lamp

In the recording of today's Open Season podcast, Dave Rosenberg likened Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Yahoo to the combination of AOL and Time Warner. A bit brutal, perhaps, but one gets the sneaking suspicion that he may be right.

One big question to be answered in such a merger is whose platform prevails? Microsoft's, of course. But Microsoft's platform (.Net, etc.) may be doing well in the enterprise but it's a complete bust on the Web. Try to think of a single cool startup (besides MindTouch) that is building on .Net? Time's up. There … Read more

Interface21, which now goes by SpringSource, is looking to add a little bounce to its business by buying fellow open-source company Covalent Technologies.

SpringSource, which announced the acquisition Tuesday, develops a popular open-source tool called Spring Framework designed to help accelerate the development of Java applications for enterprise servers.

With the acquisition, SpringSource is looking to build on Covalent's products and services that target Apache Software Foundation open-source projects, such as the Apache Tomcat Application Server and Apache Geronimo Application Server. Both companies derive revenues from selling support services.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. But it'… Read more

We'll refrain from the obvious nerd references here, as some people are a bit sensitive about the topic of date repellants. A little too close to home, apparently.

So we'll just pass along this item from Technabob about a "Lightsaber lamp" from Japan. We're not so sure how much light they give off, but they do come in Jedi and Sith models (green and red, respectively).

But be aware that these lamp-sabers measure less than 16 inches, so don't expect to have any impromptu duels.

There's more to Energizer than the bunny. Despite the pink ears worn by some booth reps at CES, we did like what we saw of the versatile, new Energizer "Light on Demand" range.

At the heart of this series lies a removable light stick that packs onboard rechargeable batteries. What makes it so usable is that the light stick can function independently of its specific setup like, say, a Wall Sconce ($45). Detached from the main unit, it can work as an emergency flashlight. And if those rechargeables konk out, simply slot in AAA batteries, and you'… Read more

The Koncept folks, who've already won design-of-the-year accolades, launched further designs of the LED-based desk and floor lamps at 8 to 9 watts. Banks and rows of LEDs provide light instead of compact fluorescent, incandescent, or halogen bulbs.

I'm not sure how they look away from the convention hall, but the fact that you can grab onto them without burning yourself, and the fact that they were right near the entrance got my attention.

Not burning yourself may be a key thing if you've happened to fall asleep at your desk and wake up, for example. It'… Read more

Anyone who's minimally familiar with personal weather stations knows that Oregon Scientific is obsessed with these devices--which strikes us as somewhat odd, because the weather in Oregon seems fairly predictable compared with other states (rain followed by more rain). Whatever the reason, its crusade has paid off at least where design is concerned.

No longer do home forecasting gadgets look like hospital equipment thanks to the company's efforts to add an aesthetic dimension to its products. As Technabob points out, its latest offering looks more like a retro sci-fi movie prop than something used to guess whether you … Read more

There are a lot of things that have racked up frequent flier miles on Crave. Oddly shaped USB drives, awe-inducing Guitar Hero videos, and Swarovsky-covered crap are all par for the course on the average day.

As far as I know, though, this is the first pop-up book we've seen that is also a fully operational lamp. And that's worth blogging about.

When opened, the Book of Lights creates an LED-powered pop-up lamp.

Available in traditional lampshade and Parisian streetlamp versions, it's available for preorder for $95 on Charles & Marie.

The big, linen-bound book is available … Read more

The cool thing about this lamp is you don't have to play the slumber party classic Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board to get it to levitate. It does that on its own.

Or so promises Crealev, an Eindhoven, Netherlands-based company that specializes in levitating products. Designer Angela Jansen presented her creation during Dutch Design Week last week, and design blog MoCo Loco has posted a video of the lamp in action.

It's unclear just how the lamp, or other Createv products, such as the hovering Buddha, do what they do.

Createv will only say that … Read more

Crave's in-house dating expert Carolyn McCarthy dispensed some invaluable advice last week regarding the shortcomings of under-bed lighting. Following that logic, we assume the same applies to the water as well--specifically, combination pool float-lamps.

The "Aqualibrium Pool Float" would seem to labor under the same misguided principles as the sub-bed lighting apparatus and, worse still, is considerably more expensive. BornRich says it originally listed for $1,000, though it's on apparently on sale now for $400 or $500 depending the color. Which just goes to show that money can't always buy you love.