lighting

Are you willing to pay $28 for a light bulb?

No? Well, how about this light bulb?

The mind-boggling Lamp/Lamp isn't actually a lamp. It's a cleverly designed 30-watt bulb with two sets of screw threads.

Screw one end into an outlet, and it creates the optical illusion you see in the photo to the left. Turn it on, and watch as houseguests do triple-takes.

Designer Hironao Tsuboi is the brains behind the Lamp/Lamp. If you like it, you'll probably appreciate the other home products Tsuboi designed for 100per.com.

Tsuboi's other designs include … Read more

If you have a mean landlord who doesn't let you paint anything in your house or apartment, this could be a solution to your lack-of-color woes. The Morpheus Ambient Lighting Modules use really, really, really, really high-end LEDs to mix a combination of red, green, and blue light. Then it projects it on white walls--sorry, I'm not sure how it would be distorted by that lovely eggshell or alabaster color you've got in your living room.

It'll cost you the Brit equivalent of $167.

Basically, it's the ultimate haute end of color-changey gadgets. Because here'… Read more

The solar-powered hat fan taught us how to survive the summer heat, but what about the winter doldrums? Enter the "Feel Bright Light" from Hollywood Gadgets. A set of LED bulbs affixed underneath the brim of a visor bathe your face in happy light to help ward off seasonal affective disorder, for a mere $200. Our take: We'd rather stay in a permanent funk.

When I hear the phrase 'light-up jewelry,' the image that typically comes to mind is one of flashing plastic rings that were given away as favors at 10th-birthday parties back in the day. (Or of ravers.) However, there seems to be a luxe version of just about everything these days (case in point: Dance Dance Revolution) and as I learned from Yanko Design, luminescent jewelry is no exception.

The "Aurora" accessories designed by Kyeok Kim are intended, according to the designer, to "reinterpret the meaning of ornamentation on the body by projecting various patterns of light on … Read more

LEDs are beginning to rival Swarovski crystals as overused (and unnecessary) accents for all manner of products--even handbags. They appear so often that we could even start a daily feature on them.

So for today's installment of Crave, The LED Edition, we be bring you into the home. The "Diamond Lite" mirror, from the UK's BC Designs, is a backlit, splash-proof accessory punctuated with small diamond-shaped LED clusters. But, unlike so the garish designs of so many other items we've seen, this one is actually done in a tasteful manner, as Gadget Candy says. Then … Read more

It's St. Patrick's Day, of course, and we must pay homage accordingly. So even though this doesn't exactly qualify as a traditional gadget, we're guessing that it will be of some interest on this hallowed occasion.

The lighted beer dispenser is arguably a safety device as well as a practical home appliance, for its illumination can help prevent injurious mishaps. "A beacon for the thirsty," as Ubergizmo calls it, standing more than 21 inches tall.

The dispenser comes in a choice of black or chrome to avoid clashing with the rest of your decor. (… Read more

Lighted keyboards have become increasingly common, ranging from those that can fold away to ones that can withstand military conditions. But those might not be options if you have some kind of Tourette-like reaction to lights under your fingertips.

Enter this alternative from Korean inventor Spike Kwon (gotta love the name), which illuminates the keys with an LED bar situated just above the top row. Though still in the developmental stages, it seems to be farther along than most concept products because it's gotten approval from the World Intellectual Property Organization, according to Gizmowatch. The best part is … Read more

Regular readers of this space know that there's no shortage of lighted and roll-up keyboards. But one that combines both? Now there's a neat trick.

The "USB Illuminated Roll-Up Keyboard" from USB Geek does just that, made from flexible silicone with a "sapphire blue" electroluminescent coating. Resistant to water and dust, it even coming in a choice of two colors--white and pink--for a mere $27, according to Technabob.

We think this is pretty nifty as is, but someone is bound to ask this question (so we will first): When will there be … Read more

So you've popped new, corkscrew-shaped, compact fluorescent lightbulbs into every lamp at home. Fingers crossed, your next electrical bill will shrink now that those wasteful incandescent lights are gone.

Millions more people may soon follow in your footsteps. A California lawmaker wants the state to ban the sale of energy-wasting incandescents altogether, as Australia is doing. Meanwhile, campaigns such as Yahoo's 18 Seconds promote switching to CFL bulbs, which are getting more shelf space in Wal-Mart stores.

However, the funny-looking fluorescents pose a pollution problem. Their energy savings may be ecofriendly, but each bulb contains enough methylmercury to … Read more