The First Super Bowl Played Under LEDs Will Use 75 Percent Less Power

It might seem like LED bulbs are only for early-adopters hoping to cut down their monthly Con Ed power bill, but come Sunday, the energy-efficient lighting alternative will take center stage at one of the greatest spectacles on Earth. This will actually be the first Super Bowl to be entirely lit by LED bulbs . Read more…

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The First Super Bowl Played Under LEDs Will Use 75 Percent Less Power

Are Brushless Cordless Tools Worth the Cost?

Brushless motor technology has been the rage in cordless power tools the last couple of years. Every major manufacturer now sells a brushless lineup of tools, but is it worth it for you? Read more…

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Are Brushless Cordless Tools Worth the Cost?

Hasbro Won’t Mind If You Design (And Sell) Your Own 3D-Printed Toys

The advent of online file sharing made it easy for anyone to copy and distribute media for free, and many feel—and fear—that 3D printing will eventually do the same for physical products. So it’s surprisingly refreshing to hear that a corporation like Hasbro has decided to embrace 3D printing, and will work with Shapeways to allow fans to design and sell their own toys based on the company’s properties. Read more…

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Hasbro Won’t Mind If You Design (And Sell) Your Own 3D-Printed Toys

Hacking Internet Connected Light Bulbs

An anonymous reader writes We’ve been calling it for years — connect everything in your house to the internet, and people will find a way to attack it. This post provides a technical walkthrough of how internet-connected lighting systems are vulnerable to outside attacks. Quoting: “With the Contiki installed Raven network interface we were in a position to monitor and inject network traffic into the LIFX mesh network. The protocol observed appeared to be, in the most part, unencrypted. This allowed us to easily dissect the protocol, craft messages to control the light bulbs and replay arbitrary packet payloads. … Monitoring packets captured from the mesh network whilst adding new bulbs, we were able to identify the specific packets in which the WiFi network credentials were shared among the bulbs. The on-boarding process consists of the master bulb broadcasting for new bulbs on the network. A new bulb responds to the master and then requests the WiFi details to be transferred. The master bulb then broadcasts the WiFi details, encrypted, across the mesh network. The new bulb is then added to the list of available bulbs in the LIFX smart phone application.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Hacking Internet Connected Light Bulbs

Ikea’s New Glowing Stool Lights a Safe LED Fire Under Your Butt

The summer isn’t even here yet, but if you’re leaving home and heading off to college in September, it’s never too early to start planning and stockpiling what you’ll need. And since you’ll probably be crammed into a tiny dorm room, Ikea’s new glowing LED stool does double duty as a lamp and place to sit/pile dirty laundry. Read more…

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Ikea’s New Glowing Stool Lights a Safe LED Fire Under Your Butt

An LED Wand Turns Your Wine Bottles Into Lamps Without Flame

Before you spend years turning an empty wine bottle into a decorative lamp by covering it in countless melted candles, consider these $28 LED alternatives instead. Not only do they glow brighter, they’re much less of a fire hazard—it’s a win-win. Read more…

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An LED Wand Turns Your Wine Bottles Into Lamps Without Flame

LED Tubes Will Make Fluorescent Seem Old Fashioned

Cree, front-runners in the scramble to replace traditional forms of illumination with greener LED sources, has just announced the release of a new type of tube light designed to tackle one of the biggest energy hogs in Corporate America: fluorescent overhead lights. Read more…

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LED Tubes Will Make Fluorescent Seem Old Fashioned

Use Your Favorite USB Keyboard On Your Phone With This Backup Battery

It can be hard to choose a backup battery when the market is as flooded as Bluetooth speakers and iPhone cases have become. Manufacturers are now finding ways to include added value with their emergency power supplies, like Cerevo’s new EneBrick that can turn your favorite USB keyboard into a wireless Bluetooth accessory for your tablet or smartphone. Read more…        

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Use Your Favorite USB Keyboard On Your Phone With This Backup Battery

You’ll Never Trip Over This In-Ground Solar Light

They’re the perfect accent to a well-manicured backyard, but the solar-powered lights dotting your gardens and walkways are just one misstep away from being accidentally destroyed. So Ikea’s come up with the perfect solution , LED lights that you press into your lawn so that they’re flush to the ground while still providing plenty of light. Read more…        

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You’ll Never Trip Over This In-Ground Solar Light