Microsoft Research India has developed a technology called LiteGreen that saves power by leveraging technologies typically used in desktop virtualization. As reported at InfoWorld, the team at Microsoft Research found that one reason people do not put their PCs in hibernate or stand-by mode is the fear of disrupting background applications, especially network-centric ones. To make its point, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) said that computers at the lab itself were found to be idle "about 70 to 80 percent" of the time.

The solution entails encapsulating the user's desktop environment into a virtual machine that is automatically migrated to a back-end server when the desktop is idle. The desktop environment continues to run seamlessly, and the company benefits from the economy of scale inherent in a shared virtual environment. The PC is then put to sleep until users return to their desks, where a remote desktop connection to the server machine allows them to continue their work in as little as 10 seconds. In the meantime, the technology transfers the actual desktop machine image back to the workstation over the course of about 60 seconds, in the background. The amazing thing is this: Microsoft says the user won't even notice the transitions.

For now, the company is working on ways to enable the virtual machines to be transferred more quickly to and from the back-end server. The lab has declined to comment on the possible commercialization of the technology, though I can imagine it coming in handy in places with multiple similar desktops--such as in call centers or computer labs.

For more:
- check out this article at InfoWorld

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