In The Times

In the NYT today for the black web thing, watta trend!

Google Did It

You can make a difference.

In The Post

This one is short and sweet, but it is the first time I have seen a media outlet mention that any site can go black. Thanks Post!

Five Myths and Mysteries About Black Web Surfing

You might have been following the recent debate about surfing a black web, even received a viral email or two on the topic. We have discussed some facts and figures around using a black Google, and other alternatives sites such as Blackle. In spite of all the recent press, mysteries and myths still abound, here are 5 of the most common.

1. Every monitor uses 74 watts to display a white background, and only 59 watts to display a black background.
Answer: Nope, and it's probably the biggest misconception. The original post that started this whole thing pulled these numbers from the US department of energy, but these numbers almost certainly refer to CRT monitors only.

2. Ok, well, every CRT monitor saves 15 watts then going from white to black.
Answer: The amount of energy saved here is depends on many factors, including the size, type, and manufacturer of the specific monitor. A study conducted in 2002, the infamous Roberson Study, found that different CRT monitors saved between 4 and 30 watts going from white to black, a big range. A new study by Techlogg on 4 CRT monitors found that they all did save energy, but the range was narrower and the savings was smaller (only between 7 and 11 watts). It is likely that CRT monitors are getting more efficient.

3. What about LCD monitors? I keep hearing that is makes no difference what color they display, or that they even use more energy displaying black over white.
Answer: Another big misconception. LCD monitors have a light behind the screen that is always on, so white is usually the most efficient color to produce; you just let the light shine through. Black on the hand requires the light to be completely blocked, and this takes energy. So, on the face of it, white would always be cheaper than black to create on LCD screens. Turns out this is mostly true, and on average, takes less than a watt of energy to do.

But there more, because some clever LCD manufacturers check how dark the screen is, and if it's very dark they dim the backlight; this saves energy. The Roberson study found this was true for every LCD monitor, Techlogg found it was primarily true for monitors over 24 inches wide. This doesn't save much energy, tops 4 watts, but it does save some. So, LCD technology has changed over time, and it is true that the differential between displaying white and black is much tighter than CRT monitors, a few watts at most.

4. Very interesting. So that solves it, since about 75 percent of the monitors in the world are LCD monitors, and since it doesn't really save a lot of of energy to display black over white (some even cost energy), the whole energy saving argument is a wash.
Answer: It is true that there are a large number of LCD monitors out there, and that for the majority of them it doesn't make a whole lot of difference energy wise to show black vs. white. Sites such as Techlogg and Infoworld used these numbers to demonstrate that the technique was ineffective.

In fact, this very argument proves that the technique works! The reason is that energy consumed by the LCD monitors is dwarfed by the massive savings from the other 25 percent of monitors, the power guzzling CRT monitors.

If you want, you can try this experiment to convince yourself of this fact.Get three lcd monitors and plug them into a power strip. Then get one CRT monitor, and plug that into the same power strip. Plug the power strip into your testing equipment, then plug that into the wall outlet. Now turn on all the machines and get them all connected to the Internet; show an all white screen on all of them, and take a reading from your test equipment. Now show an all black screen on all of them. Read your testing equipment again. You have two readings now, the second should be lower than the first.

For another explanation, read Pablo Paster's posting on the topic.

5. Great, so it works! Does it work on any site?
Answer: Yes, the energy saving principle will work on any site. Google is often referenced (they get over 500 million hours of use each year) but other good candidates would be Yahoo, MySpace, and YouTube. :: TriplePundit ::Infoworld

The Full Story on Black Google, Blackle, etc.

Here's a Wiki-esque post that covers the full story on Black Google, I'm working on the Wikipedia entry but it's taking some time.

