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Microsoft patented the way to power these data centers using tidal energy in ocean itself. They patented in 2017. http://www.whatafuture.com/microsoft-underwat

Microsoft patented the way to power these data centers using tidal energy in ocean itself. They patented in 2017. http://www.whatafuture.com/microsoft-underwater-data-centers/ http://www.whatafuture.com/microsoft-underwater-data-centers...

lscotte 6y ago
"All of Orkney's electricity comes from wind and solar power"
- ehsankia 6y ago
  If they patented it in 2017, I'm guessing it probably didn't make it in to this one, but the assumption is that the next version may have that technology.
  - HenryBemis 6y ago
    That's a good enough reason to pull it out, replace/upgrade the equip, and drop it back in with the new setup (new sources of energy), and if they get the whole thing to transmit wireless-ly with a 1% failures per 2 years (8 out of the 855 servers) then it's a truly set-and-forget thing. And they can be bringing them up every 2-5-10 years to replace/upgrade the HW and drop it back in.
    - manderley 6y ago
      If that was the reason, we'd know about it from the PR release. This must have been a failure.
      - donkeyhot 6y ago
        It’s amazing how quickly one gets downvoted for criticizing M$. But the point was legit. Whenever M$ does something it thinks is good you would hear about that. Remember how WSL was touted as a perfect solution for all your Linux needs? And then WSL2 was touted even louder? They had to forgo WSL and start again with a completely different approach because WSL never really worked well. How many bad things have you heard about WSL? None?
    - entropicdrifter 6y ago
      One would imagine that the signal to noise ratio for wireless data transmission in the ocean would be pretty abysmal. That said, there's no reason why they couldn't just run a fiber optic cable out from it, as long as it's designed to rotate around said cable.
      - HenryBemis 6y ago
        I thought of the cable solution, but that would have some wear and tear if the capsule gets to move around. I was imagining a periscope-y antenna, in the form of a buoy.
        theelous3 6y ago
        Short range high power wireless to cable. Basically cable but with a wear buffer.
    - Cerium 6y ago
      It would need an antenna buoy as wireless does not transmit well in salt water.
    - eru 6y ago
      Microsoft probably has enough money that they could leave the original one in, and pop down a new one with the new green energy. (Of course, individual projects still have finite budgets.)
      - cutemonster 6y ago
        Building a new one would take more time
        eru 6y ago
        Yes, but they can build multiple in parallel.
      - pvaldes 6y ago
        I assume that the project approved by the UK government specifies some requirements about environment protection and the fate of the material.

lscotte 6y ago

"All of Orkney's electricity comes from wind and solar power"

ehsankia 6y ago
If they patented it in 2017, I'm guessing it probably didn't make it in to this one, but the assumption is that the next version may have that technology.
- HenryBemis 6y ago
  That's a good enough reason to pull it out, replace/upgrade the equip, and drop it back in with the new setup (new sources of energy), and if they get the whole thing to transmit wireless-ly with a 1% failures per 2 years (8 out of the 855 servers) then it's a truly set-and-forget thing. And they can be bringing them up every 2-5-10 years to replace/upgrade the HW and drop it back in.
  - manderley 6y ago
    If that was the reason, we'd know about it from the PR release. This must have been a failure.
    - donkeyhot 6y ago
      It’s amazing how quickly one gets downvoted for criticizing M$. But the point was legit. Whenever M$ does something it thinks is good you would hear about that. Remember how WSL was touted as a perfect solution for all your Linux needs? And then WSL2 was touted even louder? They had to forgo WSL and start again with a completely different approach because WSL never really worked well. How many bad things have you heard about WSL? None?
  - entropicdrifter 6y ago
    One would imagine that the signal to noise ratio for wireless data transmission in the ocean would be pretty abysmal. That said, there's no reason why they couldn't just run a fiber optic cable out from it, as long as it's designed to rotate around said cable.
    - HenryBemis 6y ago
      I thought of the cable solution, but that would have some wear and tear if the capsule gets to move around. I was imagining a periscope-y antenna, in the form of a buoy.
      - theelous3 6y ago
        Short range high power wireless to cable. Basically cable but with a wear buffer.
  - Cerium 6y ago
    It would need an antenna buoy as wireless does not transmit well in salt water.
  - eru 6y ago
    Microsoft probably has enough money that they could leave the original one in, and pop down a new one with the new green energy. (Of course, individual projects still have finite budgets.)
    - cutemonster 6y ago
      Building a new one would take more time
      - eru 6y ago
        Yes, but they can build multiple in parallel.
    - pvaldes 6y ago
      I assume that the project approved by the UK government specifies some requirements about environment protection and the fate of the material.