Power cables suck. It’s a simple fact. But they are necessary. So how do you keep them from getting all tangled up and looking like a mess? Well, one way is by using the Power Hub. It’s an under-the-desk plug point housing which ensures that all cables remain together, while letting you roll up the excess cable.

It has three openings on top where you can direct your cords neatly to your power strip. Also three integrated chord anchors will wrap and hide all the excess cabling. It is compact so it can be placed anywhere you want. If interest is high enough, the Power Hub will be manufactured and cost just $23.95.

Many of us like to leave our computers running all of the time, but that uses a ton of power. And even if you want the computer on 24/7, there’s no need to have the printer, speakers and other stuff powered on.

A new power strip called the HiSaver makes it easy to save power when you leave the room. The HiSaver Powerbar features a remote motion-detecting sensor that sits on your desk. So when you leave the room for at least ten minutes, four of the outlets turn off automatically to save power.

The boffins over at Wet Circuits have come up with a waterproof power strip using a patented design, with a special protective material that minimizes the flow of electricity when it comes into contact with water. The result is that it protects you from electrical shocks when water is accidentally spilled.

We wouldn’t try this at home with your power strip, but they claim it can be submerged underwater for up to two-hours. It also features overheating protection, spark prevention, and up to 4 times the lifespan of ordinary power strips.

Power strips are great but they have their problems. Like one outlet blocking the other for instance. The Pivot Power from Quirky eliminates that problem with a unique flexible outlet system. Each outlet can be rotated in order to maximize the space for other adapters.

Pretty great solution. It’s not for sale yet, but they’re accepting pre-sale commitments of $23, so if they hit their 960 order goal, they’ll manufacture it. Let’s all order one and reward good design.

If you know what’s happening with your energy, then you have the power to change the way you do things and save some cash. You need to know just how much energy you use and where you’re using it. The new Belkin Conserve Insight is a $30 power-outlet adapter with a small screen that tells you just how much the item plugged into it is costing you.

Knowing is half the battle. The display can tell you just how much juice is being used by any device in watts, dollars or carbon dioxide. When you see how much money is going out the window, you’ll be inspired to change things around a bit and stop leaving things running when not using them.

So you are out and about with your laptop, but you look around and there’s no power outlet. Common problem. But if somebody there had had this gadget, they could just stick it into the end of their laptop power supply, and share with you.

Well, assuming they are the nice sort, anyway. The extension costs ¥1,400 ($15) for a two-prong version or ¥2,000 ($21) for three prongs. It’s a great idea, just as long as you have an outlet to begin with.

Fujitsu has an interesting power strip for those who give a hoot about their electricity usage. It measures the electrical energy used in each outlet in real time, to help figure out how much electricity is being used in an office.

This data is combined with a scheduler to let you know how much energy is consumed even in the absence of the user. Each outlet has a contactless power sensor that can measure up to 2,000W. The data is transmitted over the network via a transmitter in a USB port on the side of the power strip.

With airlines charging you for everything, traveling can be a real hassle. You don’t want to take any additional luggage that you don’t have to. You’ll want to pack the ezGear Surge2Go portable power strip though, as it gives you three outlets with enough space between each for larger plugs.

It also has a built-in surge protector that shields your devices from power surges. An LED indicator lets you know that everything is working as it should.

We love our gadgets, but they are like vampires, sucking energy even when “off”. That’s why the Belkin Conserve Surge puts their energy sucking on a timer. Otherwise it’s a pretty normal surge protector. The device automatically cuts the power to connected devices after 11 hours of use.

Don’t worry, you won’t end up losing work before you can save, because the Conserve Surge features two always-on outlets alongside the six timed outlets. And there’s also an LED warning light when the electricity is about to turn off. Still, some other timing options would be nice.

Power strips are convenient. Sadly, they are also ugly, putting all of your plugs in a row, with cords trailing everywhere. The Power Bridge is one of the best solutions we’ve seen, flipping the power strip over to keep your cords neatly tucked away.

It’s from designer Hyuk Jae Chang and it’s neat enough to even have on your desk. All of the wires come out in one spot, which you can turn to face any direction and a pivoting multi-directional power cord on the Bridge itself makes sure that all wires line up.

You already share all of your life’s details on Twitter, why not share your power usage? Tweet-a-Watt will broadcast your power consumption for all to see. Each device only reads one outlet, so you can really get the low-down on how you use energy.

Modified from a Kill-a-Watt energy reader, the Tweet-a-Watt slowly charges up just enough power to communicate with a nearby computer via an XBee receiver, then uses a predefined Twitter account to automatically publish the results.

Trickle out economics have you down? You know, Trickle out economics. When the money trickles out of your pockets because of plugged in, yet turned of appliances that are still sucking juice like a toddler building up a good diarrhea diaper bomb. TrickleStar of Hong Kong claims to have the first power-saving device in the world that is able to shave up to 12% off your monthly utility bill simply by killing standby power, while reducing a similar amount on your power usage.

The TrickleStar PC Standby Power Saver is connected to a PC via your USB port. It will keep an eye on the computer’s power status continuously. A power extension cable will connect to your power strip with the rest of all your peripherals plugged in. When your PC is turned off, the TrickleStar’s current sensing circuitry will kill off ALL power to the peripherals, and vice versa when the PC is powered. The TrickleStar will be available in January.

Who would have thought that the makers of power strips would get so creative? They’re not just long slabs of white anymore. This e-Ball power strip design from Mashallah design is sure to please D & D fans by looking like a many sided die.

It also kinda resembles old spaceships from vintage Sci-Fi. It’s a concept at the moment, but I’m sure it will be made real by someone. Paint a face on it, plug in all of your plugs and you’ve got an electrical headed Medusa.

With all of the various devices that we have plugged in, it can feel a bit overwhelming. Containership powersupplies can help keep your fleet of powerstrips in order like a well oiled Navy.

I guess the general idea here is to hold your power adapters in a cute and clever way, having a bit of fun with some organization. According to the company, it’s neat because the cord is in the Containership’s wake. I’m not sure what they’re smoking, but the whole effect is ruined the minute you put a few adapters in it, making it look like your wires are about to pull the whole thing under…your carpet. File this one under good concept, bad follow-through.

APC is out today with news of a new power strip it says “provides home computer systems guaranteed protection from damaging surges and spikes, while saving electricity.” It is called the Power-Saving SurgeArrest and it prices around $35.

The APC Power-Saving SurgeArrest has built into it master/controlled outlets which automatically shut down power to unused peripherals, such as printers, scanners and speakers when the computer is in sleep mode. It does this by sensing the power draw of connected equipment and realizing that when an attached computer on the master goes into standby, hibernation or is turned off, the controlled outlets are automatically powered off to prevent connected peripherals from continuing to draw power.