[PLUG] ANNOUNCEMENT: August PLUG Meeting

[David Mandel]

                          MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

                       The Portland Linux/Unix Group
                                 will meet
                         7 PM Thursday Aug 5, 2010
                                     at
                         Portland State University
                                   in the
                              Fariborz Maseeh
             College of Engineering & Computer Science Building
                              Room FAB 86-01
                       (This is in the basement.)
          The building is on SW 4th across from SW College Street.
       See location H-10 on map at http://pdxLinux.org/campus_map.jpg

    *******************************************************************
                     Server Sky - Data Centers in Orbit
              Power for computation on a Moore's Law schedule

                   Keith Lofstrom, http://server-sky.com

    The EPA estimates US data centers (not including desktops)
    consumed 1.5% of total US electrical consumption in 2006.
    They predict a doubling to 3% of base load by 2011.  Our
    work as programmers and technologists continues this
    runaway exponential growth, and we will be stopped by
    environmental and resource limits soon.

    Server sky is a proposal to use newly emerging solid state
    technologies to build large arrays of 3 gram paper-thin
    solar-powered computation satellites in 6400km Earth orbits.

    A single server-sat replaces 15 watts of ground-based
    electrical generation, cooling, and power conversion, as
    well as the computation and communication hardware itself.
    Orbital server farms may start out as expensive as current
    approaches, but design improvement and cheaper launch will
    decrease costs exponentially over time, much as transistor
    cost has plummeted over the last four decades.

    This is open technology, responsive to public input, and
    the project needs volunteer software and engineering help
    to stay that way.  Eventually, Server Sky will create
    thousands of open technology jobs in the Portland area,
    and permit unbounded computation growth in space, while
    reducing energy demand and environmental damage on Earth.

    Earth can return to what it is good at green and growing
    things while we fill space with gray and computing things.

    *******************************************************************

        Agenda:

            7:00 - 7:30  Business
                 We will discuss the status of our ongoing projects
                 including PLUG's monthly Advanced Topics meetings,
                 PLUG's monthly hands on clinics, PLUG for Education,
                 etc.

            7:30 - 8:30  Presentation

                 See above

            9:00 - ...  Beer
                        The Lucky Lab Northwest Beerhall
                        1945 NW Quimby
                        Portland, Oregon

                                        David Mandel
                                        Chief Activist
                                        Portland Linux/Unix Group
                                        560 SE Alexander
                                        Corvallis, Oregon 97333
                                        (541) 730-5285 mobile
                                        dmandel at pdxLinux.org

        P.S.  The Mid Willamette Valley Linux Users Group meets
              every month.
              See http://www.lug.corvallis.or.us/ for details.

        P.S.  The Eugene Linux Users Group meets several times a month.
              See http://www.euglug.org for details.

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David Mandel                        http://www.DavidMandel.com
Portland Linux/Unix Group           http://pdxLinux.org
LinuxFund                           http://LinuxFund.org
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