Dean Kamen is awesome. He has an amphibious vehicle and replica of Stonehenge on his island!

http://www.longislandlighthouses.com/ndpics.htm

http://flickr.com/photos/timoreilly/2892279349/

http://flickr.com/photos/timoreilly/2893125074/

http://flickr.com/photos/timoreilly/2892284045/

It's really nice to have Dean Kamen as a validator for LED lighting. Our startup has developed the brightest and most beautiful LED lamp available at any price, and we plan to sell it at a price that is really nice. We are currently raising our seed round and are located in Ottawa and Montreal which is very close to Mr. Kamen's workshop.

I wonder if he would be interested in what we are doing...

For those new to the space, LEDs are the future of light. For over 50 years they have followed a Moore's law type of geometric rate of improvement in energy-efficiency, brightness, and cost. (2x improvement every 18-24 months) They are now competitive with CFL and will be the obvious choice within a few short years. Sooner if we succeed.

Learn more: http://www.arkalumen.com

http://superbrightleds.com/edison_globe.html is currently selling LED products for homes and vehicles currently. Though they are expensive.

What sort of area of the market are you planning to target with your product?

Full disclosure: I previously worked for superbrightleds several years ago.

LED products may still be expensive, but they are easy to use and great to DIY. They are also perfect for locations (boats, sheds, etc) where you can't get AC power easily. I have a basic page here http://www.cedarlakeinstruments.com/products/led.html to show just how easy it is to build your own LED lighting. I am (slowly) adding more content to it as time permits.

If anyone has any ideas for content, contact me.

The problem with CFLs & LEDs is not that they theoretically last a long time, it's that they're electrically fragile. Incandescents can take worse electrical conditions a lot better, and thus can last a lot longer.

Actually, I've tended to find that CFLs last longer with dodgy electrics than incandescents do. I lived in a flat three years ago where no incadescent lasted more than 6 months, but the flourescent bulbs were fine.

The initial investment with LEDs is much higher than with incandescents, so it might make sense to include a power-conditioning driver.