Light Bulb Replacements

LoveOO writes Boston.com has a story about three companies which are trying to replace the Light bulb. I say it's about time and what about hydrogen powered vehicles? Two things that annoy me are filling the gas tank and changing light bulbs. It's time we did alot less of both."

Mousetrap

[govtcheez]

Plans to build a better mousetrap are still at the brainstorming stage

'Cause..

[CausticWindow]

Filling the gas tank is so much worse than filling the hydrogen tank?

Je ne comprende pas.

Brilliant Idea!

[jhendow]

But if we get rid of the lightbulb what will appear over my head next time of think of something?

Solution.

[secondsun]

Two things that annoy me are filling the gas tank and changing light bulbs. It's time we did alot less of both.

Do them both at the same time, sooner or later you won't have to do either ever again.

Crash

[lovebyte]

From the article:
(Imagine that, though: a computer that would glow different colors based on how much of its processing power was being used. When it turned red, you'd know that a crash was imminent.)

The Red Computer of Death then. I am not sure why your computer should crash if too much processing power is used. Maybe a combination of AMD procs and Windows?

Must be that new math....

[EmagGeek]

From the article:

"and they require much less electricity -- up to 80 percent less"

"You could replace a 100-watt light bulb with a 60-watt LED, and get the same brightness,"

"You'd save 40 percent on power"

So it is 80 percent or 40 percent?

=)

Re:Brilliant Idea!

[TonyMillion]

more importantly,

what happened to people who had amazing ideas BEFORE lightbulbs were invented?

Re:Must be that new math....

[jplamb]

Well in their plans to solve the world's energy crisis they are also assuming that since they cost $100 you'll only buy half as many. So it's 80% when you save 40% twice.

Re:Solution.

[AbbyNormal]

How bought, Hydrogen Lightbulbs? Lighter than air and go "out" with a bang.

Re:Brilliant Idea!

[Gzip Christ]

But if we get rid of the lightbulb what will appear over my head next time of think of something?

Darl McBride holding a cease and decist order for thinking about "his" intellectual property.

Re:Must be that new math....

[error502]

They must have learned math from the same place as the RIAA.

Re:Brilliant Idea!

[Verteiron]

The lamp lit. And before there were lamps, the fire lit.

And the fire lighting was the first bright idea.

Re:Heard of Flourescence?

[Anonymous Coward]

Heard of Flourescence?
No. Is that something to do with flour? Though I have heard of fluorescence!

How many Slashdotters does it take...

[bazik]

How many Slashdotters does it take to change a light bulb?

1 to change the light bulb and to post that the light bulb has been changed 14 to share similar experiences of changing light bulbs and how the light bulb could have been changed differently 7 to caution about the dangers of changing light bulbs 27 to point out spelling/grammar errors in posts about changing light bulbs 53 to flame the spell checkers 41 to correct spelling/grammar flames 6 to argue over whether it's "lightbulb" or "light bulb" ... another 6 to condemn those 6 as anal-retentive 2 industry professionals to inform the group that the proper term is "lamp" 15 know-it-alls who claim *they* were in the industry, and that "light bulb" is perfectly correct 156 to email the participant's ISPs complaining that they are in violation of their "acceptable use policy" 109 to post that this forum is not about light bulbs and to please take this discussion to a lightbulb forum 203 to demand that cross posting to hardware forum, off-topic forum, and lightbulb forum about changing light bulbs be stopped 111 to defend the posting to this forum saying that we all use light bulbs and therefore the posts *are* relevant to this forum 306 to debate which method of changing light bulbs is superior, where to buy the best light bulbs, what brand of light bulbs work best for this technique and what brands are faulty 27 to post URL's where one can see examples of different light bulbs 14 to post that the URL's were posted incorrectly and then post the corrected URL's 3 to post about links they found from the URL's that are relevant to this group which makes light bulbs relevant to this group 33 to link all posts to date, quote them in their entirety including all headers and signatures, and add "Me too" 12 to post to the group that they will no longer post because they cannot handle the light bulb controversy 19 to quote the "Me too's" to say "Me three" 4 to suggest that posters request the light bulb FAQ 44 to ask what is a "FAQ" 4 to say "didn't we go through this already a short time ago?" 143 to say "do a Google search on light bulbs before posting questions about light bulbs", 43 to post "In Soviet Russia we dont change light bulbs", 67 to reply "You insensitive clod, I prefer candles!" and 1 forum lurker to respond to the original post 6 months from now and start it all over again

Re:Brilliant Idea!

[bencvt]

Before light bulbs, tallow candles were the way to go. As you can imagine, the spontaneous materialization of tallow candles above people's heads when they chanced upon a bright idea constituted a major fire hazard. And tallow candles smell pretty bad, too; they're made out of animal fat.

