrutinising Google too. Some companies, including ones with links to Microsoft, have accused the search firm of unfairly promoting its own services, such as Google+, in search results. They also claim that it uses content from competitors without permission, and that it has struck anti-competitive deals in search advertising. The firm is under fire for allegedly using smartphone patents to stifle competition. Google’s legions of lawyers have been battling these charges.

Their lordships Page, Cook, Zuckerberg and Bezos thus need to map a course for their respective firms through dangerous legal and regulatory territory. At the same time they have to avoid being distracted from fighting their rivals; the mad emperors of Microsoft lost a lot of ground by taking on the inhuman might of the Department of Justice. And the shareholders, hungry for returns in a moribund global economy, need to be kept happy.

A king who pulled all this off might claim the throne by right; but his chances of being more than first among equals, or of a lengthy reign, would be slim. As in Westeros, these battles and plots promise many more sequels and series.

GigaOm Roadmap Press Computers 21 Macs, 2 iPads, 1 PC

There are three tables of press people at GigaOm Roadmap covering speakers like NEST's Founder and CEO, Tony Fadell.

One of the things that caught my eye is the line of Macs.  I counted 21 Macs, 3 iPads, and 1 PC.

Google Image Search - Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon DC

With Google's release of an Insider's look of its data centers, I was curious what Google Image Search shows for Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon.

The below are top 20 images from searching for "<company name> data center"

Some have made the point that Google's image publication was a PR move.  One thing that did work well from a PR move is most of the top 20 images are from what was published yesterday. You can make your own conclusions from looking at the images.  Note: the amazon pictures are many times not amazon facilities, but images that are embedded on a page where Amazon is mentioned. 

I included the links to image searches if you want to get to the original source of the images

Google

Facebook

Microsoft

Apple

Amazon

Apple Electric adds 200 Acres for more Solar capacity

I joked that Google is an Electric company in an old post.  If Apple was an Electric company would it be Apple Electric or Apple Power? Apple made the news making progress on its solar farm, and now has added another 200 acres.

Hickory Daily Record reports on the latest real estate transaction.

CONOVER, NC — California-based technology giant Apple has spent nearly $3 million to buy more than 200 acres of property in Catawba County for another solar farm.

It’s another step in Apple’s pledge to have its Maiden data center running on 100 percent renewable energy by the end of the year.

Some of the concerns with the big data center expansion in Oregon is the future growth of data centers there could be 10% of the energy use.

If ever a state was destined to become a data center Mecca it is Oregon. As the author of the article points out they have a temperate climate, cheap power, no sales tax or property tax for data centers located in state-designated enterprise zones. All these elements combine to provide an explanation for the plethora of “Greetings From Oregon” postcards emanating from the likes of Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon and other data center operators. So far so good. However, after much sleuthing and analysis the good citizens of the area have uncovered a heretofore hidden truth—these things use one heck of a lot of electricity. So much electricity in fact that current estimates indicate, and I quote, “they (data centers) could devour nearly 10 percent of all the Northwest’s energy by 2030”.

But, with Apple being an electric company  the protests of impacting the local energy grid will soon be a mute point.