Electro-ramblings

This has provoked a long-running conversation... Is there is "a concept of "sexy" in the Finnish language"? Is a wide selection of handsets the critical issue? Is the Finnish cellphone industry doomed, because there's no decent beer in Finland?

Automatic headlight brightness switch (Gadget Freak)

A gadget, which provides automatic switching between high and low beam headlights when there is oncoming traffic, provoked a debate around whether the circuit could possibly blind an oncoming driver. The last post highlights (sorry, no pun intended) the perils of such devices, and concludes:

"More interestingly, an electronic dipping device was 'invented' by McMichael Radio in the early 1960's, and a director of the firm (Buckmaster, I think) had it fitted to his Bentley.

Unfortunately, this was 'totalled' when the light form a bus waiting to turn right across the path of the car caused the headlights to flash, taken by the bus driver as an invitation to proceed."

Battery Eater Has a Open Circuit (Made by Monkeys)

Karen Field highlights the strange but underwhelming case of the Battery Eater, and its blinking red LED eyes. It recalls, she says, the notorious "Wastemaker" awards received by Kodak from several environmental groups for its disposable cameras.

Though damned with rather faint praise, the gizmo, does have its defenders - "It looks very evil when lit but is actually quite cool flicking away on my fridge!".