Kensington FlyByLight USB Light

[Mr. Anderson]

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/31/wo/SCNZc2Z1X46e9El8Wx/1.3.0.3.30.8.3.25.13.0

Has anyone bought this? I saw them in the Apple Store last night and was really impressed, but I don't know how much I'd actually use it. Any reports from the field would be great.

Thanks,

D

[strider42]

I saw instructions ont he web once on how to make you're own for like 5 bucks. That said, I'm too lazy to do that, so I'm thinking about getting one as well so i can type at my computer with the light off. everything I've seen abuot them is that that work exactly as advertised.

[Mr. Anderson]

Oh, they had one up and running on an iBook, but I was wondering how much they helped when the lights were out. I couldn't convince the Apple employees to turn off all the lights in the store.....:D

[britboy]

Is this sort of thing for those who can't touch-type? I can't see much else it would be useful for.

[AlphaTech]

I have one for my TiBook and it provides enough illumination to allow you to type when the lights are low, or gone. It draws practically nothing for power, which is key if you are remote and the lights go out. Also, with the LED, you don't have to worry about blowing a bulb, and trying to find a replacement.

[Mr. Anderson]

Touch typing maybe, but if you were in the dark and had to read something in a book or on paper, maybe even on a plane it might be handy. They even have a red led light, so you can save your night vision, if you needed to look at maps or what ever. It sounds neat, I just don't know how much I'd use it. My only thought is that it might come in really handy once or twice and make the $20 cost pay for itself with ease.

[mischief]

Think about crawling behind a machine with a maglite........ yech. With this thing you could just plug it in the back of the machine and have light enough to see what's going on. If I were to do Tech support full-time I'd want one for exactly that.

[AlphaTech]

Originally posted by mischief
Think about crawling behind a machine with a maglite........ yech. With this thing you could just plug it in the back of the machine and have light enough to see what's going on. If I were to do Tech support full-time I'd want one for exactly that.

Actually, I find the small flashlights a lot better in those situations. Since you sometimes need to go places where the USB powered light cannot go. What happens when you need to look around the guts of the computer, but can't have it powered up?? I have also used the little flashlight to find dropped screws on the floor (sometimes happens no matter how careful you are).

The flexible USB powered light is great for when you are using the computer, and need to see the keys but it's too dark to do so. Or if you want to point it at a book while flying or something like that.

[neut]

"Is this sort of thing for those who can't touch-type? I can't see much else it would be useful for."

This thing would be great for playing live gig's (softsynths/virtual studios) on my G4 (and future TiBook). I'm costantly blinded by the screen brightness and no room lights.

[780pullman]

I got a flylight for christmas and it proved very useful for typing up something as I could plug it right into the side of the keyboard. I lived in a dorm room and iIt actually also proved useful for a playstation 2 because when my roommate wanted to sleep I could turn off the lights and plug that into the front of it. Another usb device that kensington has just come out with is the usb fan same deal just with a fan on the end instead of a light. Let me see if I can provide the link. http://www.kensington.com/products/pro_mob_d1471.html
the only way I could see this being useful is if you like to use your laptop outside seems like it is mostly for novelty purposes. Anyway the flylight was a good gift and has proven useful in more than one application.