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LightSquared's end is near.

The company filed for bankruptcy today, according to Bloomberg, marking an unglamorous end to its attempt to create an upstart provider of super-fast wireless service.

LightSquared was designed as a neutral wholesale provider of 4G LTE service, injecting additional competition into the industry and giving companies an alternative partner to work with. Despite its network in constant jeopardy, it had lined up an impressive list of partners willing to ride on its network.

LightSquared, in a statement, said the company plans to continue its normal operation through the process, and still plans to build its … Read more

We've all had moments when we heard a mysterious shuffling in the dark. Or we got news that the in-laws were showing up unannounced. Or the Roomba finally became sentient and set out for revenge. Those moments call for a panic button.

The Panic Button Light Switch Replacement Kit from ThinkGeek will at least make you feel a little better in those moments before your Roomba sucks you into its robotic rotors of oblivion. … Read more

Even if your tablet appreciation never deviates from pragmatic, functionality concerns, you'll at least have to admit that a thin tablet has its advantages. Thin tablets are usually sleeker, sexier, and easier to handle. Also, their relative girth does not necessarily preclude them from including plenty of useful connections.

By their nature of being so thin, all tablets on this list are the lightest on the market within their screen-size category. The tablets on this list were chosen with respect to both their weight and girth.… Read more

Toshiba and Bridgelux think they're worked out the key ingredient to making LED lighting mainstream: silicon.

The two companies today announced a partnership to manufacture LED light sources using much of the equipment typically used in semiconductor fabs. They intend have a commercial-scale facility operating next year, according to Bridgelux CEO Bill Watkins. As part of the deal, Toshiba has invested an undisclosed amount in Livermore, Calif.-based Bridgelux.

LED light sources, which are used in everything from TVs and consumer light bulbs, are typically made with a semiconductor -- gallium nitride -- on a layer of sapphire. Bridgelux … Read more

Switch Lighting's LED bulbs have similar technical specs to its competitors, but the startup is counting on clever design and good looks to stand out in a crowded field.

The company plans to make its first three general-purpose light bulbs available this summer to lighting distributors and today is expected to introduce a three-way bulb and a 240-volt bulb for markets outside the U.S.

Its first bulbs are replacements for 40-watt, 60-watt, and 75-watt incandescent lamps. Costing between $40 and $50, they are primarily aimed at commercial customers. Switch Lighting is also working on a less expensive consumer-oriented … Read more

General Electric today introduced a 100-watt equivalent LED bulb which is the clearest example yet of how high-tech lighting has become.

The company's Energy Smart LED bulb consumes 27 watts to give off the same amount of light as a 100-watt incandescent lamp. It will be released in the first half of next year. The price has not yet been set.

GE's announcement, made at the Light Fair industry conference in Las Vegas, shows how lighting manufacturers have finally cracked one of the toughest challenges in LED lighting -- making lamps able to give off a lot of … Read more

Philips this fall will release an LED bulb as bright as a 100-watt incandescent lamp, filling out its existing LED line.

The company will add to its EnduraLED line with a lamp that gives off almost 1,700 lumens, or about the amount of light as a 100-watt incandescent, and consumes 23 watts. The product will be available this fall. Philips did not disclose the price but it is expected to be in the $40 to $50 range.

This latest EnduraLED has a color temperature is a warm yellow at 2,700 Kelvin, is dimmable, and has a color rendering … Read more

Cameras at intersections may curb red light runners, but detractors like to argue that any offset in traffic violations is met with an increase in rear-end accidents. Not so, says a television station that debunked a couple of red light camera myths.

Drivers running red lights caused 762 deaths in 2008, and an estimated 165,000 people are injured annually by red light crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). To combat these sometimes deadly accidents, many cities install traffic light cameras in key intersections that capture the offenders' license plates, and … Read more

Hedge fund manager Philip Falcone is expected to eventually step aside as the public face of LightSquared in an effort to keep the foundering wireless broadband effort from defaulting on debt, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The move is expected to prompt the company's lenders to approve a debt extension that would keep the company from having to file for bankruptcy protection, people familiar with the matter told the Journal. The holders of LightSquared's $1.6 billion in debt have given Falcone until 10 a.m. Monday to strike a deal for restructuring Harbinger's 96 percent equity … Read more