ThinkVantage Power Manager
Lenovo ThinkVantage Power Manager is a software that efficiently manages PC power consumption. Using it can contribute to saving on electricity. With the hope that more of our customers will use the recently added "Peak Shift" function, we have interviewed the lead developer. First, however, here is a brief explanation of the electric power situation in Japan. Many nuclear and thermal power stations suffered severe damage as a result of the recent Tohoku Earthquake. Across a broad area, including Tokyo, it is difficult to maintain a steady supply of power and this has resulted in planned rolling blackouts. Now terminating blackouts, but the problem that remains is power consumption during peak hours. Predictions for power shortages in mid-summer are as high as 10 million kW per day and this will likely result in even more stringent demands for reductions in power consumption. The settings screen for the peak shift schedule - What is the Peak Shift function included in ThinkVantage Power Manager? Imai: The Peak Shift function uses power during the times that are off-peak hours for your service. Using the Peak Shift function in the ThinkVantage Power Manager allows you to automatically avoid the peak hours for power demand and rates. It is possible to easily and freely set the schedule for powering the PC using the battery or the AC adapter. This is the 4th generation of the Peak Shift function. The basic concept remains the same as it was in...
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ThinkPad T520 and ThinkPad T420 The ThinkPad T420/T520 were recently debuted. It seems as though there are new terms introduced in the PC industry all the time. Today, we would like to tell you about Optimus, which is being used in the T420/T520. We will also introduce the progress made in the T420/T520 in the area of graphics over the previous T410/T510 models. Let's begin with a little bit of useful knowledge about graphics. Notebook PC graphics can be divided into three general categories. These three categories include integrated graphics, which use the CPU on-board graphics function for arithmetic operation and display (referred to as iGPU), discrete graphics, which use a dedicated chip for arithmetic operation and display (referred to as (dGPU) and Optimus, which uses switchable graphics to provide the benefits of both of the other categories. dGPU offers a high capacity for arithmetic operations, but also consumes more power. iGPU is the opposite, consuming less power but offering a relatively lower capacity for arithmetic operations. An iGPU is sufficient for the majority of office applications such as writing documents and checking e-mail. It is possible to greatly reduce power consumption by only using the dGPU when necessary and using an iGPU for the other tasks. This is a very attractive design for a notebook PC that seeks to achieve reduced power consumption while offering a level of performance that will not cause stress for users. Let's...
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TrackPoint Cap-"PRAY FOR JAPAN" version Pray for JAPAN: Messages from the WorldPray for JAPAN: Images from the World
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All our employees at Lenovo Japan and Yamato Labs in Minato Mirai are safe and accounted for. However the disaster in the Northeast Tohoku region is catastrophic. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. We hope for their speedy recovery. We are facing this very tough time, but we are keeping our minds steady and keeping our spirits up.
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- Now let's talk about the challenges you faced. So, how was it? Kaneko: Just talking for myself I will need at least 5 hours, so let me give you the short version. (LOL) Let's begin with Ms. Kimura. Kimura: Sure. Well, it was a painstaking process. Points 1 and 2 that I mentioned earlier were things that we had basically been doing already in the previous version. Because this time we were being more aggressive, we declared from the beginning of development that, "if performance isn't improved, that is also a bug." If a software engineer hears "bug", they immediately think "there is a problem here". It is normal to tune up the machine after the problem is solved, but to expect performance from the very beginning... That is how it was. - I see what you mean. The same thing happens with hardware. How were you able to change attitudes? Kimura: We needed the cooperation of not only the people at the Yamato Office, but also help from the Lenovo development teams around the world and of course also from external parties like Microsoft, Intel, AMD and ODM, etc. We had to get a lot of people on board. It was a process of "... seconds improved performance!" repeated over and over again. The development sites of Lenovo and partner companies - So would you say that EE 2.0 was strengthened by the addition of the new RapidBoot technology? Itoh: Yes. Because Ms. Kimura's work was so successful, the effects of RapidBoot itself did not look as...
