ShareThisWith the price of fuel sky-rocketing world wide there is a sudden up tick in people concerned about energy footprint and how to reduce it. I've seen some articles written about Linux and green PCs.

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I've given some thought to my own energy footprint and to the workplace. Here's an aspect to energy conservation that hasn't garnered as much attention in any of the articles I've read. Other than file servers most Windows desktops need to be powered on for considerable periods of each day just receive their operating system updates and their anti-virus updates. Windows PCs frequently cannot be updated without a reboot which is an interruption in service that cannot be tolerated by users during the work day. Most Linux updates due to the nature of Linux do not require a reboot. All Windows PCs whether desktops, notebooks or file servers need daily updates to anti-virus programs. That means that your computer must be turned on and consume power while those updates are being broadcast. In our own network that usually happens around 3 AM. Four hundred PCs turned on consuming thousands of watts per year just to maintain anti-virus and operating system updates. Linux PC's don't really require anti-virus updates and if you choose to use anti-virus those updates can occur only when the PC is turned on. Likewise operating system updates other than kernel updates do not require a reboot which means that when you go home at night its possible to turn the Linux desktop or notebook off and lessen the energy footprint in your home, your business or your corporation. Linux really is the energy conscious operating system. Can you afford not to use it?