Techmanistan, Monday - With January comes the big trade shows, and with big trade shows come a bevy of groundbreaking devices. These devices often are truly groundbreaking, however, in the sense that they reflect that step before foundations have been laid and any building has been done.

What caught my eye this year is the LightWedge, and amazing new doodad that lights the page of your book perfectly and evenly, suitable for use on airplanes, in bed, and… um, did I mention airplanes?

The not-ready-for-1.0 caveat that comes with the LightWedge, unfortunately, is the fact that the 7″x9″ frame and acrylic overlay screen has to be clipped onto each page individually. That’d mean adjusting the thing twice as often as you’d turn a page. And you still have to turn the page.

Are you someone who’d benefit from the LightWedge? To find out, answer these simple questions: When did you start reading this blog entry, and when do you think you’ll finish? If your answers were “A couple of days ago,” and “February,” the LightWedge may be for you.

[photo]
[A satisfied customer: “I read page 124 of ‘The Pelican
Brief’ all the way from Chicago to London in perfect comfort!”]

So if you’re the type whose longer reading sessions require the use of an analgesic lip balm, by all means check it out. But in all liklihood, the LightWedge will join the ranks of other placeholder inventions that were Almost Useful:

Stillvision - In 1938, this revolutionary device hit the market: A machine that one-upped the radio by allowing broadcasters to transmit sound and slides. Right into your home! Unfortunately for its inventors, TV made its mass market debut a few years later, deep-sixing the highly anticipated Golden Age of Filmstrips.

The PalmSlab - Introduced in about 19,000 BC, this state-of-the-art hunk of rock aimed to revolutionize writing for the Cro-magnon on the go. The slab of granite was a bit on the heavy side, however, and the included miniature hammer and chisel fostered more bruised thumbs than neatly-drawn pictograms. After animal skins and papyrus came into vogue, though, the PalmSlab enjoyed a second life as a kitschy collector’s item and played an important role in the development of irony.

The Bloat - This medieval defensive system encircled one’s castle by soaking the ground via cleverly-designed aqueducts. When it turned out that invading hordes were not often deterred by the threat of “getting all muddy” and “possibly catching a cold,” the bloat was abandoned in favor of the more expensive but infinitely more useful “moat.”

The Horse-Assisted Carriage - Shortly before Henry Ford revolutionized personal transportation, an Indiana inventor launched this marvel. It was designed “so that your horse can sit comfortably next to you whilst pedalling” and apparently made it easier to find a parking spot.