History

In January 2007, Mark Ontkush, the owner of the ecoIron blog, suggested that a large amount of energy could be saved if Google switched their home page from white to black. The initial savings was estimated to be 3000 Megawatt-hours a year; this was later rounded down to 750 Megawatt-hours, after an error in the calculations was found. At the time, ecoIron was receiving about 100 hits per day. The story was posted on Digg where it rapidly went to #1 on the main page, ultimately receiving over 4,000 Diggs. Tony Heap, the owner of HeapMedia, started the Blackle site shortly after these events.

Appearance and Functionality

The Blackle site uses the Google search engine and works in much the same way; users enter text into the box provided, and the query is sent to the Google search engine. The searches both use the same searching algorithm and are executed on the same hardware. However, it has been suggested that the result lists might differ. Blackle uses light grey text on a black background; this is in lieu of the customary Google layout of blue, black, and green text on a white background. Since it is not owned by Google Inc., the Blackle site lacks many of the features of conventional Google, including the 'Cached' and 'Similar Pages' options, and it does not have as many of the corresponding links that can be found on the Google homepage. These links include items such as preferences, advanced search, language tools, images, groups, news and scholar. None of the Blackle links have a visited option, where once a link is followed it turns a different color. The iGoogle feature is also lacking in Blackle.

Energy Savings

The principle is based on the the fact that different colors consume different amounts of energy on computer monitors. Depending on the manufacturing technology, and to a lesser degree the brand of the manufacturer, these colors and energy levels vary. An explanation is provided below.

Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Monitors

A CRT monitor uses a cathode ray tube to display images. The back of the tube has a negatively charged cathode, and an electron gun shoots electrons down the tube and onto a charged screen. The screen is coated with a pattern of dots that glow when struck by the electron stream. Each cluster of three dots, one of each color, is one pixel. Certain colors, such as white, require all three dots to be charged, and are energy intensive to display. Other colors, such as black, requires no additional energy to produce and consume the least out of all the colors.

Therefore, power consumption for CRT monitors is primarily a function of the user's color settings and desktop graphics, and any given CRT monitor requires more power to display a light screen than a dark one. Other authors, such as Roberson et. al., have verified these results. The amount of energy saved from switching from white to black varies considerably on the size of the monitor. In a 2002 study, Roberson found that between 4 and 30W could be saved by switching from a white to a black screen. This translates into an 18 to 88% power savings per monitor. The US Department of Energy produced similar results, stating an average 15W savings per monitor. Several informal studies have also been done, with results ranging from a 7 to 23W reduction when using a black screen.

In the first quarter of 2006, Display Search, an industry reporting service, estimated that CRT monitors comprise 25.3% of all monitors in the world. There are substantial regional variations; for example, the report mentions that as of 2006, 45.3% of the monitors in China, and 62.8% in Latin America, were still CRTs.

Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) Monitors

A liquid crystal display (commonly abbreviated LCD) is a thin, flat display device. LCD monitor are suitable for many types of devices, including computer monitors and battery-powered electronic devices. Unlike CRT monitors, LCDs rely on a constant source of illumination, commonly known as a backlight. Backlights produce light in a manner similar to a CRT display, with the difference that the backlight is always on. Backlights can be any color; monochrome LCDs usually have yellow, green, blue or white backlights, while color displays use white backlights that cover most of the color spectrum.

A pixel in an LCD display typically consists of a layer of molecules aligned between two transparent electrodes. When a voltage is applied across the electrodes, a torque acts to align the liquid crystal molecules parallel to the electric field. This reduces the light shining through from the backlight, and the device appears gray. If the applied voltage is large enough, the liquid crystal molecules are completely untwisted; the results is that the backlight will then be completely blocked and the pixel will appear black. By controlling the voltage applied across the liquid crystal layer in each pixel, light can be allowed to pass through in varying amounts, correspondingly illuminating the pixel.

As such, LCD display technology is different from CRT technology, and the possibility exists that colors that are energy efficient to display on a CRT monitor (e.g. black) may not be as energy efficient to display on an LCD monitor. The Roberson study found that LCD monitors saved up to 3W by switching from a white to a black screen, and in no case did any of the LCD monitors use more energy displaying black than white. Recently, several informal studies have been done, with results ranging from a 2W reduction when displaying Blackle vs Google on an IBM Thinkvision LCD, to zero, up to a 1W increase.

