[sdiy] Admin msg: machine move

[Rick Jansen]

On 8/3/10 23:18, Eric Brombaugh wrote:
> On 03/08/2010 10:40 AM, Rick Jansen wrote:
>> Well, with help from Magnus on configuring mailman+postfix this was fixed
>> quickly.
>>
>> Let me know if you experience odd things. Concerning the list, that is.
> 
> First odd thing I noticed is that my posts to the list come back from 
> the list within a minute or so. Used to be it would take ~10min before 
> I'd see them. Must have gotten off that old dial-up line or something. :)

No, it's simply the machine. The previous one was an old pc, 450MHz I
believe, this is a not-too-new mac mini, 1.83 GHz core duo.

Actually, the main reason to migrate was that I found out I'm using rather
a lot of electrical power in my house, 5200+kWh per year, while I should
use about 3200kWh. After buying a power meter I found out why. There are
some things that run (ran) 24 hrs/365 days. Like central heating water
pumps (2 of them, ca 150W total), an old B&O stereo (30W standby (yes,
really, thirty watts)), dropmix (ca 60W), two small ventilators (15W each).
All in all 320W+ continously. Each of those things may not seem to use a
lot of power, but it all quite adds up.

And that while I always switch off the lights, don't leave the tv on
standby (1.5W only), don't leave small power adaptors plugged in, and am
pretty environmentally friendly, all in all.

Old dropmix alone (60W) used 525kWh per year. That is more than 10% of my
total electricity consumption, and double that of e.g. the refrigerator.
New dropmix is a mac mini, using about 10W max, or about 3% of my total
electricity usage. Good thing about macs is that they can put the hard
disks to sleep. (Linux does not do that easily.)

The central heating pumps now are on a temperature-controlled switch. If
the water is not heated the pumps are off. Modern heater systems have that
built-in, of course.

Another odd one: a Mac Cube uses 30W when in use (ex monitor), 10W when
it's in sleep mode. But, you can "really" switch it off too. In that case
power consumption is down from 10W to a mere ... TEN watts. Apparently they
decided that being able to switch on a computer using a touch-sensitive
spot is worth wasting 10W continously. A true example of "Elegance and
Decadence" *)

Anyway, continuous consumption is down from 320+ to nearly 120W.
But, my telephone still is responsible for 0.8%, and the ADSL modem 2! ;-)

rick

*) Europe Endless