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Camping is always fun. A chance to get away from the world, and live in a world of isolation without any form of electrical aids or entertainment. Well, up until now that is. Orange have just revealed their new solar powered tent which is labelled as a 'tent of the future'. The tent will ensure that all your gadgets and electronics will function during your camping visit, though some may feel this defeats the purpose of camping.

Orange teamed up with American product design consultants, Kaleidoscope, to create this modern day tent which harnesses solar energy in order to power your gadgets and equipment via a wireless charging pouch. The tent uses a photovoltaic fabric to receive the maximum amount of energy directly from the sun throughout the day. There is also an integrated "glo-cation" technology instilled which assists campers in finding their way back to their tent. You can use your mobile phone to send a text message to your tent, which will then cause the camp to glow and become easily identifiable.

The solar powered tent has a wireless control hub which illustrates the total amount of energy generated and also the amount of that energy consumed. There is also a wireless internet signal on a touch screen display, and even a heating system, which kicks into action as soon as the temperature within the tent drops below a certain level.

This definitely is the future of camping..

Nanotechnology looks set yield some seemingly magical functionality in the near future, and a recent concept product from Nokia puts most of the technologies that will be viable for handhelds within the next decade into one fascinating instrument. The Morph does just that, being flexible so that it can change shape from candy bar phone to bracelet. It’s also transparent, has self-cleaning surfaces, can sense and observe and even harvest energy from the local environment.

The Morph went on display this week alongside the remarkable "Design and the Elastic Mind" exhibition, on view from February 24 to May 12, 2008, at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. Morph features in both the exhibition catalog and on MoMA's official website. Be sure to check out the online exhibition here – Gizmag’s readers will love the hours of brain stretching concepts to explore – heartily recommended.

Morph is a concept that demonstrates how future mobile devices might be stretchable and flexible, allowing the user to transform their mobile device into radically different shapes. It demonstrates the ultimate functionality that nanotechnology might be capable of delivering: flexible materials, transparent electronics and self-cleaning surfaces. Dr. Bob Iannucci, Chief Technology Officer, Nokia, commented: "Nokia Research Center is looking at ways to reinvent the form and function of mobile devices; the Morph concept shows what might be possible".

The Morph is a joint nanotechnology concept, developed by Nokia Research Center (NRC) and the University of Cambridge (UK) and Dr. Tapani Ryhanen, Head of the NRC Cambridge UK laboratory, Nokia, commented, "We hope that this combination of art and science will showcase the potential of nanoscience to a wider audience. The research we are carrying out is fundamental to this as we seek a safe and controlled way to develop and use new materials." Professor Mark Welland, Head of the Department of Engineering's Nanoscience Group at the University of Cambridge and University Director of Nokia-Cambridge collaboration added: "Developing the Morph concept with Nokia has provided us with a focus that is both artistically inspirational but, more importantly, sets the technology agenda for our joint nanoscience research that will stimulate our future work together." The partnership between Nokia and the University of Cambridge was announced in March, 2007 - an agreement to work together on an extensive and long term programme of joint research projects. NRC has established a research facility at the University's West Cambridge site and collaborates with several departments - initially the Nanoscience Center and Electrical Division of the Engineering Department - on projects that, to begin with, are centered on nanotechnology.

Elements of Morph might be available to integrate into handheld devices within 7 years, though initially only at the high-end. However, nanotechnology may one day lead to low cost manufacturing solutions, and offers the possibility of integrating complex functionality at a low price.

If you’re fascinated with this technology, the Guardian has a nice piece with a bit more info.

Stray hairs can get quite irritating especially when you’ve got a date coming up or a social event where plenty of the rich and famous will be in attendance. Well, we suppose if you were actually invited to such an event you would definitely be able to afford the best forms of beauty care, but for folks who are part of the rags-to-riches story and prefer to take on a more DIY approach might prefer to remove these stray hairs themselves without the pruning and preening of some prima donna beautician who costs hundreds of dollars per session. The Easy Trim from Andis Company is a spanking new battery powered personal trimmer which aims to eradicate any stray hair spotted. Measuring a mere 4.5″ long, the Easy Trim is highly portable and slips into a travel bag or purse, ready to trim hair from ears, nose, eyebrows, beards - virtually any spot that requires a quick trim before an encounter where errant hairs might cause embarrassment.

Accordin to Fred Koeller, Vice President of Marketing at Andis, “Easy Trim is about the size of a lipstick. It has a protective cap that covers the blades and is a lot safer than carrying a pair scissors, even small ones, especially when traveling.” Easy Trim will feature surgical stainless steel blades that are recessed, rust proof and a snap to rinse clean after each use. Each purchase will be accompanied by a couple of interchangeable heads, where one will be used for hard to reach areas like ears and noses, while the other for detail trimming on areas like beards and mustaches. This translates to the magic ability to shape eyebrows within seconds.

Powered by a solitary AA battery, the Easy Trim will come with a sleek stand and a five year warranty. Looks like this would make a great gift for dad if he tends to be an hirsute person.

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On 20th of April, ISRO successfully launched its first all-weather radar imaging satellite, RISAT -2. The PSLV-C12 (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle), carrying 300-kg RISAT and 40-kg micro educational satellite ANUSAT (developed by Anna University) lifted off from ISRO's Satish Dhawan space Centre here at 6:45 am and placed into 550 km orbit around earth.

The PSLV, weighing 230 tonnes at the time of launch, soared into a clear sky from the spaceport in Sriharikota, about 90 km north of Chennai. At the end of the 48-hour countdown, the 44-metre tall four-stage PSLV-C12 blasted off from the second launch pad with the ignition of the core first stage.

RISAT has all-weather capability to take images of the Earth and would also be beneficial in mapping and managing natural disasters, such as floods and landslides, besides amplifying defence surveillance capabilities of the nation. It would also help keep track of ships at seat that could pose a threat.

A jubilant ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair said "the year 2009 has started off well. The final moments of the launch were more thrilling than a cricket match as we hit a few boundaries and bowled some googlies." Nair said the performance of the PSLV-C12 launch vehicle was "precise and on the dot".

As per specifications, RISAT is different from previous remote sensing satellites as it uses Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), equipped with many antennas to receive signals that are processed into high-resolution pictures.

Source : http://www.samaylive.com