ＬＥＤ照明器具

「ＡＫＡＲＩ－ＬＥＤｓダウンライトシリーズ」の効率重視・昼白色相当タイプ。器具総合効率は１ワット当たり５６ルーメン。消費電力は７．６ワット。４万 時間の長寿命。埋め込み穴の直径は８５ミリメートルで、器具の高さを７０ミリメートルに抑えたコンパクトでスマートな形状を採用。本体価格２万３５００ 円。演色性重視・電球色相当タイプなどとともに２２日発売。

高油價，在家工作成趨勢

在高油價時代，愈來愈多人選擇「在家工作」，
不僅能夠節能、省時、省錢，還能提高工作效率，已成為一種新趨勢。

全球油價在短短一年內飇漲，6月中最新價格為每桶（約159公升）139.94美元，分析師估計，7月中的暑假旺季將可能高達每桶150美元。對於每天必須開車通勤的上班族而言，又是一個沉重的負擔。

根據美國《財星》雜誌（FORTUNE）的報導，美國通勤族每天上班平均開30英里（約48公里），如果以現在北加州1加侖（約3.78公升）4.67美元來計算，每個月上百美元的開支絕對跑不掉。

這個時候，如果可以在家工作，可幸福得多了。

韋博（Frank Weber）是總部在矽谷的昇陽科技（Sun Micro Systems）工程師，每週有兩到三天的時間會在家工作。由於油價高漲，他決定放棄公司的辦公室，在家上班，公司會補助通訊費用。

同樣在矽谷的思科（Cisco）工程師Jeffrey Chang，每週大約有一到兩天在家工作。他家離辦公室不算太遠，但是來回路程也得花上20多英里（超過32公里）。在家工作時，他使用視訊會議（Video Conference），也用即時通訊（Instant Message）和同事聯絡，在家或是在辦公室工作沒什麼不同。有時進公司，可能只是因為中午和同事約好吃飯。不過他表示，最近因為油價的關係，比較常在家工作。

Green Energy from China

China is playing catch up in generating and distributing green energy, as part of the effort in confront to pollution problem and energy shortage arround the globe. Please read the following articles.

Green Energy in China

Top Tips to Extend Your Laptop Battery Life

You seasoned techies are no doubt thinking, “Another article on how to get more life from your laptop battery. Big deal. I already know how to do that.” Well, Mr. or Ms. Techie, I scoff at your hubris. There’s still plenty to learn when it comes to getting more juice from a charge and extending your battery’s overall life.

So, yes, there are tips that most of us know:

1. Dim your screen.
2. Minimize background processes.
3. Don’t use the CD/DVD drive.
4. Disable your wireless antenna when not in use.

But there’s still a lot you may not know about battery technology and the things that both help and hinder your laptop’s juicebox.

Getting More Minutes per Charge

You can fiddle with background processes and other software settings all you want, but your hardware is the biggest factor in battery life, according to PC Mag’s lead analyst for laptops, Cisco Cheng. In fact, software such as power-management utilities can help minimize the impact internal components have on battery longevity. Knowing this can affect your buying decision if you’re looking for a new laptop (see the “Picking a Laptop for Maximum Battery Life” section below) or help you get the most out of the trusty laptop you’ve got. Here are a few ways to optimize hardware for maximum battery output.

1. Turn off ports. Disabling unused ports and components, such as VGA, Ethernet, PCMCIA, USB, and yes, your wireless, too. You can do this through the Device Manager or by configuring a separate hardware profile (see next step).
2. Create Power-Saving Hardware Profiles. Configure your laptop for the various scenarios in which you use it (on a plane, at the coffee shop, at the office, and so on). You can do this through the Hardware Profiles menu by right-clicking on My Computer and selecting Preferences or by using a freeware utility such as SparkleXP (for Windows XP users).
3. Configure your display to turn off when not in use. This is different from just using a screensaver, because in many cases a screensaver still requires the display’s backlight to be on. You can set the interval to turn the display off in Windows’ Power Options—found in the Control Panel.

