The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 13

Life Style The Indianapolis Star SATURDAY, JUNE 14, 1986 5 3HT PAGE 13 High-tech halogens are on the horizon. Tiny heads snake into Infinite gooseneck positions to gens: Too Ke? im i 2 Ki 'W. 1.4 4 4:44: 4w; to handle? they last longer than traditional bulbs, they also cost $8. $10 and By SALLY FALK dent of Lumlnatae a lighting distributor. "It's a real efficient source of Incandescent light, and the Europeans have been using them for years because of energy problems and because they're really compact." While only a small percentage of his total commercial lighting business Is halogens, they represent more than two-thirds of his sales of home table and floor (portable) lamps.

Fleming points out that 100 watts of energy is 100 watts. "What happens Is. a lot of halogen lamps get into the 500-watt type of indirect lighting. Indirect lighting is nice, but when you i bounce light off the ceiling, you need more light because It travels further." he adds. Hence the larger, and therefore, hotter, bulbs.

Americans are not used to 300- or 500-watt bulbs or the heat involved. Another reason halogens are hot is that they're concentrated. Even small-wattage bulbs are hot because the energy is focused into a small area. Corn-pare It to being stepped on by a ilat-sole Jogging shoe or the spike heel of a woman's pump. That concentration of light also is a benefit.

It's the physics of lighting: a small light source projects light better and requires a smaller reflector. -i. An especially nifty halogen design features a compact-sized mirror that's adjustable so the light can be reflected and pinpointed on an art object sitting on the table next to the lamp. This "metal lamp is like a zero-clearance fireplace; it has double-insulated walls so It doesn't overheat and so you can touch the lamp and not burn yourself. up.

They are sensitive; touching one with your bare hands can deteriorate the bulb. And touching a halogen bulb when It's lighted Is asking for an instant burn. Halogen bulbs are a red-hot poker of concentrated energy. Some only a few light fixtures which use halogen tungsten bulbs are listed by United Laboratories. The familiar U.L.

electric and fire safety testing group says it is aware of the fact halogen lamps give off a lot of heat. As part of the investigation to meet U.L.; standards, manufacturers are required to put warning markings on their product such as: "Do not use this fixture close to curtains." Unlike space heaters which shut off automatically when they are tipped over, halogen lamps may pose a potential hazard if they are knocked over. Lamps which bear the U.L. mark must meet a tip-over test. 4 Many halogen lamps are imported and are not submitted for the voluntary U.L.

testing pro-1 gram. But this spring plenty of American manufacturers introduced halogen designs at the Southern Furniture Market. Halogen lamps are especially popular as torch lights, desk lights for specific tasks and chandeliers. "They're very popular In Europe." says Larry Fleming, presi highlight art or work surfaces. Chandeliers are lightweight and low-wattage, so tixtures can hang from thin wires that supply the electricity while supporting the socket at the same time.

Halogen bulbs also can be used inside, sculptural fixtures. For instance. Lumlnatae has a Tiny bulb a heat hazard? large, handblown cranberry glass vase from Murano, Italy with a tiny halogen at the base, The light is diffused by an. opaque glass crystal, suspended in the middle of the vase. "Halogen lamps are in style' says Fleming, you cart design a nice-looking lamp around them." "In reality, imported portable lamps are very expensive.

Fleming admits. The status Tizio lamps sell for approximately $185 Italy and about $370 in the United States. ny has repackaged the 64 In spiffy beige casing that replaces-the mud-brown color, and out two clever ways to? breathe life into the old work horse through software: In. the new 64c packaged-Commodore will include a special floppy disc. The A side con- tains GEOS.

a new graphics-oriented operating system that gives users a Macintosh-like In'' terface to their 64. This new system, which runs on all may not only spur software de-. velopers to create GEOS softr, ware, it may also encourage a new class of buyers who want the ease of using a home com-fv puter without having to shell out more than $500. On the side. 1 Commodore provides something else this col--umn has argued for: teleconr munications software.

Just add a modem and the Commodore 64, signs on to the Q-Link computer network, which offers -an array of on-line software games and services. Thus. thes Commodore 64 is being positioned as a communications ma- chine as well as a Marketed correctly, that percepvi tion could really drive sales, es. peclally since the Commodore 64, modem only costs around $40. In fact, a new Commodore 64t with a disc drive and modem should run slightly over What about the much-toutedr Amiga computer? "It's two or.

thre quarters behind where we, expected it to be," says Smith. "It will take longer than expect-ed" for It to succeed. 'tomtit' STAR HOME FURNISHINGS EDITOR Halogen lamps are hot. These new-style lights feature tiny Tom-Thumb bulbs, high-chic styling and high-tech illumination. They're hot in contemporary design and hot physically so hot that some experts are questioning their safety in the home.

Traditionally, consumers may not read Instructions, so here's a warning printed on a manufacturer's tag: "If you value your curtains, or any other loose or hanging flammable materials, keep them away from your halogen." Although several types of halogen bulbs are available, the halogen lights used in homes are tungsten halogen quartz bulbs. The potential problem with these tiny bulbs Is heat. Halogens are small: smaller than your thumb for a 50-watt bulb, about the size of a cigar for 500 watts. They are more efficient than ordinary incandescent lamps giving you more wallop for the wattage. a They are bright and the light is white.

