Flower power

Sing-along flowers

If you plan to give someone flowers soon, remember to order a Ka-On with them. It?s a speaker replacement gadget that?ll help you to hear songs through flowers. Marketed by Let?s Corp. of Japan, Ka-On literally means ?flower sound?. It consists of a magnet-and-coil system at the base of the vase that can be hooked up to your CD player or stereo system. The vase thus connects with your music system and acts as a speaker, transmitting sound waves across the room. And unlike in a normal system, the music emanates in all directions, filling up a room. Internet sales have already begun, and a version will be out in the market just before Christmas. With Ka-On, you can say it with flowers.

Here comes the sun

Just a bit of foresight. The Non-Conventional Energy Development Agency (NEDA) of Uttar Pradesh has shown that that?s all it takes to turn a disadvantage into an asset. In spite of a severe power crisis in the state, NEDA has decided to take computers to rural schools. And solar power is going to be the means for the novel effort. With guidance from NEDA, solar panels will be installed in many remote areas to help the students get the best out of computer education. And it?s not just studies, the comps are going to be useful even for e-governance projects. The costs of running the panels might be expensive, but two governments have decided to split the costs. So here?s to a bright future, courtesy the sun.

Flower power lshe also sings. Television star Jennifer Ellison is ready to get under the skin of Roxie Hart in the West End hit Chicago. And that?s not all. She?s also bagged a role in the film version of The Phantom of the Opera.

lshe also sings. Television star Jennifer Ellison is ready to get under the skin of Roxie Hart in the West End hit Chicago. And that?s not all. She?s also bagged a role in the film version of The Phantom of the Opera.

Stars shine bright

If you like stargazing, here?s the perfect perch for you. Except that you have to go a long way ? to Antarctica. An astronomy test station called Dome C around 1,600 km from the South Pole has been shown as the best place on the planet for studying stars. With very little interference from air turbulence, light and fog, an astronomy station there would, at times, give results as good as those of the Hubble telescope in outer space.

Farewell to the mouse

Nose job

Next time your fingers ache after hours of clicking on the mouse, use a nouse instead. It?s a unique technology developed by Dmitry Gorodnichy of Ottawa that uses the movements of a user?s nose to guide the cursor?s path. On top of this, the blink of your eyes will give signals for the right and left click of the mouse button. It will be especially useful for people with manual disabilities.It will require a webcam to take pictures of the user?s face, using the nose as the guide. All you?d have to do is follow your nose.

AWARD OF THE WEEK

Goes to Rajeev Gopalakrishnan, the lead actor in Zen Katha, Pratap Sharma?s play on the founder of the Zen school of thought, which was performed in the Capital last week. Rajeev trained himself in martial arts to equip himself for the role.