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(Credit: VeryPC)

Look up above this article. A little higher, above the screen. Chances are that if you're on a laptop or even one of many desktops made in the last five years you'll see a Webcam built in. And that Webcam might end up saving you--and the environment--a little bit of power.

British inventor and self-described "ecogeek" Peter Hopton and his company VeryPC have come up with a piece of software, called PecoBOO, that uses open-source face detection to detect when you're looking at you screen and, more importantly, when you're not.

When you look away for more than a few seconds, get up, or generally ignore your screen, it'll turn off. Then, when you face it again, it turns on. This reduces backlight power consumption and thus overall energy consumption of your device. That saves energy for your battery and your wallet.

The general idea isn't new; other devices have similar technology, like the iPhone. Its optic sensor disables the touch screen and backlight when you put the phone up to your ear. This is just a natural progression of the same idea, though the end effect is different.

I'll cop to being one of the people who disables the power-saving features of my laptop most of the time. Sometimes, as a writer, I have to sit and think for a few moments about how a paragraph should be put together. For some reason if my screen goes blank I find it very distracting, but if I had this built into my MacBook Pro, I wouldn't really have to worry about it.

Unfortunately, PecoBOO is currently available for Windows Vista and XP platforms only.

(Via New Scientist)

I was fortunate enough to be in the audience when Steve Jobs wowed the world with his demonstration of the iPhone a couple of years ago. As he was showing off multitouch technology, I remember turning to my friend and saying something along the lines of, "Gesture control like this is going to change everything." I remember it being a touchstone moment.

Monday's announcement of gesture control for the Xbox 360 marks another advance for the technology, but there are some ideas that could come to market quickly as well.

The below video shows Canesta's new 3D gesture control system, which it's hoping to sell soon with help from Hitachi and GestureTek. The idea is to build the sensors into media devices such as game consoles or Apple TV-like gear to give your remote control a rest.

It's a pretty cool idea, and according to the accompanying press release, it should be a low-cost product. We're not sure when--if ever--this will make its way into living rooms, but the know-how is there. If this Cinesta video and Microsoft's E3 announcements prove anything it's that the technology is ready, too.

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few months, you might have heard that "Battlestar Galactica" is airing its final episode Friday night. Along with the "Stargate" TV series, the show brought the Sci Fi channel (soon to be simply SyFy) back from the brink of playing back old "Twilight Zone" re-runs and in-house B-movies, and into the go-to place to see the latest special effects and watch an epic story that unfolded over four seasons.

As an homage to all the joy it's brought us over the years, we've put together a slideshow of some of the technology featured within its episodes. This list is not exhaustive. Some things we left out, like the faster-than-light drive, and artificial gravity because, hey, you can find that in most any other science fiction story set in outer space. We have, however included quite a few things that may spoil the show if you stopped watching it after the third season, so click ahead with caution.

The series finale airs on the Sci Fi channel at 9 p.m. Friday night.

Images: The technology of 'Battlestar Galactica'

Nadya Vessey's prosthetic tail is mostly constructed from wetsuit fabric and plastic molds, and covered in a digitally printed sock.

(Credit: stuff.co.nz)

Good: double amputee gets prosthetic legs so she can walk. Better: double amputee gets realistic-looking mermaid tail so she can swim. Awesome: it's developed and built by Weta, the special-effects company that did work for the "Lord of the Rings" movies, as well as "King Kong" and "The Chronicles of Narnia" series.

Nadya Vessey's legs were amputated below the knee when she was a child due to illness. At one point, reports Stuff, a child asked her what happened to her legs and she told him she was a mermaid. The idea stuck with her, so she wrote to Weta Workshop in Wellington, New Zealand, two years ago asking for a mermaid tail. To her surprise, they said they'd do it.

Now she has a fully functional mermaid tail with an attached suit, making her look practically just like a real mermaid (if, you know, mermaids were real).

She can swim well and says the prosthesis feels quite comfortable. We're not sure if anything like this could go into mass production for amputees, but we wouldn't be surprised if 10 years from now there are mermaids swimming about in your local pool.

