Play An Environment Card in the IT Business Game

Obviously IT giants are always competing their operating systems and latest applications to get ahead, but as Microsoft recently announced its promotion of a Windows specified power management software, it might be a good sign that the environment concept has heated up in gaining the new edge. 

The product, Edison, is designed to help individual PC users to save power and reduce carbon emission. The startup that developed Edison, Verdiem, has a similar product, Serveyor, only for corporate users. It charges $20 per computer a year and an extra $3 for annual maintenance. But Edison is free. 

So who is paying the bill? Though not specifically mentioned, the numerous times the name of Microsoft mentioned in the news and Verdiem's website probably suggests the leading computer company might have some investment in the game. And, this is gold well spent.

Yeah, we know the product is free, but what left unsaid is: it is free (as long as you have a PC with Windows XP or Vista operating systems). Look at the requirements for the free download on Verdiem's website, it is all about Microsoft. The "free candy" is a hook to keep users, to a certain extent, stay loyal to Microsoft's operating systems, or convert new users to not-so-popular Vista.

Microsoft's marketing department must be applauding too. There is no better advertisement to say Microsoft is environment aware and savvy, a great image boost. Many are appraising Microsoft's effort of becoming environment friendly. New York Time's article said:

"Household electricity bills could also be trimmed by $20 to $95 a year for each PC" using Edison,  

But it really is not the $20 that everyone in this game is concerned about. 

Edison also outsmarted Mac's Power Manager 3, a similar product developed by a British company DSSW. Power Manager 3 is designed for both corporate and individual users. It charges $28.95 per year. I personally think the interface of Edison looks cooler than that of PM3. 

More importantly, it carries the most attractive feature that Power Manager 3 missed. It tells you how much less carbon has been emitted from your computer and how much money you have saved from your electricity bill. That definitely gives a sense of achievement. 

Remembering the battle lost on the search engine against Google, Microsoft, doing a lot more along the environment line, deserves the thumb up in this round of the game.