Tom’s Hardware has just released the first in a series of articles detailing a solar-based project they’ve been running over the past two years. Based in their Munich laboratories, the project involved the design and configuration of a conventional desktop PC to be run, 24/7, from only a solar grid consisting of two photovoltaic panels.

With the upcoming Rugby World Cup set to be the third biggest sporting event ever, there has been an increasing clamour from environmental groups about the ecological cost of such competitions. And, I’m happy to say, the event organizers haven’t shied away from the complaints.

The competition, which kicks off next week, is expected to generate some 570,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the annual output of the tournament's Pacific Ocean outsiders Western Samoa, but a major publicity campaign encouraging greater environmental awareness has already begun in France.

From the ‘heart’s in the right place’ section, comes news that for the past four years, the Netherland’s Organization for Scientific Research has been working on a solar powered mouse. Dubbed the Sole Mio (an anagram of which is, strangely ‘more oil’), the mouse consumes 20mA of electricity while active, and can store 300mAh. Ideal for people who work outdoors and have large holes in their hands, it’s estimated that given widespread adoption, the Sole Mio could save several hundred million batteries annually.