Seattle software house Verdiem today released, with Microsoft's blessing, Edison, free power management software for Windows XP and Vista machines. Both companies are members of the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, don't forget.

No strangers to developing "green" software, Verdiem is also the maker of Surveyor, which gives IT folks the ability to centrally manage PC power settings enterprise-wide for drastic power savings.

In all, Edison is a snap to use. After a 27 MB download, a brief install, and a registration process (my only knock against it), the software uses a slick, easy-as-pie interface to help users not only tweak their power settings but also calculate energy savings.

You can also configure the power cost if you're privy to the exact rates you pay (my default was 0.089) as well as set a work versus non-work schedule to maximize your savings. Be warned, though, Edison can't calculate the energy and CO2 savings if you delve deeper and apply your own super-custom settings.

In all, if I were to set the slider right in the middle (display off 20 min, hard drive off 20 min and suspend 1 hr) this little machine would cost me roughly $30 less to operate a year and generate 470 fewer pounds of CO2 during the same time. Sure you can tweak your own settings, but this little utility offers a lot more manageability for the average user with very little downside, except for the 40MB hit to your RAM and neglible CPU usage.

You can catch the promotional video released by the company if you click to "read more"...