If you don't shut down your Mac...

[Mayo]

What I find interesting in this discussion is the apparent lack of concern about the wasting of electricity to keep the Macs running when they are not in use.  It is one thing to keep a computer running if it is acting as a server, etc. and another thing altogether to see how long one can go without rebooting...

Boy, are we folks in the industrialized countries spoiled!  As Edward Abbey once said "Use up those fossil fuels and get it over with" or words to that effect.

[Reiddm]

I've run my Mac on Jag for 34 days one time and online through out that time period, my ISP love it cause he shows other users (PC'sss) that it must be their phone lines or their computer's having a problem, YES I love that Jaguar, such a friendly cat!

[giantmike]

Mayo, fortunately, I do not pay the electricity bill, as my parents do at home (in the summer) and the school does (I guess I do through tuition) during the school year. However, a computer in sleep mode consumes very very very little electricity, especially if you turn the monitor off. All it reall needs the electiricty for in sleep mode is RAM contents. Turning the computer on and going through the boot cycle probably consumes about the same as a computer in sleep mode all night.

I would say you really won't save that much money on electricity by shuting down your Mac every night. Now, if you kept a PC on (which do not do well in sleep mode, it is reccomened that they stay at full power!), or your monitor on all night, then yes, I would agree that much electricity would be wasted.

[Bill]

Uptime:
New Orleans Mardigraw.
Women's bowling in Reno.
Colorado river between any holidays.
Driving into Aspens Colorado in a 1965 volkswagen van with peace written all over it barefooted.
Yosemite during the fall.
Shasta mountains in the spring or fall.

-List could go on and on-

Everyone else fill in their favorites.


Downtime:
South Florida,anywhere in Texas,New Mexico,Tuscan Arizona,San Diego California in the summer time. Especially if your spanish/cuban etc is a might on the rusty side.
New York city,Los Angeles anytime of the year.
Los Vegas --- never!
Long Beach,California during a longshoreman's strike.


OH WAIT! Did a quick reread of this thread.

I'm thinking out of a bucket of Oranges instead of Apples. /shame on me\

[CyberPet]

Mayo, our TV drain more electricity in "sleep mode" than any of our computers. People seem to forget that.

I don't bother about the electricity bill, at least not when I'm out traveling since the PowerBook is running from battery.  

[danf63]

I rarely shut down.  I'm not at home to check right now, but the last time I shut it off was either a couple of weeks ago when I installed ram or whenever the last software update required me to restart.

Since Jaguar, I've had one crash-- about a month ago I was transferring music from my iBook to my kids' iMac, since they have a cd burner.

Dan

[kps]

QUOTE

Energy Star Specifications
 
 Computers and monitors must be able to go to a low-power state either after a period of inactivity or at a predetermined time selected by the user. For computers, the low-power state can be activated with software that must be specified by the computer manufacturer. This low-power state is defined as drawing 30 watts or less of power. If the monitor is included in the computer casing and isn't powered directly from a wall outlet, the entire system may qualify by drawing 60 watts or less of power.

Mayo, please try to understand what this thread is about...the stability of OS X and not "who's got the biggest".

Also understand that the power consumption is less than a 40w lightbulb.

[enter sarcastic mode]

When Times Square and Las Vegas goes dark, or people stop cutting their 3 acre lawns or commercial photographers use only natural light,  or when we all move to a rock cut in a mountain...I may consider shutting down my Mac.

[end sarcastic mode]

[Mayo]

I realize that Macs on sleep mode and home electronics on standby mode use relatively minor amounts of electricity compared to when they are on full-blast, but it all adds up, whether you are paying the bill or not.  The cost I am referring to is the added burden on the environment, not individual wallets.

In our area I can choose to purchase power from 100% renewable resources (wind) at a relatively small increase in cost, and I can choose to turn off appliances, lights, computers etc. when they are not in use.  It's a shame that I cannot also choose electronic gear that allows me to disable the standby mode without unplugging the appliance and probably losing the programmed settings.

I just wanted to inject a little consciousness raising regarding how much power is wasted, but don't worry, I wasn't expecting much in the way of a positive response.