Extending the Overall Life

The easiest way to give your battery an early death is to damage it. And the two most common causes of damage are from overheating and overloading. Here’s how you prevent overheating:

1. Use a cooling pad when using a notebook computer on your lap.
2. Avoid propping your laptop on a pillow, blanket, or other soft surface that can heat up.
3. Clean your desk. It sounds strange, but if you have a dusty, dirty desk, that dust will get into the vents and clog the cooling fan. Once the dust is inside your laptop, it is much harder to remove. You can try blasting it out with canned air, but you run the risk of damaging internal components. You can also remove the vent and clean out the grit, but remember that taking apart your laptop can void the warranty. So clean your desk at least once a week, if not daily.
4. Never store your laptop in a place where the air temperature exceeds 80 degrees Fahrenheit, such as a hot car or an outdoor patio.
5. Consider taking your battery out when using your laptop plugged into AC power. Just make sure to keep the contacts clean. If you need to clean them, use rubbing alcohol.
6. For lithium ion batteries, you do not need to discharge them fully and recharge constantly. Since they don’t have the same “memory” as older nickel-metal hydride batteries, it is actually better to discharge a lithium ion only partially before recharging. You need to do a full discharge only about every 30 charges.

Overloading a battery occurs when you use an AC adapter that has a higher wattage than that specified on the laptop (and battery), or if the circuitry of the laptop consistently overcharges the battery. If you’re using a replacement or spare adapter, make sure the wattage matches your laptop’s within the specified voltage range. In the worst-case scenario, overloading can also damage your motherboard.

Picking a Laptop for Maximum Battery Life

If you’re in the market for a new laptop, there are features and components you should consider to get the most mileage from the system’s battery.

1. An ultra-low-voltage processor, such as the Intel Penryn or one from VIA’s line of ULV processors.
2. A solid-state storage drive, which requires less power and, since there are no spinning parts, will suffer less wear and tear than a traditional hard drive.
3. An LED display. Although pricey, LEDs use much less power than LCD.
4. A smaller screen. A smaller screen means a smaller backlight, which will also save on battery drain.

According to Andrew Bradner, product line manager for APC, all lithium ion batteries are not created equal. The proof is in the pudding, or in this case the chemistry. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to discern if the battery you’re buying was manufactured in a top-notch facility using high-quality materials. And making that call is not as easy as assuming your laptop manufacturer’s battery will be of better quality than a battery from a third-party vendor. But you can stick to a couple of key guidelines.

1. Don’t skimp on your battery. If you choose the lowest-cost battery you’ll probably get a battery that degrades quickly, and you’ll end up buying a replacement too soon anyway. So spend the money now to save expense and frustration down the road.
2. Don’t buy an expired battery. A good indicator of a battery’s performance is how far into its product life it is, whether it’s used or new. If possible, look at the bottom of the battery and find the manufacture date.

Toyota plans Prius with solar panels

Toyota plans to install solar panels on the roof of the next generation of Prius hybrid cars, according to a report in Monday’s edition of the Nikkei newspaper.

The panels, which are expected to begin appearing on the high-end version of the gasoline-hybrid car as early as next spring, will supply part of the two to five kilowatts needed to power the air conditioning, MarketWatch cited the Japanese business daily as reporting. Kyocera will reportedly supply the panels.

The move would make Toyota the first major automaker to incorporate a solar-power generation system into a mass-produced car.

Prius was introduced in 1997 and has since sold more than 1 million vehicles worldwide. The car was redesigned in 2003, and a third generation has been widely expected to appear soon.

Seven Power-Saving Tips

1. Dial down your screen brightness. The brighter your screen, the more power it uses.

2. Turn off your system completely at the end of the day, instead of putting it in sleep mode.

3. If you (still) have a CRT, consider upgrading to an LCD. An LCD uses about 1/3 of the power (and causes less eyestrain to boot).

4. Forgo the screen saver. Most monitors no longer are in danger of having images burned into them, and screen savers actually use up monitor power.

5. If you’ll be away from your computer or other devices for a long period of time (say, while on vacation), consider unplugging them completely.

6. Look for the Energy Star certification when purchasing new computer systems or elec-tronic devices.

7. Enable any power-saving features on your computers, monitors, and peripherals such as printers.