Display Search estimated in Q12006 that LCD monitors have 74.7% penetration rate worldwide. Japan is the country with the highest rate; 99.3% of their monitors use LCD technology.

Plasma Displays

A plasma display panel (PDP) is a type of flat panel display commonly used for large TV displays, typically above 37" (940 mm). Many tiny cells located between two panels of glass hold an inert mixture of noble gases (neon, which are contained in hundreds of thousands of tiny cells positioned between two plates of glass. electrodes are sandwiched between the glass plates, in front of and behind the cells. Control circuitry charges the electrodes that cross paths at a cell, creating a voltage difference between front and back and causing the gas to ionize and form a plasma; as the gas ions rush to the electrodes and collide, photons are emitted. To erase a cell, all voltage is removed from a pair of electrodes.Every pixel is made up of three separate subpixel cells, each with different colored phosphors. One subpixel has a red light phosphor, one subpixel has a green light phosphor and one subpixel has a blue light phosphor. These colors blend together to create the overall color of the pixel. Plasma displays use the same phosphors as CRTs, and are bright, 1000 lux or higher being the norm.

Plasma displays use as much power per square meter as a CRT, and consumption varies greatly
depending on what is watched on it. Bright scenes (say a football game) will draw significantly more power than darker scenes (say a movie scene at night). Nominal measurements indicate 400 watts for a 50" screen.

Currently, plasma displays are not popular for computer monitors. However, since they operate similarly to CRT technology, the energy differentials are similar. A study conducted by G4TechTV using a Samsung 42" plasma display found a 191W differential for a white vs. black screen in normal mode, and a 138W differential in super energy savings mode. Plasma displays are particularly well suited for the large displays, outpacing other types of display technologies. However, recent improvements in LCD technology have contributed to falling prices, higher resolutions, and often lower electrical power consumption, making them very competitive against plasma displays.

As of late 2006, analysts note that LCDs are overtaking plasmas, particularly in the important 40" (1.0 m) and above segment where plasma had previously enjoyed strong dominance a couple of years before.

OLED

An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) is any light-emitting diode (LED) whose emissive electroluminescent layer comprises a film of organic compounds. The layer usually contains a polymerpixels can emit light of different colors. substance that allows suitable organic compounds to be deposited. They are deposited in rows and columns onto a flat carrier by a simple "printing" process. The resulting matrix of OLEDs are used in television screens and computer displays; a great benefitof OLED displays over traditional liquid crystal displays (LCDs) is that OLEDs do not require a backlight to function. Thus they draw far less power and, when powered from a battery, can operate longer on the same charge. No comprehensive studies have been conducted of a comparison a white vs. black screens, but due to the nature of their construction, it is probable that displaying white
consumes more energy than black on a OLED device.

Effectiveness

The effectiveness of using the 'black web' technique to save energy is a subject of intense debate, much of which centers on the pros and cons of a specific implementation, and the scale at which the approach is implemented. Other discussions are focused on the amount of energy saved, both individually and collectively, and the trade-offs involved in implementing a solution of this type. A summary of the different approaches is provided below.

Governmental/Corporate Policy

One approach is to modify a color scheme of incoming web traffic at a high level, such as the corporate or country level. In this case, an entity with a large number of CRT monitors might intervene on their users' behalf to convert the color codes as they travel through the network, thereby producing a uniform color scheme for the entity as a whole. To date, there have been no reported implementations of this strategy. However, countries such as China or Brazil, who demonstrably have a large number of CRT monitors could save significant energy.

Single Site

This approach relies on a particular web site to change their primary color scheme; the net energy savings or loss can then be calculated by estimating four parameters:

• The amount of traffic the site gets.
• How long a visitor remains on that site.
• Percentage split of CRT/LCD monitors in worldwide use.
• The differential of how much energy is drawn by each monitor type in each color state.

