圣誕老人的五大高科技神器

為了更好地完成在平安夜派送禮物的偉大任務，圣誕老人決定買一些高科技玩意兒武裝一下自己，畢竟與時俱進才是王道嘛。你會建議他買些什么呢？

Every year， the North American Aerospace Defense Command （NORAD） tracks Santa Claus' location on Christmas Eve， to the delight of millions who visit the military's website that night. If a high-tech military operation can track Santa， couldn't technology also give the jolly2） old elf a hand in finishing his rounds3）？ After all， Santa isn't getting any younger， and Christmas Eve isn't getting any longer. So what should be on Santa's wish list this year to help him guide his sleigh4） from the North Pole and get presents to all the good girls and boys of the world？ Here are a few suggestions.

1. A 3D Printer

Manufacturing is a tough business， what with5） outsourcing6）， supply problems， and the cost of labor. Perhaps Santa's elves could stay competitive if they caught up with the 3D-printing craze7）. Desktop 3D printers for home use are just coming on the market， and they're capable of turning digital instructions into 3D gizmos8）. Santa and his elves could even move beyond plastic as a material with a new， open-source 3D metal printer.

2. An Updated Naughty/Nice List

Parchment9） and paper are so 20th century. Santa needs something a bit snazzier10）—perhaps a tablet11）？ LAPTOP magazine's Avram Piltch suggests Samsung's Galaxy Note 10.1. It comes with a pen and note-taking applications， so Santa won't have to take off his gloves to swipe at the screen （nor will he have to worry about tablet typing with chubby12） fingers）. The tablet allows users to open two apps at once， so Santa can keep his naughty/nice list open while consulting Google Maps for directions to his next stop.

3. High-tech Gloves

Santa's white gloves provide a nice contrast to his bright-red suit， but they won't do for the tablet era. Who wants to have to take off their gloves to use a touch screen or open an app？ Dutch designer label Mujjo sells a line of touch-screen gloves that register13） on smartphones and tablet screens just fine. There are even double-layered gloves for chilly climates like the North Pole， and the gloves are super-stretchy14）， so the aforementioned chubby fingers shouldn't be an issue. These gloves would ensure that if Santa were to drop his stylus15） from the sleigh midair， he'd still be able to access his list and directions.

4. GPS Capabilities

Rudolph， with his red nose so bright16）， may do just fine at keeping Santa's sleigh on course. But a little backup couldn't hurt. Santa needs to take advantage of the global positioning system （GPS）.endprint

GPS has been around since 1995 and is now so ubiquitous17） in phones and cars as to be taken for granted. Originally a military project， GPS uses satellites positioned in orbit that transmit18） periodic19） messages with the time and their location to Earth. GPS receivers on the planet's surface capture and triangulate20） these space-based messages in order to pinpoint21） a location.

An emerging line of GPS trackers can even help Mrs. Claus keep an eye on her husband. These devices can show where someone is and where they've been—perfect for Christmas Command Headquarters.

5. Protective Gear

One disadvantage to entering the digital age is that most tech gadgets aren't built for the cold. Apple recommends operating its devices only between 32 degrees and 95 degrees Fahrenheit （0 degrees and 35 degrees Celsius）.

What's an Arctic-based elf to do？ A Kickstarter22）-funded company has a possible answer. Salt Cases uses NASA-developed materials that protect spacecraft from the chill of space and the heat of a launch to keep smartphones， laptops， and tablets cozy23）. The thermal24） layers in the cases refract25） heat away when it's hot and reflect warmth into the device when it's cold. The company even offers appropriately Christmasy red cases.

每一年的平安夜，北美防空司令部（NORAD）都會追蹤圣誕老人的位置，這讓當晚訪問該軍事機構網站的數百萬人十分高興。如果高科技軍事行動能追蹤到圣誕老人，那么現代科技是不是也可以幫助這位極為古老的精靈完成他滿世界送禮物的工作呢？畢竟，圣誕老人年紀越來越大，而平安夜的時間也不會越變越長。那么，今年圣誕老人的心愿單上應該列上些什么樣的科技產品，好幫助他駕著雪橇從北極出發把禮物送給全世界的所有好孩子呢？以下是幾個建議。

1. 3D打印機

制造商品沒那么容易，因為涉及外包、供應問題以及勞工費用。如果圣誕老人的精靈伙伴們也趕上如今的3D打印熱潮，他們也許就可以保持很強的競爭力了。家用臺式3D打印機剛剛上市（編注：英文原文發表于2013年12月），它們能把計算機數字指令變成實體物件。若使用一種新型開源3D金屬打印機，圣誕老人和他的精靈伙伴們甚至還能不受僅用塑料為原料打印的局限。

2. 新型“誰乖誰不乖名單”

