Business networks could consume about 60 percent less energy if desktop computers were able to keep working after going into sleep mode, reports Duncan Graham-Rowe at MIT Technology Review. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, have come up with software that can take on some of the the work of a desktop while the desktop is idle.

The program, called SleepServer, creates a virtual copy of the computer, complete with operating systems and applications. With the copy running on a remote server, SleepServer can download files for it or remain logged in to instant-messaging or other communications applications, Graham-Rowe writes.

In a recent trial, researchers used SleepServer with 30 desktops for two weeks. They found that the computers consumed between 27 and 86 percent less energy. Businesses could save approximately $60 per computer annually, according to the SleepServer developers.

For more:
- see Duncan Graham-Rowe's article at MIT Technology Review

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