Any site can be used; Google is often cited due to the sheer amount of traffic the site receives, but other sites such as Yahoo, MySpace, or YouTube could be analyzed as well. Ontkush took this approach in the original post, and used Google as an example. He used the following parameters:

• 200 million queries/day.
• 10 seconds/query.
• Monitor split of 25% CRT, 75% LCD.
• CRTs received a 15W differential from white to black,
  LCDs received no differential.

Using these parameters resulted in a net energy savings of 750 megawatt-hours per year.

Much of the controversy in using the this approach revolves around modifying one of more of the parameters, particularly the energy differentials and CRT/LCD ratio. However, even using generous, apocryphal numbers for these parameters still results in a net energy savings. For example, if one assumes a 10% CRT, 90% LCD ratio, and substitutes a 10W differential for CRTs and a -1W differential for LCDs, implementing the technique still saves energy; the large energy differential for CRTs overwhelms their market share. This, when multiplied by a tremendous amount of display time, produces the savings.

In July 2007, the Financial Times reported that, according to the Nielsen/NetRatings for May, users spent 2,557,000,000 minutes on Google websites; this translates into 511,400,000 hours of Google website use per year. The monthly figures for Yahoo (746M) , MySpace (7,535M), and YouTube
(2,117M) are comparable.

Using a Proxy Site

Another approach is to use a third party site to implement some functionality of an existing site, and then use an alternative color scheme. This is the approach used by Blackle and similar sites to mimic
the Google site. In this case, users must deliberately use the alternative site instead of Google's home page.

Using this approach, the savings in energy is directly related to the type of monitor that the individual is using at the time, and how often they frequent the site. As indicated, if one is using a CRT, Plasma, or OLED monitor, energy savings will certainly be accrued. However, for LCD monitors the results are not so clear; studies have shown that LCD monitors either save or use a small amount of energy displaying a black page as compared to a white one, so the energy savings would
be much smaller or, worse, the monitor could use more energy on the modified site.

Individual Efforts

A third approach is to use a script or browser option to alter the color scheme for some or all the pages one views. Again, this approach requires user intervention, and is subject to the type of monitor that the individual is using to view the pages. The advantage to this approach is that significant energy savings can be realized, as all incoming web traffic is converted to a low-energy format. There are several alternatives depending on the browser and/or operating system in use.

Firefox
Users of the Firefox web browser can install a GreaseMonkey script called Google Dark which will automatically reverse their color scheme when visiting the authentic Google site. For a more generic approach, one can go to 'Tools > Options > Content > Fonts & Colours > Colours' in Firefox and change the default color background and text to any desired color; users who implement this option should uncheck the box that says "Allow pages to choose their own colors, instead of my selections above".

Internet Explorer

In Internet Explorer, go to 'Tools > Internet Options > General > Appearance > Colors' to alter your personal color scheme. You will also need to go to 'Tools > Internet Options > General > Appearance > Accessibility' to override the default color options on the pages that you visit.

Criticisms

There has been both praise and criticism for this initiative, with its supporters citing it as a great example of environmental thinking, and its detractors pointing out usability and aesthetic problems, as well as questions about the scientific validity of the claims. Some of the issues are listed below.

• Since the technique is most effective on CRT monitors, some proxy sites have been criticized for not mentioning this fact. In particular, the Blackle site has been heavily criticized, as it is probable that they are generating an substantial Adsense revenue stream from implementing the concept.
• CRT monitors are being phased out; about 75% of monitors in active use worldwide are LCDs. Additionally, countries with a high percentage of CRT are replacing them rapidly; for example, Display Search projects that only 18% of the monitors in China will be CRTs by the end of 2007. Therefore, although the technique would be effective for a limited period, it is questionable whether the disruption
  would be beneficial.
• CRTs are generally darker than LCDs, and the text on many of the proxy sites is barely readable on monitors of this type. For example, Blackle uses a small grey font on an all black background. It is possible that these 'all black' proxy sites are only usable on LCD screens, and this would
  negate the energy savings.
• Proxy sites cannot handle the heavy load that high volume sites are accustomed to. For example, on August 1st, 2007 and several prior occasions, the Blackle web server was producing intermittent error messages for extended periods of time.

