> From: Jed Rothwell > See: > > http://store.yahoo.com/dotcoms/ilwiflet.html > > The price has fallen from $40 to $20. These are not > very bright. A slightly larger version would be ideal > for Third World house. > > I believe this is the ultimate development of the > household flashlight. It will never be fundamentally > improved in the future. Flashlights 200 years > from now may be a little brighter, smaller and lighter, > and perhaps longer-lasting, but they will still be > about this big, and they will still be hand-powered. > When you need a flashlight to walk the dog or put out > the garbage, you do not want one that is blindingly > bright, like an automobile headlight. Hand-powered > LEDs provide a convenient, useful level of light, > so I doubt anyone will replace hand power with a > battery or a cold fusion generator. Cold fusion would > be good for a large, powerful flashlight, such as one > used by rescue workers searching for a child lost in > the woods.
This model looks much better than the product Edmund's Scientific is selling at their web site. I purchased one of these out of curiosity and it malfunctioned within a month. Too much plastic. What can I say. It was $6.95. see: http://scientificsonline.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_3034031 > Ultimate technology is rare. Most machines can be > improved, and will evolve. Examples of ultimate > technology in daily life include spoons, buttons on > shirts, and the 4-function solar powered calculator. > Of course we make more complex calculators > for some purposes. But for simple arithmetic and the > quick estimates we used to do with slide rules, I doubt > the 4-function calculator can be improved upon. Buttons > on a shirt can be replaced with a zipper or Velcro, but > there is no real advantage. > > - Jed But Velcro garmets being ripped off the body in the heat of the moment make a much more satisfying noise! Regards, Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com
