Gizmodo: light switch

Blow On And Off Light Switch Is The Clapper For People With Decent Lung Capacity

Sean Fallon — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:40:00 EDT

Can you still blow out your birthday candles? Yes? Then you just might have what it takes to own one of these light switches. It's like The Clapper, only lazier.

As you can see from the video, the switch functions wirelessly and can be placed anywhere that's convenient. It can be turned on and off with a single breath and it also features a handy night light mode. Plus, when you are feeling strong enough to lift a single finger, it can be turned on and off the old fashioned way. Sigh...if only you were still with us Billy Mays. [Amazon via zedomax]

DIY Steampunk Light Switch Plates

Andi Wang — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 23:00:13 EDT

Steampunk may be played out now, but these simple, yet elegant, DIY Steampunk light-switch plates make me want to jump back into the craze.

All you need are a brass-plated light-switch plate—Steampunk Home Decor suggests purchasing some from Home Depot—old brass tidbits, some paint stripper, a hammer, scissors, tupperwear, ammonia, a buffer, an electronic solder and a torch. On second thought, I think I'll stick to a glue gun, some pipe cleaners and maybe some googly eyes. [Steampunk Workshop via Craziest Gadgets]

Gesture-Controlled Light Switch is Like a Trackpad For Your House

John Herrman — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 07:28:15 EST

The hardware in Mac Funamizu's gesture-controlled light switch would be very, very simple—after all, it's just a trackpad. But it's the input methods that make this exciting: just as laptop trackpads can track gestures for scrolling, this light switch would parse them to control up a roomful of lights, either together or in unison. The lights are mapped onto the pad as they are positioned in the room, and a simple sliding motion toward or away from a specific light would brighten or dim it individually. For maximum light-dimming suavity, the circular gesture function takes control of every bulb at once.

This is still just a concept, but it's one of the rare ones that could, with a little ingenuity, plausibly get built. I mean, clappers did, so it sort of has to, right? [NewLaunches]

Star Trek Plate Covers Won't Make Your Lights Turn On Any Faster

Jesus Diaz — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 09:45:00 EST

You can't wait for the movie. You have the t-shirts, the tricorder replica, the klingon doctorate, your room looks like the Enterprise's bridge, your face has morphed already into a sexy Vulcanian, and you have been writing your first Star Trek novel for years now. But do you have these plates for your electrical wall thingies? Yeah. That's what I thought. Go get the three of them for only $18. My favorite by far is the power plug plate:

And yes, it's TNG and not the original series, but unless you are one of those people who actually have William Shatner albums in their iPod, these will do. [Think Geek]

Jesus Switch Turns On, Off

Jesus Diaz — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 06:49:09 EST

We like our switches switches switches here in Gizmodo, but this Jesuswitch is just wrong wrong wrong. WRONG. Blame my catholic upbringing, but I would stay in the room in the dark for fear of turning the light on. [Flickr via Digg]

Silicone Switch Design Improves the Light Switch

Jason Chen — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 15:10:58 EDT

Just a design from Ross McBride, this silicone switch design simplifies the light switch concept for people who don't quite grok the "up equals on, down equals off" concept. In this case, one silicone bump means, er, on? And two silicone bumps mean, obviously, off. We think. In any case, you can smash the light with your fist like a barbarian instead of flicking it up or down, like a hoity-toity college professor. – Jason Chen

Ross McBride [ via Gadgetizer]

How To Build A Touchless Lightswitch

Jason Chen — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 20:35:22 EDT

Other than gimmicks like The Clapper, we've always had to turn on and off our lights by touching stuff. No longer, my friends, as Ryan from Gogglemarks has made a switch powered by a capacitive sensor. To switch on and off the lights, just make any sudden moves in a close proximity to the sensor. Wicked. – Jason Chen

HOWTO Build a Touchless Lightswitch [Gogglemarks via Make via Hacked Gadgets]