Alternative sites

• Darkoogle, uses a black background with green text.
• Earthle
• GreenerGle
• Greygle, uses a grey background.
• Google Black, is a website hosted by the Google-owned blogspot, however the search results are not in black.
• Jabago, uses a black background and allows for searching in many languages.
• Ninja
• Power Google
• Searchincolor.com, an older site that supports Google colored searches since its onset. The default color is black.
• Trek Black

The Black Web; a Model for Climate Change

Of course, I have been following the black Google thing religiously the last few days. Some think it's great. Some still think it doesn't save any energy, even testing their monitor and proving the theory with an n of 1. And there are some pushbackers, as if mandating the viewing of black web pages is akin to sawing off their left arm. Good thing I didn't propose that China or Brazil, both countries with a lot of CRT monitors, mandate that all web traffic be black... oops!

A bright light is this post from Rory Spangler which confirmed my own thoughts - Blackle and its ilk are the Prius of search. Basically, it's great but it's just not cool. And there's no legroom. It reminded me of something Richard Stallman said about free software when I interviewed him; I quote:

Rms: So this shows how people take flimsy invalid excuses and stretch them to excuse doing what they want to be doing (because it's the usual way or whatever). It's a common practice when using non-free software, and that's our biggest obstacle: social inertia.

So how do we overcome social inertia?

Well the first step is to recognize it, and to show how is not valid. People want to give into social inertia because it's easy. But they don't want to say, "I want to do the wrong thing because it’s easier for me to do the wrong thing." So they exaggerate - they say doing the right thing is simply impossible. Impossible they say. Intolerable. It's always a matter of exaggeration, often several steps of exaggeration in series. So whenever I hear that, I start pointing out why it’s fallacious.

I'm not bashing Rory (or anyone else) here, I think what he said is spot. But it seems to be that solving the Internet energy problem by implementing the black web is very similar to trying to solve the bad gas, climate change problem; everyone knows what to do, they just don't want to do it. Solve the web energy problem, and we will be well on our way to solving the climate change problem.

Facts and Fallacies on Black Google

I can see from my hit counter that Black Google is making the rounds again. It's interesting; this is the third time the Black Google wave has crashed over the world. Since some of the facts get tangled every time, I thought I would do a little Q&A on the topic.

Q: Are the calculations in the original post correct?
A: Yes, the calculations are correct, Black Google would save 750 MWh a year. Thousands of people have reviewed the calculations - they are right.

Q: But some sites are reporting a 3000 MWh savings...
A: The original calculations were not correct because I assumed that the power savings was for every monitor, and in fact this is not true. This is a viral mistruth, probably caused by the fact that the original link still has '3000' in it. 750 is the number.

Q: You are talking about the LCD monitors right? They have a backlight that is always on, and use the same amount of energy or even a little more to show black. You have to exclude them from the calculations.
A: That is correct, using Black Google makes little or no difference when you have a LCD monitor. This was set straight almost immediately, but there are still tons of postings and comments on this issue. It's has been common knowledge for months. The 750MWh number reflects this fact; Black Google still saves energy.

Q: So, in a year or two the whole thing will be pointless because CRTs are going away.
A: They are being replaced, but as of 2006 25% of all the monitors in the world are still CRTs, and that number goes up for China (50 percent) and South America (75 percent). Also, there are new technologies such as plasma and OLED where white costs money - these technologies are on the rise so we will be right back in the same boat. And there are handheld devices as well, battery operated where power is a bigger deal.

Q: So, 750MWh is the right number?
A: No, it's higher now! Pablo Paster did some recent calculations and the savings is up to a conservative 1500 MWh. The reason is that Google is getting more traffic, and that he counted page hits while I just counted queries.