(Credit: Timex)

Now here's a concept timepiece that could literally stand the test of time.

The brainchild of designers Christophe Koch and Lea Kobeli, Time-aid is a custom-made wristwatch that relies on the imaginary Timex clock network. In short, it's capable of displaying clock faces around the world via a live satellite feed. If you are in London, you could be looking at the Big Ben on your wrist, or the tower clock at the Star Ferry terminal if you are in Hong Kong.

The solar-powered concept is waterproof up to more than 16,000 feet and makes use of a wraparound assembly that's purportedly indestructible. That's not all. You also get to tattoo your name and birth date to make Time-aid a personalized timepiece.

Of course, don't expect this to be available soon, but with the Time-aid scoring a big win at the "Timex2145: The Future of Time" competition co-sponsored by Timex and design blog Core77, we figure someone at Timex could be looking to bring this into production sooner than you think.

(Via Crave Asia)

Related story:

Nail watch: The future of telling time?

It's still just pixels on a drawing board, but this bag is sure to be a hit with tree huggers, if it ever becomes a real product.

Using Peltier technology to harness kinetic energy from movement isn't new. However, Hungary-based designer Apor Püspöki adds a dash of fashion vogue to his E-bag concept, a finalist in the 2008 Electrolux Design Lab competition, putting the "cool" in cooler bag.

The notion is to tap the back-and-forth motion caused by lugging the 3-liter E-bag, to generate power that chills the food within. That, personally, is a far more elegant idea compared to chunky solar panels. Püspöki uses the bag's handle, attached to a dynamo, to charge the battery through its rotations. That aside, the only giveaway to the bag's high-tech stature are three LED indicators that keep tabs on the cooling status.

Püspöki gets a thumbs-up for responsible design thinking, which goes to show that urban consumerism need not be wasteful and carbon-hungry.

(Via Crave Asia)

(Credit: Jukka Roitto, Miska Vaisanen, and Jordan Siegler)

Designers Jukka Roitto, Miska Vaisanen, and Jordan Siegler have seen the road map to the future, and it sits on your wrist. It has a name that's crystal clear even to the geographically challenged: Seek.

This Minority Report-like wristband concept packs a portable GPS system and music player all in one--though given how power-hungry GPS units are, you might not want to drain that battery pack tuning in to Coldplay or Madonna. No idea, either, on how this juices up. But we do know the Seek offers directional guides and location-based services accessed via its interactive touch screen.

Now all it needs are wireless connectivity and a cosmetic makeover, and this might well make inroads with globetrotters when and if it releases.

(Via Crave Asia)

(Credit: Core 77)

In the year 2154, no one will want to wear wristwatches anymore. They'll probably be out of fashion or too bulky for our hands. The in thing will be the nail watch, known as the TX54. Well, that's what Timex and design site Core77 think will be the future, according to the global design competition Timex 2154: The Future of Time." The two held the contest to mark the watch maker's 150th anniversary.

TX54, the runner-up in the event, is a concept watch by three Americans designers: Napoleon Merana, Steffen Schubert, and David Takacs. The nail watch is designed to be hooked to the thumbnail. The user should be able to view the time in the dark just by pressing the tip of the nail. Wearers can also switch between available colors. It is also disposable. One hopes it's waterproof as well, just in case you forget to take it off while you're in the shower.

Although the TX54 is a good concept, I can't imagine how small the numbers are going to be, probably putting a strain on your eyes.

(Via Crave Asia)

For those of you who've lost hope that you'll ever have a robot butler or drive a hovercraft, here's a glimmer of possibility: a jet pack! Thunderbolt Aerosystems has developed the Thunderpack, a "rocket belt" that can propel you through the air at up to 75 miles per hour. Okay, so it will only fly for 45 seconds. And it'll cost you $100,00 to buy one. Then there's the fact that I'm sure a few safety-freakish representatives of Congress will do everything in their power to keep these out of the sky. But they're still jet packs, for heaven's sake!

Click here for CNET News.com's Thunderpack photo gallery.