Taking the Measure

Microsoft has a plan to encourage PC users to move to Windows 7 without discouraging them from buying new computers before the new OS becomes available in the fall, the Wall Street Journal reports. “As part of the plan, the Redmond, Wash., company said the main consumer version of the software would cost $10 less than past versions of Windows.” The Journal says, adding, “Microsoft also said any consumers who buy new PCs running its current Windows Vista operating system between Friday and Jan. 31 will receive free upgrades to Windows 7.”

• Also in the Journal, Jeffrey Ball comments that Energy Star, “The “US government's seal of approval for more energy-efficient products, from kitchen appliances to entire homes,” should be rethought. He writes, “The Environmental Protection Agency, which administers the program, says the Energy Star standards are too weak and need updating based on current technology. The program ignores small improvements that could bring big efficiency gains for comparatively little cost, such as low-flow showerheads and better insulation around windows. And the EPA notes that it is easier for a 5500-square-foot house to get the Energy Star seal than a 1500-square-foot house—even though the bigger house likely consumes much more energy.” Tougher rules are in the works, Ball writes, but adds that it’s important not to discourage developers from embracing the voluntary program.

• The IPO comeback is starting now, reports Jennifer Kho in Salon. She quotes Cleantech investor Steve Westly, managing partner of The Westly Group, as saying, “I think in the next 12 months, we will see a dozen IPOs, and some will be blockbusters.” Mark Kalpin, a partner in the emerging energy technology group at law firm WilmerHale, also expects to see more IPOs in the next 12 months, Kho writes. She adds that Tesla Motors might be a beneficiary.

• I commented yesterday on Walt Mossberg’s comments on laptop battery life. In today’s New York Times, David Pogue adds more. He writes, “Two things about battery-life measurements for laptops: First, they usually bear little relationship to reality. I don’t know about you, but my ‘five-hour’ battery often dies halfway between JFK. and LAX.” (Well, mine actually dies halfway between BOS and SFO.) The second thing, adds Pogue, is, “…laptop ads always use that essential tool of wiggle-roomers everywhere, ‘Up to.’ As in, “Up to five hours. Folks, ‘up to’ is one of the greatest cop-outs in the English language.” He reviews the shortcomings of the MobileMark 2007 battery-life spec and comments on the political motives of the players involved—in particular Intel and AMD. But apart from MobileMark, my biggest complaint is not the initial battery life that such a benchmark might measure, but rather the severe degradation in life that seems to appear after a few charge/discharge cycles.

• Is the Internet a boon or a bane to political dissidents? Commenting in Slate, Farhad Manjoo says, “The crackdown in Iran shows that, for regimes bent on survival, squashing electronic dissent isn't impossible. In many ways, modern communication tools are easier to suppress than organizing methods of the past.”

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