Xbox Is Now the First Carbon Aware Console, Update Rolling Out to Everyone Soon

tikker · February 3, 2023

On 2/1/2023 at 5:38 PM, darknessblade said:

Thank you for providing the feedback you are looking at it from a American perspective.

https://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/all/Digital-Markets-Act-EU-Institutions-Agree-on-New-Rules-to-Curb-the-Power-Of-Big-Tech-Platforms

There you go, Since Microsoft chooses to change the settings back to "default" without the users consent. they are technically violating the DMA and DSA regulations. END OF STORY

That states that you as a user should be allowed and able to change the default setting, not that Microsoft is not allowed to update the default setting.

dalekphalm · February 3, 2023

On 1/26/2023 at 6:11 AM, darknessblade said:

If they want to make a change why aren't they shutting of the lights in the offices during the night when nobody is around,

Err... they probably can't. This is an insurance thing. Our buildings have set "night lights" that must run all night in order for us to insure the building. It's quite literally out of our control.

It's specifically for safety and to ensure that a break-in is more easily spotted, plus various other reasons. One of them is that a large building, like an office, with absolutely no lights, makes it more tempting for break-ins and other petty crimes. It's largely a deterrent for that.

On 1/26/2023 at 6:11 AM, darknessblade said:

or just use PIR sensors in all the hallways, making useless waste of having light on in hallways nobody uses a thing of the past?

I can't speak specifically for Microsoft's offices, but... this is incredibly common in offices. I work for a Public Library, and we retrofitted all of our branches with light sensors in offices that automatically turn lights on and off based on motion detection. Our newest location even has a full-building automated light system with scheduled timers and motion sensors.

On 1/26/2023 at 6:11 AM, darknessblade said:

Or turn of servers for regions, where there is low traffic during certain times, redirecting traffic to a different server?

So, never? These are global data centers. They're always in use. I have zero doubt that Microsoft already uses aggressive power savings measures with their server racks, when appropriate, for one simple reason:

Electricity costs money. Microsoft would rather keep that money.

On 1/26/2023 at 6:11 AM, darknessblade said:

These are just some simple examples, as there are many ways they can reduce THEIR [Microsoft's] electricity usage/CO2 generation, Them telling users when they can and cannot use THEIR [the user] console is not one of them.

This argument does not make any sense.

On 1/26/2023 at 6:11 AM, darknessblade said:

In my opinion Microsoft can only implement this if they are also paying for MY ENTIRE ELECTRICITY BILL.

That's... utterly ridiculous. Good luck with that demand...

Here's a quote from your own source, by the way:

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Xbox One consoles will be testing multiple messaging options to determine the best way to inform players of the change. This effort is to provide Xbox One gamers an opportunity to provide feedback on their experience.

Another useful quote from your own source:

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Starting today, Xbox Insiders will notice that their Xbox Series X|S consoles automatically update to the Shutdown (energy saving) power option.

Emphasis mine. Insiders are literally beta testers. They literally went out of their way to CONSENT to be the testers, which means they consent to all of these changes and testing things out in advance.

IMO, you have no idea what's going on here and you just want to be mad about something. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt, and assume you just have some unreasonable grudge against Microsoft, and that it's not some climate change denial thing.

17 hours ago, leadeater said:

Didn't they do this in the patch notes you can read before installing them? I don't have an Xbox but my PS4 never installs the updates without me telling it to..

I assume this is the same with the PS4, but my Xbox One S, I can configure whether I want automatic updates or manual install - I can have it check for updates and ask me, or I can have it just install the updates automatically when the Xbox is not in use.

I have set it to automatically install the updates without checking with me first. Obviously, by enabling this, I'm consenting to all future updates.

17 hours ago, leadeater said:

If you don't read the patch notes then the communication fault is with the person refusing to read not the one publishing the information to read

For sure - the user can always check to see what an update will actually do:

https://support.xbox.com/en-CA/help/hardware-network/settings-updates/whats-new-xbox-one-system-updates

A lot of the updates have a somewhat generic "General stability and performance improvements" - but those updates won't do stuff like changing Power profiles or anything. Those would be simple bugfixes.

Any major changes are detailed in depth, along with known issues.

Middcore · February 3, 2023

9 hours ago, Stahlmann said:

I think it's more of a "unable to back down" situation, even though OP probably knows by now he's wrong.

Notably, in one of his posts a week ago he says:

Quote

These are just some simple examples, as there are many ways they can reduce THEIR [Microsoft's] electricity usage/CO2 generation, Them telling users when they can and cannot use THEIR [the user] console is not one of them.

It has never been the case that this allows Microsoft to determine when people can and can't use their console. Of course, when I asked him if that's what he thought was happening, he denied it.

He either was confused and now can't back down, or he's not been honest about why he's against this.

The sort of "You shouldn't do one thing to address a problem if you aren't going to do everything possible to address the problem everywhere" argumentation he uses ("Why doesn't Microsoft turn off data centers?") is usually employed by people who don't actually want to do anything about the problem at all.