OMFG. I'm about to spend way to much money on home lighting.

Duke

. . first name's "Daisy" boys
May 12, 2008
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Brandon, FL
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http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012...reviews-the-hacker-approved-philips-hue-leds/

On one hand, it's hard to recommend spending $200 on what are essentially three colored lightbulbs. Cheaper alternatives exist, though they lack most of the features that make Hue so damn fun. On the other hand, after living with the lights for a couple of weeks, it's at this point impossible to imagine life without them. I've already augmented the starter kit with three more lights, and I plan on raiding the Apple Store's stock and picking up another half-dozen shortly. The slick integration and remote control features are just downright captivating, and I am absolutely in love with being able to light up rooms in my house on a schedule, coupled with the ability to instantly invoke some funky mood lighting.

The lack of a formally released API and SDK might give truly hard-core enthusiasts and app developers pause, though enough has leaked out to give those folks a good start on their hacking efforts. It's hard to imagine Philips will do a better job of community support than the open-minded LIFX crew, but on the other hand Philips has actually shipped their product. Supply constraint issues aside, their bulbs definitely work as advertised and are available today.

My recommendation is that if you have the spare cash, they are worth buying. They're just too fun and too addictive to not own. With the holiday season upon us, they even provide a neat way to spread ChristmaHanuKwanzakkah cheer in your home. Plus, they project an awesome "I AM LIVING IN THE FUTURE" vibe—who doesn't want to live in the future?

The Good

High build quality
Dead-easy to set up
Excellent range of colors, from "normal" illumination hues to crazy funhouse lighting
Extensible, customizable, hackable control scheme is hella fun and addictive
Schedules and timers make for easy home automation
Might ruin normal lights for you forever
The Bad

Official app is a bit clunky and not that geek-friendly
It's not immediately obvious how to control different groups of lights
No way to set separate weekday and weekend timers without taking matters into your own hands
No official API or SDK yet
Might ruin normal lights for you forever
The Ugly

Sadly, there's no getting around that price tag
 
After reading the review, the expense seems to be mostly tied to the control hub. Initial out of pocket is high, adding addition lights isn't as bad. The hub will control 50 lights, so unless you are some kind of crazy person, that should cover an entire house. I guess everything related to this right now is extremely hard to find.

It reminds me of this guy about 5 years back who completely redid his rather nice condo with embedded LED lighting with a rather interesting controller setup. I want my place to be able to do this someday.
 
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led bulbs are on average 25. So thats 2.3X or so the normal price to have the option for any color ever.
 
because I can still believe that I can have awesome in my life instead of having that belief cruelly and mercilessly sucked from me and left with the empty shell of what might have been in it's place?

Thanks for ignoring my mispelt you're, and no, it's cause you are thinking of buying colored bulbs for everyday use, that doesn't fly in good home decor. :fly:

Getting a rotating bed and disco ball too?
 
Thanks for ignoring my mispelt you're, and no, it's cause you are thinking of buying colored bulbs for everyday use, that doesn't fly in good home decor. :fly:

Getting a rotating bed and disco ball too?

and this is the subtle way you do this.

Life was fine in the caves. y'all ruined a perfectly good thing.
 
which makes remodeling easy! All you need is a torch and a bucket.

Now days you need a second mortgage, contractors, some kind of permit, extra homeowners insurance, etc etc etc...

could be worse. you could have a wife that gets bored with only having one house to decorate....