Gizmodo: LED lights

Picture Frame Shows Which of Your IM and Skype Friends Are Online

Jason Chen — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:00:00 EDT

We absolutely love it when cyberspace and meatspace intersect, which is why we're enthused over this Online Notification Picture Frame. It's a DIY project that connects via some interface (the guy doesn't say) to a computer, which feeds online status information back to the display. If a person's online, the LED next to his photo lights up. We'd prefer it if this were a more digital solution like an actual photo frame that dynamically displayed the pictures of people who were online, but this is a good start. [Volunteer Lab Rat via Hacked Gadgets]

Joyrider, Possibly the Most Expensive LED Spoke Lights in the World

AddyDugdale — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 04:32:25 EST

Moritz Waldemeyer, London-based shiny, spangly design person, has designed what must be the most expensive pair of spoke lights evah. Auctioned off at the ICA Gala Fundraiser in London last week, the Joyrider LEDs, which put a smile on the wheels of your bike, went for almost $4,000. Perhaps that's because they came attached to a couple of vintage-style bikes that Waldemeyer has designed.

The design evokes new rave couture, with its iconic smiley face and the strobe effect, bringing kitsch glamour to the cycling experience. The minimalist components are attached to the spokes of the wheel, emitting a fixed image of a smiley face using LED lights. This effect is achieved through inbuilt microchips that are able to calculate the speed of the wheel in such a way that the smiley face remains stationary while the wheel spins.

New rave couture? Oh, man, that's just spokally old skool. [Dezeen]

We Wish You a Tacky Christmas

Mark Wilson — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 10:39:51 EST

There are those who celebrate the holidays as a time for friends, family and merriment. There are others who feel that this time of year solely exists as a canvas for their oil paint that is horrible Christmas lights. Here are the best/worst of what you sent, depending how you look at it.

Our winners after the jump.

Third Place (Pity Vote)
"I made this last year while living in Bethlehem, PA. Its the best Hanukkah decoration I could find."

Runner Up ("Bad Christmas lights...")

WINNER ("My Neighbors Hate Me")

And for those who haven't checked it out, the gallery really has some great pictures (along with more from the "My Neighbors Hate Me" series. Thanks to everyone for your submissions.

Thanks to this site for inspiration, promo pics and a couple gallery shots.

Net Cowboy Webcam Illuminates the Goods

Jason Chen — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 12:30:05 EDT

If there's anything those amateur internet webcam video ladies need to improve their quality (besides, you know, exercising and eating right), it's more light. This Net Cowboy from Digital Cowboy of Japan does the job seven times over.

It may look like a USB missile launcher, but it's actually a 1.3-megapixel webcam with seven LEDs to light up whatever's in front of the lens. It even comes with some software so you can view the cam through your cellphone as well, which is better than lugging around a laptop like we usually do. [Akihabara News]

Waterproof, Anatomically Correct Feeling Eggs Light Up

AddyDugdale — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 06:13:43 EDT

From Japan, Feeling Egg is a waterproof LED light in the shape of, yes, an egg. You can put them anywhere you want, lighting up places where no egg has gone before, and they sell two pairs in each eggbox.

Each egg runs on 3 LR44 button batteries and the set of red, green, blue and yellow, will set you back $59. And I hope you're impressed by the fact that I refrained from making any egg-cellent puns during the writing of this post. Oh, and no chickens were harmed during the making of these eggs or in the writing of this post.

Ah well, at least I tried.

Product Page [C Scout Japan via PopGadget]

Spin Camping Light, Your Porto-Disco

Charlie White — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 08:22:24 EDT

We're not entirely sure what you do on your camping trips, but we do know that this Spin Camping Light will get your disco jones into funky town no matter where you are. Tack this $15 sucka up in your tent and boogie the night away to its 60 LEDs. But be careful with that music selection—the bears may not have the Night Fever as badly as you do. – Charlie White

Product Page [Brando]

Philips LED Closet Lights Are Smarter Than You

Jason Chen — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 18:23:17 EDT

Philips has some fantastic new magnetic LED lights coming out at the end of this year that are perfect for the closet. Why the closet? Because they're magnetic, they're cordless, and they turn off by themselves after 15 seconds of not sensing any motion.

Other cool details: they cost between $10 and $15 each, and have a magnetic back that makes it easy to change its three AA batteries. The lights are really bright (thanks to the LEDs), are white (not blue), and will be available in silver first and other colors later. Hell, we didn't even know we needed motion sensing lights for our closet before this, but now we're on board. – Jason Chen

LED Seatbelt Light Fondles, Illuminates

Travis Hudson — Thu, 03 May 2007 13:40:00 EDT

I've been on a lifelong quest to find a car without an interior light, which I still have not, but when I do, I'll be ready with the seatbelt LED light. The strangely large device clips onto the seatbelt and has an adjustable LED light to illuminate the area when needed. It is big, bulky and replaces something already owned by many. I guess it is convenient that it can be detached and taken with you as a small flashlight for those emergency potty breaks or checking under the hood. Watch out where you clip the flashlight, ladies. The one pictured here sure is excited to be, uh, cushioned in that particular area. $11. –Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via Uberreview]

Pelican Flashlight: Scarier Than a Gun

Mark Wilson — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 16:15:20 EDT

See that badass guy above holding the gun? Well that's no gun—that's a flashlight. Ok, it's really a gun. But the new Pelican 7060 is still hardcore enough to fool you for a moment, and that's all that matters.

Designed for the LAPD, the Pelican 7060 uses 10,000 hour LED bulbs that run for 90 minutes per optional car charge. Plus, the weight is 50% lighter than standard issue police lights (we're guessing due to smaller batteries and lightweight Xenoy resin body). But the feature that we're most excited about:

First-of-its-kind three-way switch technology gives officers a choice to readily switch from patrol to tactical mode in seconds.

Despite having little clue what this means, we still hope to pick one up when the Pelican 7060 is available to the public this June.

– Mark Wilson

Pelican 7060 [Pelican]

Remote-Control Color-Changing LED Light

Travis Hudson — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 13:10:47 EST

Another day, another cool gadget from Brando. This is a simple LED lightbulb, but it includes a remote control to change the color on the fly. This light can flash different colors, strobe, fade and more with a push of a button. It also may be the world's most expensive lightbulb at $48. –Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via OhGizmo!]

USB XMas Lights: LEDs For Monitors or Lil' Trees

blongo2 — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 19:44:10 EST

I know it's pretty clich but the holidays seem to be getting started earlier and earlier every year. Wasn't it just halloween yesterday? My girlfriend (read: imaginary friend) is already covering the apartment with red and green decorations. Well for those of you out there that love to adorn your office with holiday cheer, Brando, sellers of everything USB have you covered.

They're selling a USB Christmas kit that comes with a strand of 16 red and green USB powered lights, a christmas hat, sign for the top of your monitor, mouse pad, and a few other holiday accessories to trick out your cubicle with all for $18.

Close ups after the jump.

USB-Powered X-Mas Decoration Kit [via UberGizmo]

Mouse not included

– Ben Longo

Finger LEDs Help You Piss People Off

Louis Ramirez — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 14:47:23 EDT

We've seen LEDs in lots of different places before, but this one's our personal favorite. Strap this four-pack of lights to your fingers and let the finger-pointing begin. If you're feeling macho, go on and point the lights at someone till you piss them off. The lights can project up to a mile away which gives you enough of a running head start to avoid getting a beat down. Your chances of ever talking to a female while wearing these are probably zero, but that's what fembots are for. A 4-pack goes for $7 bucks. – Louis Ramirez

Ultra LED Finger Lights [via The Red Ferret Journal]