Let’s face it; optimizing your PC power
settings is no where as streamlined and effective as as it should be. There’s the joy of
having your movie interrupted by over-zealous and quite incompetent monitor
power-saving options. Or having your computer ‘fall asleep’ just as your were
brainstorming up that next great line for your essay. On the other hand, you
want to cut costs on your energy bill and do your part for the environment but
whether it’s the phone ringing or nature calling, turning on hibernate just
slips the mind. Well PecoBOO looks to solve all that with one simple solution.
At its most basic PecoBOO uses a
rudimentary form of facial detection via a webcam to determine whether you’re
present or not. This is not to be confused with facial recognition which analysis facial characteristics to detect
identity. Rather this software determines whether or not someone is sitting in
front of the computer and it’s fully configurable. PecoBOO allows you to set:
Range—how far away a person can sit to be
considered ‘using’ the computer
Sample Rate—how often the software checks
for your presence, scalable between a half second to two seconds
Idle Time—how long before energy saving
options are enabled
Mode—choose between ‘Hibernate,’ ‘Sleep,’
and ‘Stay Awake’
Off Time—how long you want these options to
be in effect for
Given the more active capabilities of
PecoBOO the company recommends that you disable your other energy saving
software to prevent interference.
The software itself comes from VeryPC.
“Ecology, Economy, Performance” is the slogan for this U.K.
computer company, who’ve made it their business to make your business greener.
And PecoBOO could very well be the next step forward in energy saving solutions
as it takes the guess work out of automatic ‘sleep’ and ‘hibernate’ commands.
Though some with invariably be turned off by the thought of an ever-present and
watchful eye, even though it’s an eco-minded one.
PecoBOO is available for XP and Vista users. It is included
with every VeryPC computer as well as available in the U.K. with
the purchase of a webcam.
