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Roadmaster scrolling LEDs enable artistic license

Now you have an alternative to your programmable VW bumper sticker if you want to communicate digitally with other road users. Roadmaster has unveiled two scrolling LED message systems that enable drivers to program up to 99 preset messages and five user-edited messages to share with other drivers. The system comes in two models: the Roadmaster Scrolling Digital License Plate Frame, and the Scrolling Rear Deck Message System, which sits on the car's parcel shelf; both are priced at $69.

Preset words and phrases can be called up using numbers on the systems' TV-like remote controls. According to Roadmaster, … Read more

Headlamps can light up the 'hood

It may be the season of power outages, but you'll never have to worry about stubbing your toe in the dark if you have one of these lamps. In fact, you can light up the whole neighborhood just by turning your head.

FoxFury, which makes industrial-grade lighting products, is offering some serious LED headlamps for personal use as well. Its "Signature Series" includes various versions that are designed for such activities as hunting, hiking and even diving, according to OhGizmo, with different LEDs for each purpose. The scuba model, for instance, has blue and green lights that … Read more

Behold the power of the LED home lightbulb

She's holding a lit lightbulb in her hand. Is the prophecy true? Is she the chosen one?

No, that's just Amber Nystrom, founder of Social Fusion, holding up the Pharox, an LED light by Lemnis Lighting that's designed to fit into an ordinary lamp socket (there's a battery in this one; the home models just screw in). It offers about the same amount of light as a 40-watt bulb but consumes about 90 percent less energy. If you haven't heard by now, lightbulbs waste a lot of energy. Around 95 percent of the energy turns … Read more

LED lamp looks like alien vehicle

This designer LED lamp isn't quite egg-shaped enough to qualify for the evil ovum empire, but it's close enough. Just look at this thing--it's like a spherical spaceship opening up to reveal its alien passengers or a battery of death rays (most likely both).

The "Barry" fixture from Sweden's Flux has a mirrored upper interior that reflects about 70 white LEDs from the bottom half, according to OhGizmo. But the real offense here isn't alien domination of Earth; it's the price--$1,100.

If that's not enough to start a War of the Worlds, … Read more

A map clock for world domination

After seeing more than our share of watches and clocks that make no sense, we're glad to cite one that we can actually read--in several time zones at once, no less.

The "World Time Clock" displays the time in 22 cities around the world in red LEDs, according to Uber-Review. The $264 price tag may be a bit steep for what it does, but the retro design--red LEDs against a black-and-gray world map--give it kind of a Dr. Strangelove feel for those times when you want to play Cold War.

Lights for the sake of lights

A gadget that projects colored lights may seem pointless to many people, especially when it has no raver or laser effects. But for us it conjures memories of our childhood when, every Christmas, our cheapskate dad would pull out a silver aluminum tree that came with a rotating lamp to give it "festive colors." How depressing.

As best we can tell from the description on TechEBlog, Philips' "LivingColors" is basically just a multi-hued LED lamp that can be dimmed or intensified by remote control to match your mood (see the YouTube clip below). Why anyone would … Read more

Sunshine on your shoulder to make you happy

Winter is fully upon us. Whether you have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) or Winter Blues, the milder version of the disorder, you are probably yearning for the warmth of the sun and the hypothalamus boosts it triggers.

The Litebook Elite is a portable device that contains 24 LEDS that mimic sunlight minus the dangerous UV radiation.

As the Gadgeteer (who suffers through Indiana winters) points out, many of us get to work and arrive home in the dark, leaving no opportunity for what little natural light is available during the winter day.

The Litebook Elite for $30 is intended to … Read more

LED lamp breaks the mold

A lot of the energy-conserving lamps we've seen look like something out of a Cold War-era Soviet office building. But the "Lightening Stick" (sic) by "green" home designer Oliver Heath is a refreshing exception. This steel fixture has "a row of color-changing LEDs down its spine" that can be set to your preferences, according to Shiny Shiny. But do be careful not to mistake it for the "Lightning Rod."

The posture police

Given our circuitous posture, we sometimes wonder if we're even descended from the homo erectus species. If it were up to us, we'd spend every waking moment in the supine state that we find most natural.

But society doesn't look kindly upon those of us who assume this position in public places, so we're forced to address the dreaded posture issue. Brando may make this slightly easier, according to Uber-Review, with its "USB posture reminder," an LED sensor that sits atop the monitor and flashes irritatingly if you get too close to the screen.… Read more

Put the funk back in your life

It's touted as a disco enhancement, but it looks a lot more like raver chic to us. Whatever it is, Hammacher Schlemmer's "Dancing Light MP3 Synchronizer" will funkify your party with 33 multicolored LEDs bouncing off a concave mirror to the beat of whatever tunes you choose. It can even be set to four programs, "Andante, Moderato, Allegro and Presto." But if we were going to take this route, we'd just as soon go for the full retro effect with a home laser show. And remember, don't bogart that Nano.