wanfala.com » Home Appliances

The 10 Million Dollar Light Bulb

Dirk Gardner — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 12:47:26 +0000

With the flick of a switch, Philips Electronics may have just dramatically lowered America’s electric bill. In September the Dutch electronics giant became the first to enter the U.S. Department of Energy’s L Prize competition, which seeks an LED alternative to the common 60-watt bulb. Sixty-watt lights account for 50% of the domestic incandescent market; if they were replaced by LED bulbs, the U.S. could save enough electricity per year to light 17.4 million households. If Philips wins the L Prize, it will claim a cash award and federal purchasing agreements worth about $10 million.

Philips’ LED bulb emits the same amount of light as its incandescent equivalent but uses less than 10 watts and lasts for 25,000 hours — or 25 times as long.

Chilling Shot Dispenser

Dirk Gardner — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:38:52 +0000

Enjoy ice-cold drinks without a watered-down taste thanks to this unique, insulated drink dispenser. The unit takes advantage of the cooling effect of ice, but instead of simply pouring alcohol or other bottled beverages over ice cubes, it uses a unique system of circular, aluminum pipes inside the dispenser for cooling. When alcohol flows through the pipes, it immediately becomes cold due to the surrounding ice.

Prepare the dispenser by adding ice to the bucket, pouring a salt-water mixture over the ice, and closing the lid. Then place the bottle stopper into the opened bottle of liquor and turn the bottle upside down, inserting it into the flow position on top of the dispenser.

Place a shot glass under the spout, push the handle forward, and after about 60 seconds, a cold alcohol shot will pour out with no loss of intensity or flavor. A reservoir collects the ice as it melts, and a nozzle with a removable plug makes it easy to drain. The chilled shot dispenser measures 12-2/5 by 7-1/2 by 14-8/9 inches and carries a 90-day limited warranty.

Available from: Amazon.com

Travelers Power Strip with USB Chargers

Dirk Gardner — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:15:35 +0000

With rare exceptions, it’s almost impossible to find an airport or hotel room with enough power outlets for all of your electronic gadgets. Rather than challenging someone to a duel with presentation laser pointers to see who gets to use the one available airport outlet, I’ve come up with a more peaceful solution — carrying a compact multiple outlet with me.

Belkin’s Mini Surge Protector with USB Charger (at right, above) can handle three AC and two USB devices simultaneously. It’s tiny and light, and fits just in just about any laptop case.

Features

360-degree rotating plug with 4 locking positions
Provides complete surge protection through all outlets
Offers compact, lightweight, efficient design
Features mini-USB cable to charge virtually any USB device—including BlackBerry® and Motorola® RAZR phones
Comes with Lifetime Product and $75,000 Connected Equipment Warranties

Available from: Belkin

Circular Power Strip

Dirk Gardner — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:53:44 +0000

Every once in a while a design turns up that is truly ground breaking. For power strips this circular power strip is it. By making a round power strip, there is much more space around every socket allowing you to fit even a large adapter in every one.

The ezSpace UFO…You have never seen anything like it. The ezSpace UFO is more than just a plug expander. It is the most versatile power extender in the world. With its PATENTED design (internal and external), there are things that you can do with the UFO that can’t be done with any other expander. The UFO allows you to fit a power transformer on every plug in the most compact configuration. The inverse slanted design allows you to use the least amount of space to plug in large power transformers. The UFO comes in a host of specialized configurations. UFOs can be plugged into the wall or be configured as an extension cord. You can get one with surge protection or as just a plug extender.

Perfect Everywhere: The ezSpace UFO is perfect in your office, bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, work bench, warehouse, tradeshows, for holidays and more.

Available from: ezgear.com for $30.99 (at time of printing)