2009/05/16

New technology could instantly wake shut-down laptops 新科技能即刻喚醒關機筆電

◎陳成良

Researchers have developed a technology that could allow laptops to wake up instantly from a shut-down state without draining battery life the way sleep states do.

研究人員已開發出一種科技,能讓筆電從關機狀態中立即甦醒,而且不像休眠狀態般會流失電池壽命。

University researchers have built ferroelectric material -- commonly found on smartcards -- on silicon, which could allow certain transistors to retain information after power is shut off. Scientists from Pennsylvania State University, Cornell University and Northwestern University are involved in the research.

大學研究人員已把智慧卡上常見的鐵電物質建立在矽之上,如此可讓特定電晶體在電源關閉後保留資訊。賓州州立大學、康乃爾大學及西北大學的科學家參與這項研究。

The new findings could save users time by instantly booting laptops to their state when they were shut down. For example, a transistor in the laptop will be able to retain the state of a Word document on shutdown, and instantly reload the same state on reboot.

這些新發現可讓筆電立即開機並恢復到關機時的狀態,節省使用者時間。舉例來說,筆電中一個電晶體將可保留一個Word文件在關機時的狀態,然後在重新開機時立即重新載入相同狀態。

Quick-boot capabilities are enabled in laptops and most mobile devices, but many are unable to recreate shutdown states. Laptops usually never reboot back to their shutdown state, unless they are in sleep mode, which drains battery power. In essence, ferroelectric materials could wake up laptops from sleep mode, but without drawing any battery power.

筆電及大多數行動裝置都具備快速開機功能,但許多都無法重現關機狀態。筆電重新開機後,通常不會回到它們在關機時的狀態,除非處於休眠模式,而這種模式會流失電池電力。大體上,鐵電物質可以讓筆電從休眠模式中甦醒,而不會消耗任何電池電力。

新聞辭典

drain: 動詞,(土地)排水,(資源等)逐漸枯竭。drain也可當名詞,brain drain字面意思是腦力枯竭,也就是指「人才外流」。 例句:The nation’s economic downturn may help reverse ’brain drain’ in W.Va.(美國的經濟衰退或許能逆轉西維吉尼亞州人才外流的情況。)

retain︰動詞,保有;留住;記住。例句:She retains an appearance of youth. (她保有年輕的外貌。)

in essence:片語,在本質上;大體上。名詞essence是指本質、要素。例句:The essence of language is communication. (語言的本質是溝通。)

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