Paolini, Pullman with books coming to iPhones

NEW YORK – Christopher Paolini's "Brisingr," Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy and Peter Matthiessen's award-winning "Shadow Country" are among the dozen-plus books coming to the iPhone and to iPod Touch, publisher Random House Inc. announced Monday "We are pleased to be making this initial list of outstanding books by some of our top-selling authors available to a ground-breaking group of readers," Matt Shatz, Random House's vice president for digital books, said in a statement.

Random House recently announced it was adding thousands of books to its digital catalog and has said that e-sales more than tripled in 2008, although the electronic market remains a tiny part of the overall book market.

Several other publishers, including Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins, have been making e-books available on iPhones.

Artificial muscle can power your Ipod

BOFFINS IN CALIFORNIA have developed a self-repairing artificial muscle that can generate enough electricity to charge an Ipod.

The top boffin in charge of the research, a scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, named Qibing Pei, told the Discovery Channel that the artificial muscle was made up of flexible carbon nanotubes, which acted as electrodes. This is quite an improvement on previous artificial muscle models which tended to be metal based and have frequent failure rates with reuse. Pei reckons: "We've made an artificial muscle that, when you apply electricity to it, expands more than 200 percent”.

The way it works, is that as the artificial muscle material contracts after expanding, the carbon nanotubes rearrange themselves, causing a small electric current to generate, which can then be captured and stored in a battery.

It is also robust. If any part of the carbon nanotube packs up, the area around it seals itself off by becoming non-conductive, thereby stopping the defect from affecting other areas. The clever muscle is also eco friendly and energy efficient, conserving up to 70 per cent of energy pumped into it. Some boffins have suggested that it could even be used to capture wind or wave energy in the future to charge electrical devices.

The research could also lead to the creation of moving robots, better prosthetics, and battery charging energy sources. A self-repairing Ipod would be nice.

World's most expensive iPod goes on sale

The world's most expensive iPod has gone up for sale at a charity auction in London.

The popular music player was customised with hundreds of diamonds for a dazzling makeover.

Already a must-have item, the bejewelled version was the star of the auction, with an estimated value of £20,000.

The iDiamond shuffle is made of solid 18 karat white and pink gold and kitted out with 430 diamonds.

The one-off piece was created by jeweller, Thomas Heyerdahl, who says the process was painstaking and meticulous as there wouldn't ever be another one.

He said: "It's a special thing, making just one. If we had make this for commercial sale, it would be quite a different thing because then you have to take care of, much more things to make it work commercially."

A carbon-offset eco-holiday to a Himalayan retreat and a trip to a château in the Champagne region of France were also up for grabs at the auction.

Solar-Powered Recharger Ships

Solar Technology's FreeLoader supports iPhones, iPods, and many other electronic devices.

Solar Technology has introduced a combined solar and battery-based recharging system for iPods and other devices, the FreeLoader 8.0.

The device ships with the capacity to charge many of the latest mobile gadgets: digital cameras, iPods, PDAs, PSPs and mobile phones, and even supports a direct connection to the iPhone and the iTouch.

Attractively-designed, Freeloader 8.0 has a durable casing and folds up small for transport in a pocket or handbag. The device can power an iPod for 18 hours, a mobile phone for 44 hours, a PSP for 2.5 hours and a PDA for 22 hours.

To ensure batteries never run flat, the Freeloader 8.0 can charge its own internal battery which holds its charge for up to three months and features extra sensitive solar panels which are more much efficient at absorbing light in the cloudy and dim conditions the UK endures.

Freeloader 8.0 is available in both Hot Pink and Cool Aluminium Silver and costs £29.99 (US$60).

Just blink to control your Ipod

A RESEARCHER at Osaka University's Graduate School of Engineering Science has come up with a way to control devices by intentional blinking and winking.

Kazuhiro Taniguchi developed a system - which he calls "Kome Kami Switch" or "Temple Switch" - using a single chip computer and a pair infrared sensors. The whole thing is so small that it can fit into a pair of eyeglasses.

As an initial demonstration, he's adapted the Kome Kami Switch to control an Ipod. Closing both eyes for one second starts or stops the Ipod. Wink with the right eye to skip to the next tune or wink with the left eye to skip back.

As a hands-free control system, the switch can be a "third hand" for medical personnel, rock climbers, motorcycle riders, astronauts and disabled people.

"You don't have to worry about the system moving incorrectly as the system picks up signals when you close your eyes firmly. You can use this when you're eating or chatting with someone," said inventor Taniguchi. "Normally you blink in an energy-saving manner, very quickly and lightly, but you would close your eyes more firmly to operate a device."

He foresees the system being used to control a wide variety of systems, from televisions, air conditioners and room lighting to cellphones, wheelchairs and robots.

Taniguchi is also working on a similar system that works by clenching teeth.