Abstract: A thermoelectric device with improved efficiency is provided. In one embodiment, the thermoelectric device includes a first thermoelement and a second thermoelement electrically coupled to the first thermoelement. An array of first tips are in close physical proximity to, but not necessarily in physical contact with, the first thermoelement at a first set of discrete points. An array of second tips are in close physical proximity to, but not necessarily in physical contact with, the second thermoelement at a second set of discrete points. The first and second conical are constructed entirely from metal, thus reducing parasitic resistances.

Abstract: A dual mode rotator capable of performing 32-bit and 64-bit rotation. According to a preferred embodiment, the dual mode rotator includes a first, second, and third rotator units wherein each rotator has a plurality of inputs and outputs. The inputs of the second rotator are operatively connected to the corresponding outputs of the first rotator unit. The inputs of the third rotator unit are operatively connected to the corresponding outputs of the second rotator. Responsive to selection of 32-bit rotation mode, the upper half of the inputs to the first rotator are zero and the lower half of the outputs of the third rotator are replicated in the upper half of the outputs of the third rotator.

Abstract: A thermoelectric device with enhanced structured interfaces for improved cooling efficiency is provided. In one embodiment, the thermoelectric device includes a first thermoelement comprising a supetlattice of p-type thermoelectric material and a second thermoelement comprising superlattice of n-type thermoelectric material. The first and second thermoelements are electrically coupled to each other. The first thermoelement is proximate to, without necessarily being in physical contact with, a first array of electrically conducting tips at a discrete set of points. A planer surface of the second thermoelement is proximate to, without necessarily being in physical contact with, a second array of electrically conducting tips at a discrete set of points. The electrically conducting tips are coated with a material that has the same Seebeck coefficient as the material of the nearest layer of the superlattice to the tip.

Abstract: Synchronizing copies of a first document in a distributed computing environment. According to a preferred embodiment, a path to a preferred repository for the first document and a path to a master repository for the first document are embedded in a second document. A copy of the first document is retrieved from the preferred repository. The master repository is checked to determine whether the retrieved copy is a copy of a most recent version of the first document. In response to the determination that the retrieved copy is the most recent version of the first document, the second document is formatted using the retrieved copy.

Abstract: A method for presenting content from the page in a distributed database. In a preferred embodiment, a page of data from the database is presented to a user. The page has a plurality of links to linked pages in the database. A set of thumbnail images of the linked pages in the database is presented to the user near the links to the linked pages.