Plug in the USB cord and position the light bar behind your computer display.
A small program running in the background on your computer assesses the color of the pixels displayed and tells the USB powered light bar which colors to emit.
The program comes with some presets to change colors randomly, hold one certain color, flash on the hour and show patterns known to energize, make calm or tired.
The light bar comes with small bendable legs, choice of diffusers and also is able to be temporarily affixed to the back of the display.
For brighter versions with more LEDs, an external power adaptor is included.
Programs available for Mac OS X, Windows XP/Vista and Linux. A widget allows easy control of the program with previews of patterns and colors in Mac OS X.
Coming to cheap international internet vendors near you.-- crazyrog17, Jan 18 2009 engadget: Philips Ambilight TV (2004) http://www.engadget...ilips-ambilight-tv/"a feature we've certainly never missed." Yeah, I agree... [jutta, Jan 19 2009] Luxeed Dynamic Pixel LED Keyboard: http://www.kaboodle...-pixel-led-keyboardScale it down, add monitor color-matching functionality, and you've just about got it! [Amos Kito, Jan 19 2009] The Peaceful Progression Wake Up Clock http://www.hammache....asp?promo=homepage@ Hammacher Schlemmer [Spacecoyote, Jan 19 2009] amBX by Phillips http://www.ambx.phi.../Ambx_Overview.htmlGuess it came out in 2005?... :( Under $99 for a starter kit [crazyrog17, Aug 22 2010] [+] I love USB gadgets (except for daft ones that fry your motherboard by warming your coffee...and the like).-- Spacecoyote, Jan 18 2009 [+] but baked on modern TV's.-- FlyingToaster, Jan 19 2009 but I want one.-- FlyingToaster, Jan 19 2009 They do have flat screen TVs that do something like this, but an alarm clock? Do you mean, it has an alarm clock that wakes you up by turning on a light? The poster talks about something rather different.
This is a very feasible product idea. I wouldn't buy it, but I bet someone else would, and it has lots of applications for entertainment.-- jutta, Jan 19 2009 Point me to the store, seriously. It would make my time on the computer much less debilitating: I've got a desklight shining on the (dark coloured) wall right now which helps somewhat.-- FlyingToaster, Jan 19 2009 <churn>-- FlyingToaster, Mar 01 2010 random, halfbakery