At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, Freescale will announce availability of Watt Saver, a system that eliminates the "vampire" power draw of wall chargers for mobile phones and other small electronics.

Even when wall chargers are no longer plugged into phones, the chargers still draw a small trickle of electricity, ranging from less than a watt for efficient chargers to over 5 watts. The Freescale system can detect when a phone's battery is full or when it's been unplugged … Read more

Pinch to play

Links from Wednesday's episode of Loaded:

The FCC approves Net neutrality rules

eBay launches Gifts Nearby to help you shop offline

Microsoft wants to enable the Kinect to recognize finger gestures

The new FourSquare iPhone app lets you comment on your friends' location choices

The state of Oregon will now allow spell check on state exams

And that's all folks! Loaded is on hiatus through the end of the year. We will see you at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas for new tech galore! Have happy and healthy holidays!

A voice mail from Santa

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

The FCC is set to vote on new Net neutrality rules today

An app that gives users access to WikiLeaks documents gets yanked from Apple's App Store

Google extends free Gmail calling through the end of 2011

Amazon is issuing a refund for the non-lighted Kindle cover for users who have problems with it. The refund number is 877-453-4512.

Google Earth and Google Maps will track Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve

Microsoft is none too amused by the 3D sex simulation use of Kinect by a company called ThriXXX

Total eclipse of the moon

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Best Buy scraps its restocking fee policy

Google TV may not be ready for its closeup when the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show kicks off next month

The Privacy Bill of Rights aims to regulate companies' data collection practices

The U.K. government wants to make all pornography opt-in only

Google's PowerMeter can now track your home energy use via your home broadband if you have a PowerCost Monitor

TellMyGeo is the app version of "I've fallen and I can't get up!"

And don't miss tonight's lunar eclipse … Read more

Inner space

Links from Friday's episode of Loaded:

Facebook suffered a brief outage yesterday but came back up with new photo features

Apple announces that the Mac Store with apps for Macs will launch on January 6

Yahoo layoffs will apparently result in the shutting down of several Yahoo services

The European Union is deepening its investigation into anti-competitive practices by Google

New Google Maps for Mobile on Android comes with 3D and allows for offline directions

An update to Hotmail lets you surf certain Web sites right inside your e-mail

An official PlayStation app is coming soon for Android and … Read more

Adult-only Kinect games

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded:

Facebook will soon release auto-photo tagging software

MetroPCS is rolling out 4G networks like gang busters

Google's newest Chrome browser is apparently ready for business use

Google is in trouble in France for findings of anti-competitive practices

A porn company shows off 3D role-play sex simulation using the Microsoft Kinect. I know I promised a video but it looks to have been removed from YouTube. Sorry!

A new plug-in electric tricycle will make you super cool on your urban commute