Of course, this explains the Dark Ages. Good ideas caused more than their fair share of firey deaths back in the day.

Modern times: Color Kinetics has 100 patents in the works for LED lighting. So, if you have a good idea a decade or two from now, you'll have to pay massive licensing fees to the good folks at Color Kinetics. (Personally, I'd prefer the firey death.)

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Obligatory Geek Remark

[HaloZero]

I don't like light, you insensitive clod!

Thats a good reason not to adopt fuel cells....

[GoofyBoy]

... because then they couldn't justify those huge explosions during car chases in movies.

Re:How many Slashdotters does it take...

[WebMasterJoe]

You forgot one more slashdotter to preview the post, and realize that there was no formatting. I probably would have given you a +1 mod, but then I considered giving a -1 for such an eyestrain, now I've finally settled on responding to let you know why you're not getting modded up (at least by me).

Joke time.

[Anonymous Coward]

Q. How many companies does it take to replace a light bulb ?

A. Three.

Re:'Cause..

[xanadu-xtroot.com]

And guess what our primary source of hydrogen is right now: natural gas.

Just eat at Chi-Chi's [chi-chis.com] a lot. Problem solved.

Re:Brilliant Idea!

[macdaddy357]

All those how many _______ does it take to screw in a light bulb jokes would be gone, too. Could comedy survive without them?

Re:Mousetrap

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey, just take a regular mousetrap, and use peanut butter instead of cheese. Mice like that alot more. I'm going to patent it. Yes, it is obvious. And no, I didn't think of it myself. That puts it up there with 90% of todays corporate patents.

Re:Mousetrap

[tomhudson]

Plus, the cat was cheaper, almost 100% effective, made its' own replacements, and if it got run over, big deal, it was only a cat.

Re:'Cause..

[jason0000042]

It's not the flammability that's the hazard associated with pressurized gas cylinders (like hydrogen). It's the pressure. Heck, a *helium* cylinder can kill you if mishandled.

True dat. If a 100 lb metal tank hits your head at 400 mph it doesn't matter if it's flamming. That's just more reason to not have a tank of compressed hydrogen in your car. Pellets man. It's all about the pellets.

Re:'Cause..

[wirelessbuzzers]

Heck, a *helium* cylinder can kill you if mishandled.

<voice="high;sqeaky">You mean heeeleeeum can be dangerous tooooo... no waaaay...</voice>

Re:'Cause..

[John Biggabooty]

If they replaced the bulbs for the lighted signs on the sides of the Goodyear Blimp with leds, would we call it a Led Zeppelin?

Re:Brilliant Idea!

[cK-Gunslinger]

Exactly! I also wonder if someone had the original idea for Post-it Notes, but didn't have anything to jot it down on...

Change your way of life.

[alchemist68]

Two things that annoy me are filling the gas tank and changing light bulbs. It's time we did alot less of both.

Couple of things:

1. "alot" should be "a lot". "Alot" is a proper word in the English dictionary and does not refer to quantity, look it up.

2. If you're tired of filling up your gas tank so frequently, their are many more cost efficient methods of transportation, the most economical being the bicycle. If that is too slow for your needs, move closer to your place of employment, grocery store, and bank, or get a gas/electric hybrid vehicle from Honda or Toyota, or purchase a small European diesel powered vehicle. Either way, you'll get about 60 miles per gallon.

3. Tired of changing lightbulbs? The Amish (largest population in Lancaster, PA) still use lanterns that burn precious petroleum fuels and even provide heat, a plus to anyone living in Ohio or further North. Candles I think probably give the most bang for the buck, and if you're truly talented enough, and I know you are since you posted an article on Slashdot, use that creative potential to harness the power of E A R W A X. I have no doubt that EARWAX could be a viable source of light, I know, I saw it done in the movie "Shrek", and it burns quite nicely and may even produce a pleasant aroma. Seriously though, Candle light served man through most of his existence on Earth. Hell, even the Bees produce wax that burns nicely and lasts long too, and it gives off a pleasant aroma.

4. One more suggestion, I promise! And this one is totally FREE, as in beer, but requires a little time to get working. There are these little bugs called "Lightening Bugs" that fly around at dusk. Yes, they are free, but you have to spend a little time to capture them. Now, once you have Lightening Bugs captured in a glass jar, rig up some contraption that allows them to fly into a collapsable cavity composed of TWO GLASS PLATES. The instant you smash these bugs between the plate glass, you'll have light for a few hours. Hell, this could be worth your while if you have young children. You get to wear-out the kids by having them hunt down the lightening bugs so you can have a romantic evening with the misses. Oh wait, I'm sorry, you have an account on Slashdot, YOU'RE NOT MARRIED!

