Microsoft and Apple have been in the forefront of efforts to green IT and computing in general -- and, of course, letting the world know about their efforts. But one columnist believes that Linux is the greenest operating system of all.


Jack Wallen, on ZDNet, argues that Linux can go a long way towards helping IT departments go green, and offers ten ways that Linux can help IT go green. I won't go into all ten reasons here -- I don't necessarily agree with them all -- but following are the high points.

First, he argues that because Linux requires less processor power and less advanced hardware than Windows or Mac OS X, you can use hardware much longer with Linux. That means less landfill problems, and less production of new equipment overall. He cites a study by the UK Office of Government Commerce in 2004 that claims that Windows users have to upgrade their computers twice as frequently as Linux users. The study concludes: "Industry observers quote a typical hardware refresh period for Microsoft Windows systems as three to four years; a major UK manufacturing organisation quotes its hardware refresh period for Linux systems as six to eight years."

Wallen also claims that Red Hat Linux uses less power than Windows Server 2008, and cites a study that says that Red Hat Linux servers beat Windows Server 2008 in 13 out of 16 tests of energy consumption.

Many of his other reasons, though, don't necessarily hold up, and some of them aren't really a comparison of Linux to other operating systems, but instead advice on how to make Linux greener. He points to netbooks as a reason that Linux is greener than other operating systems, but these days 80% or more of all netbooks ship with Windows installed, so that simply doesn't hold water.

Still, he has some intriguing points. I'd like to see a detailed comparison of energy consumption of Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux done some day. If I find one, I'll let you know.