Q: So Google took your advice and created Blackle? Good for them!
A: No, Blackle is an independent site runs by HeapMedia. There are quite a few out there now, including Earthle, Greygle, GreenerGle, one at blogspot, Ninja, Trek Black, Spanish Black Google, and German Black Google. But my all time favorite is the guy who made the mega site of bible studies based on a misspelling of one of these engines.

Q: It hurts my eyes to use Black Google - white on black is the most natural.
A: The white on black palette was probably just adopted from the paper printing world, and there have been several studies (many from the 80s) on what the best color scheme is. I've heard white on grey, green on yellow, white on green, green on black, amber on black, and white on black. I think the jury is still out.

Q: Why doesn't every big site adopt a black blackground - MSN, Yahoo, Amazon, etc.?
A: Why doesn't every big site do this?

Something Biggus This Way Comes

A short post to inform all the commenters that said I should redesign my site, that I am, in fact, going to redesign my site. I'm not giving it away, but here's a hint.

Mail Bag

I got hundreds of comments on the "Black Google" post. First, thanks for posting. I'm sorry I couldn't get back to every person individually.

The comments ranged from the thoughtful and the funny to the sublime and bitter. Many gave advice on how to fix the numbers so that they were more accurate, which was obviously needed, thanks. Some were adamant on the idiocy of the whole concept, repeatedly posting their message multiple times on multiple forums (see Tireless Rebutter for an explanation of the meme.). Others thought it had something to do with the racial disposition of the Google staff, and at least one person proposed "Black Google" for the title of the next Quentin Tarantino movie. If that happens, I want a cut.

The ones I liked best were those that took the idea and ran with it - the two guys who actually did some testing; the one who proposed some alternative color schemes using navy, maroon, and green, which only use one more watt than black; the stylish extension for Firefox; the guy who ran right out and made the interface, the guy who made a religious site based on a misspelling on the previous interface. Ha ha, all very clever.

Many people tried to justify the white background in a variety of ways, some valid, some questionable, and some just weird. One guy said he regularly worked with all the lights off and used the white screen to light the room. Many thought that the black screen would be depressing to users, or ugly, and a few justified it because the heat generated warmed the room! I didn't know Google, the monitor makers, or the planet were particularly interested in the heating business at this point in time. Some thought that turning off your monitor and 'taking cold showers' were better ways to save energy, suggesting that somehow the amount of energy one could save was finite in nature.

Finally, there were lots of mathematicians out there who shovelled out facts and figures, many of which were no better than my first estimate e.g. 95 percent of all monitors out there are LCDs, Google would lose half their business going to a black screen, making the switch would only save .00001 % of the US energy consumption. Of the ones that were valid, most concluded that it was a waste of time, that a few hundred thousand dollars was nothing. I guess I can only respond by saying that I'm sorry I'm working outside your framework for change; would you prefer gas rationing, and the worldwide riots that will come with it? Personally, I like society pretty much as it is, more or less; I wish something would match my socks up when they come out of the laundry, but I realize we have to change a few things. And if we reject spending a few days pondering a simple change that will save .00001 % of the energy in America, maybe a lot more, then I'm wondering what we are going to consider. Because doing nothing will end up in violence.

The Last Piece

I think we have it. DisplaySearch has a table on LCD monitor penetration rates by region, which we can use to adjust our "Black Google" number. The table is interesting in itself, indicating over 99 percent LCD penetration in Japan, and only 37.2 percent in Latin America. Worldwide, as of first quarter 2006, they estimate LCD penetration at 74.7 percent.

Therefore, making the same assumptions as before, we can reduce the original 3000 Megawatt-hours to about 750 Megawatt-hours for "Black Google". Check out Alexa's Global 500 for a hint on how much juice could be saved; Yahoo, for instance, serves up 3.4 billion (mostly white) page views a day. Or Qq, the Chinese instant messaging service, with 9 million users using their (mostly white) interface at any given time.