Esse, of Something: 2006/03

2006/03/24

2006/03/19

兩個好用的免費字典軟體

眼博士當然是好用啦，不過老是用破解版似乎也不是辦法，這裡介紹兩個 open source 的字典，分別是單機版跟網路版的，各有好處。

1. StarDict

Linux users 應該不陌生，可以跟眼博士媲美的軟體，同樣有即時翻譯的功能。

安裝步驟：

首先需要 GTK+ runtime for windows，然後下載主程式安裝之後，另外要下載［字典檔］，解壓縮放在特定資料夾內，下載越多種字典，查單字時得到的解釋就越多。這些檔案都可以在官方網頁找到。

不過，個人認為這個軟體有個致命的缺點，那就是，為什麼中文名字要叫做「星際譯王」！~>_<~

建議下載 GTK+ runtime for windows 時，不要選繁體中文版，眼不見為淨........

2. MrclDict

也是 Linux 上常用軟體，需要網路連線，為 MIT dictionary server 的 client 端。純粹的英英字典，但是可以查到很多專有名詞，也不太佔硬碟空間。

2006/03/07

Endless Energy Is Harvesting's Promise

Endless Energy Is Harvesting's Promise
EE Times (02/27/06)No. 1412, P. 1; Brown, Chappell

Energy harvesting, the technique of gleaning power from extreme environments, has begun to attract the interest of commercial developers for the potential it offers for creating self-sustaining electronic systems, weaning the consumer electronics industry away from its dependence on the battery. Energy can be drawn from the environment from vibration, strain, inertia, and magnetism, as well as heat and light. For instance, strain and vibration can translate directly into electricity through the application of piezoelectric materials. Replacing batteries is a lofty goal, and researchers have yet to produce a device that rivals its low cost and reliability. Dust Networks founder and CTO Kris Pister sees the convergence of sensing, computation, and power following the pace of Moore's Law and eventually scaling down to a theoretical zero in size. While at the University of California, Berkeley, Pister focused on reducing the power consumption of circuits, and has turned his attention to software since founding Dust Networks. Pister sees economic potential in energy harvesting techniques, such as photovoltaic cells, that could extend the life of the battery, rather than attempting to replace it altogether. Photovoltaics is the most advanced energy harvesting technique, and has the advantages of low cost and abundant availability. In addition to photovoltaic technologies, MicroStrain is developing piezoelectric materials to monitor the structural integrity of a building through the use of strain sensors. "At the end of the day, wireless networks will always be hampered by the need to change batteries," said MicroStrain's Michael Robinson. "Harvesting energy is the only way to avoid that." The implementation of energy harvesting techniques is predicated on the low-power design of electronics, which is beginning to appear, particularly in microprocessors. Leakage remains a central problem for new parallel architectures, however, posing a critical challenge to semiconductor designers.
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