羊皮紙和紙張屬于20世紀，太過時了。圣誕老人需要裝備些新潮點兒的東西，或許可以來臺平板電腦？《LAPTOP》雜志的阿夫拉姆·皮爾奇推薦三星的Galaxy Note 10.1。該款平板電腦配有一支觸控筆，還內置一些筆記功能應用軟件，這樣圣誕老人無須脫下手套就能在屏幕上操作（也不必因胖手指在屏幕上打字不方便而煩惱）。該款平板電腦允許使用者同時打開兩個應用軟件，這樣圣誕老人就可以一邊查看他的“誰乖誰不乖”名單，一邊查看谷歌地圖，好知道如何前往下一個目的地。

3. 高科技手套

圣誕老人的白手套與一身鮮艷的紅裝相映襯，非常好看，但卻不適用于如今的平板設備時代。誰愿意每次使用觸摸屏或打開應用軟件時都得脫下手套呢？荷蘭設計品牌Mujjo賣的一系列觸屏手套非常適用于智能手機和平板電腦的屏幕。該品牌甚至有一款適用于像北極這樣的嚴寒氣候的雙層手套，其彈性極好，所以前面提到的胖指頭應該也不成問題。這種手套將確保圣誕老人即使從半空中的雪橇上掉落了觸控筆，也仍能查看他的名單和地圖。

4. 全球定位功能

馴鹿魯道夫的紅鼻子十分明亮，也許能夠不讓圣誕老人的雪橇偏航，不過添一點備用裝置也無傷大雅。圣誕老人需要用用全球定位系統（GPS）。

自1995年起，GPS廣泛投入使用，如今在手機和汽車上應用十分普遍，讓人覺得就該如此。GPS最初是一個軍事項目，利用的是分布在軌道上的多顆衛星。這些衛星定期將帶有時間和其所處位置的信號傳給地球。地球上的GPS接收機捕獲這些來自太空的信號，并進行三角定位，從而確定目標位置。

現在不斷出現的一系列GPS跟蹤器甚至可以幫助圣誕夫人隨時盯緊丈夫。這些跟蹤器能夠顯示被追蹤者的實時位置和曾去過的地方，配備在“圣誕指揮中心”再合適不過了。endprint

5. 數碼設備保護套

大多數科技產品生來都不耐寒，這是進入數碼時代的一大缺憾。蘋果公司建議只在32～95華氏度（0～35攝氏度）范圍內使用其產品。

那么，對于一位身在北極的精靈來說該怎么辦呢？一家獲得眾籌網站Kickstarter資金支持的公司想出了一個或許可行的辦法。Salt Cases公司使用美國宇航局研發的用于幫助航天器抵御太空嚴寒和發射高溫的特殊材料來為智能手機、筆記本電腦和平板電腦保溫。此類保護套里的保溫層會在高溫環境中通過折射來散熱，而在低溫環境中又將熱量反射到設備中。這家公司甚至還提供十分適合在圣誕節使用的紅色保護套。

1. boost [bu?st] n. 大大的改進

2. jolly [?d??li] adv. 非常；極其

3. round [ra?nd] n. （職業上的）巡回走動

4. sleigh [sle?] n. 雪橇

5. what with： 因為（用來談論造成某種特殊情況的原因）

6. outsourcing [?a?ts??s??] n. 外包

7. craze [kre?z] n. 一時的時尚；一時的狂熱

8. gizmo [?ɡ?zm??] n. 機械裝置；東西；小玩意兒

9. parchment [?pɑ?t?m?nt] n. 羊皮紙；仿羊皮紙

10. snazzy [?sn?zi] adj. 時髦的；漂亮的；新潮的

11. tablet [?t?bl?t] n. 平板電腦

12. chubby [?t??bi] adj. 圓胖的

13. register [?red??st?（r）] vi. 完全符合

14. stretchy [?stret?i] adj. 有彈性的；能延伸的

15. stylus [?sta?l?s] n. 觸控筆

16.據傳說，魯道夫的紅鼻子可以發光，能在風雪中照亮路途。

17. ubiquitous [ju??b?kw?t?s] adj. 普遍存在的，無所不在的

18. transmit [tr?ns?m?t] vt. 傳送，傳遞

19. periodic [?p??ri??d?k] adj. 周期（性）的；定期的

20. triangulate [tra????ɡjule?t] vt. 對……進行三角測繪

21. pinpoint [?p?np??nt] vt. （在地圖等上）用針標出……的精確位置；指出……的位置

22. Kickstarter： 請參見P59注釋8

23. cozy [?k??zi] adj. 舒適暖和的

24. thermal [?θ??ml] adj. 保暖的

25. refract [r??fr?kt] vt. 折射endprint