ALL YOUR LIGHT ARE BELONG TO THE SUN.

Re:Mousetrap

[devphaeton]

Actually, i find that the Sears 1/2hp ShopVac makes for some fun anti-rodent stakeouts. Set the cheese in the end of the intake hose, sit quietly and wait across the room holding the switch on the powerstrip.

Vaccuum cleaners make good fly swatters too.

Yes my parents had a party the day i was old enough to move out.

The ultimate slashdot lightbulb joke

[ralphclark]

a story about three companies which are trying to replace the Light bulb

Q: How many companies does it take to replace the light bulb?

A: Three.
1. One firm to dream up a replacement technology and patent it without actually specifying how it is to be achieved.
2. One firm to actually develop a replacement technology and bring it to market.
3. And a firm of lawyers to sue the second firm on behalf of the first firm.
4. ???
5. Profit!

In SOVIET RUSSIA, Beowulf cluster of lighbulbs invents YOU!

computers that glow

[ralphclark]

Imagine [...] a computer that would glow different colors based on how much of its processing power was being used. When it turned red, you'd know that a crash was imminent.

Mine does that already. Maybe I need bigger fans.

this reminded me of a txt i saw on a bbs once

[gordlea]

The Dark Sucker Theory

For years, it has been believed that electric bulbs emit light,
but recent information has proved otherwise. Electric bulbs don't
emit light; they suck dark. Thus, we call these bulbs Dark Suckers.
The Dark Sucker Theory and the existence of dark suckers prove
that dark has mass and is heavier than light.
First, the basis of the Dark Sucker Theory is that electric bulbs
suck dark. For example, take the Dark Sucker in the room you are in.
There is much less dark right next to it than there is elsewhere. The
larger the Dark Sucker, the greater its capacity to suck dark.
Dark Suckers in the parking lot have a much greater capacity to suck
dark than the ones in this room.
So with all things, Dark Suckers don't last forever. Once they are
full of dark, they can no longer suck. This is proven by the dark spot
on a full Dark Sucker.
A candle is a primitive Dark Sucker. A new candle has a white wick.
You can see that after the first use, the wick turns black, representing
all the dark that has been sucked into it. If you put a pencil next to
the wick of an operating candle, it will turn black. This is because
it got in the way of the dark flowing into the candle. One of the
disadvantages of these primitive Dark Suckers is their limited range.
There are also portable Dark Suckers. In these, the bulbs can't
handle all the dark by themselves and must be aided by a Dark Storage
Unit. When the Dark Storage Unit is full, it must be either emptied
or replaced before the portable Dark Sucker can operate again.
Dark has mass. When dark goes into a Dark Sucker, friction from
the mass generates heat. Thus, it is not wise to touch an operating
Dark Sucker. Candles present a special problem as the mass must travel
into a solid wick instead of through clear glass. This generates a
great amount of heat and therefore it's not wise to touch an operating
candle.
Also, dark is heavier than light. If you were to swim just below
the surface of the lake, you would see a lot of light. If you were to
slowly swim deeper and deeper, you would notice it getting darker and
darker. When you get really deep, you would be in total darkness. This
is because the heavier dark sinks to the bottom of the lake and the
lighter light floats at the top. The is why it is called light.
Finally, we must prove that dark is faster than light. If you were
to stand in a lit room in front of a closed, dark closet, and slowly
opened the closet door, you would see the light slowly enter the closet.
But since dark is so fast, you would not be able to see the dark leave
the closet.
Next time you see an electric bulb, remember that it is a Dark Sucker.

Re:Guys, this is history..!

[hummassa]

Down here in Brasil we're all doing the same for two years now... we had an electricity rationing... you had to lower your bill in 20% or pay a hefty fine. And then, to cover the lowering in the electricity companies' income, the fees went up 25% :(

Re:Mousetrap

[Goozbach]

I bet they'll even have a bigger party the day that you actually move.

Re:Mousetrap

[bdhall1313]

"On the flipside, what's good for catching moles? I tried cheese and peanut butter and a few leafy greens, no luck."

For gophers and moles you have to use dynamite.

Re:Brilliant Idea!

[Oscar_Wilde]

All those how many _______ does it take to screw in a light bulb jokes would be gone, too. Could comedy survive without them?

Well at first they can be replaced with jokes like:

Q: How many dyslexic engineers does it take to design a new light blub?

Then we can move onto new jokes such as:

Q: How many pro-choicers does it take to screw in an array of LEDs?

A: Two, one to do it and one to assert that the bulb didn't exist before it was lit up.

Haha.