Sometimes it's hard to read and write about all of this technology and not feel like we're already living in the future. Just take a look at this 400 GB optical disk Pioneer was showing off, for instance — imagine how big that'll be in only a year. There's also a way to turn your vehicle into a hybrid for $4,500, and new wind turbines that could generate 25% of the power you need for much less than you'd think.

That's the here and now — so what about tomorrow? Well, we could be cruising around in yachts that look like cyborg-whales, or — why not? — drinking space beer. Of course, it wouldn't be the future without useful new robots (or pole-dancing ones).

Check out more great tech stories from throughout the week:

SHIFT: Movie studios are protecting themselves to death
Charlie White gets tough on an industry that has pirates using more advanced distribution than the industry itself.

Reentering shuttle causes double sonic boom, scares the crap out of people
Endeavor to Mission Control: "Whoops!"

Daniel Libeskind's 54-story condos are more like a 54-story garden
Green construction techniques get literal.

SnorePro trains you to stop waking up the entire neighborhood every night
The only one not sleeping now may be you. Hey, that's justice, right?

NFL game broadcast in 3D, reporters impressed
See what one reporter called "the new era of television."

Nokia reveals N97, its highest-end smartphone
Nokia's newest offering features the kind of roomy touchscreen we love.

Sharp launches charity drive with a 26-foot tower of 43 LCD TVs
And they're all up for grabs.