Guitar phone

Motorola is patenting a cellphone that displays the layout of a guitar neck on its screen, and allows its keypad to be “plucked” or “strummed” by a user, reports the New Scientist. The resulting guitar sounds can be played through the phone’s speaker or can be inflicted on a friend at the other end of the line. The phone has the usual four rows of keys, but switching to music mode turns the keys into a set of virtual strings that respond to pressing.

Lightning safety

Macmet India Ltd. in association with Duval Messien of France have introduced the SATELIT?3, a lightning-protection system, to safeguard costly and sophisticated electronic equipment used in IT parks, airports, telecom towers, refineries, hospitals among others. SATELIT-3 is a proactive intelligent electronic device that is self-powered and can detect in advance changes in the electrostatic field in the air. In the event of an imminent lightning strike, it triggers off powerful upward streamers to meet the incoming lightning in mid-air about 60 metres above the tip and safely channelise the same to the ground.