They are expensive. Though STAR STAFF PHOTO FRANK ESPICH Firms working to revive the home computer market i 7' 1 Mali i STAR STAFF PHOTOS JEFF ATTEBERRY 2 4 j. x. x4 By MICHAEL SCHRAGE WASHINGTON POST WRITERS GROUP Chicago My favorite scene in Frankenstein films is when the corpse is strapped on the operating table, the electrodes are firmly clamped, and pr. Frankenstein screams.

"Live! Live!" to the hulking cadaver he seeks to resurrect. The scene Came to mind at the recent Consumer Electronics Show, where Commodore and Atari corporate Franken-steins both were screaming. "Live! Live!" to a moribund home-computer market they are seeking to revive with price cuts and new technology. Will life imitate the horror movies? Can the home computer market be brought back from the dead? You betcha. insists Atari President Sam Tramiel son of Jack, the ex-Commodore commodore who now runs Atari.

Sam says sales of Atari's ST are soaring, especially overseas, and that ST software Is now avail- able in quantity. Atari's STs are powerful 32-bit machines with graphics that move so fast they nearly leave skidmarks on the screen. Hewing to its "power without the price" slogan, the company has again slashed the price of its 520 ST package, this time down to $600 (from $800). which includes a monochrome monitor. Under the Tramiels.

Atari has successfully adopted the Commodore ethic: If you can get the price low enough, you can sell an awful lot of machines, even if Personal Computers people aren't sure what to do with them. Create the installed base to get software developers to design their products and hope that hit software will emerge to drive sales further. Certainly the wealth of software activity at the Atari booth indicates this concept has a chance. But because of this price-driven strategy, Sam Tramiel's main worry Is the flood of cheap IBM PC clones from Korea and Taiwan. Tramiel fears that, rather than take a chance on the razzle-dazzle of the ST, consumers thinking of a home computer will belly up to the Big Blue (IBM) standard where available software already awaits.

Intriguing thought. What happens to the home computer market when someone starts selling an IBC PC system for less than $500. Commodore, on the other hand, has done some soul-searching amidst its horrendous financial losses and has finally come up with some good ideas. First, it has recognized that trying to kill off the Commodore 64 was not "a good Idea. "The level of support for the 64 Is stronger than we expected." says Commodore Vice President Clive Smith.

Instead, the compa 11 111 Iillf8- 18 Carmel teen-ager Todd Huston, 14, displays the vintage Etch A Sketch while his 11-year-old sister Julie shows off its high-tech offspring, the computerized Old toy has new tricks Etch A Sketch grows up ro)u By SCOTT MILEY STAR STAFF WRITER A' As a youth. Mark A. Rouse wore out his Etch A Sketch. Now, as computer coordinator for Hamilton Southeastern Middle School, Rouse allowed pupils to take home a 1980s version of the popular -drawing machine In a class project. ir Two Animators the new.

more expensive Etch A Sketch went home with sixth-graders tach night as part of a campaign with the Ohio 'Art makers of both toys. Pictures, drawn in grids, appear to move on the Animator. all used Etch A Sketch before, so they can handle that. But seeing how the sequences go together Is the main thing. Once I explain It.

they're off and running," said Rouse, a 30-year-old Noblesvllle native. the time mine was worn out. I was getting a little older and my parents viewed it as a little OF LOOKING AT $69.00 PARTICLEBOARD BOOKCASES THAT JUST DON'T MEET YOUR STANDARDS? Due to a special purchase Naked Furniture is offering fully assembled quality maple bookcases rounded by red plastic with two white knobs controlling the movement of the lines. That Etch A Sketch image will be 26 years old on July 12. The stylus that scraped away aluminum particles is now a 1 980s microprocessor with grids.

The Animator screen Is half the size of Its predecessor. However, 12 pictures can be saved In its memory; those 12 frames can move In succession at seven different speeds. And depending on whether one considers the uncorrectable black Etch A Sketch line a challenge or frustration the Animator can erase mistakes. Unlike the $9 Etch A Sketch, though, the Animator retails for $59. "It's not Inexpensive, but toys today are expensive," said Pat Grandy.

a former Indianapolis resident who is now advertising manager for the Ohio Art Co. In Bryan, Ohio. He compared the cost to the $60 Teddy Ruxpln talking bear or $35 Cabbage Patch dolls. Nationally. 200 children participated in Animator consumer research.

Among those. Todd Huston, 14, and his sister, Julie, 1 1 tested the drawing toy in their Carmel home. They are the children of Michael and Joan Huston. "I thought it was fun and interesting" Julie said. "I made faces, my name and pictures like trains and stuff." "We have a 20-year-old home from college now and he's using it.

too," said Mrs. Huston. Juvenile," said Rouse. "But my brother had one. on sale at the following ready to finish prices.

30" 84" $129.95 36" 84" $139.95 42" 84" $149.95 FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE WHILE LIMITED SUPPLIES LAST. GUARANTEED DELIVERY WITH 10 DAYS. ASK ABOUT OUR CUSTOM FINISHING my sister had one, and anotner Drotner wno was 10 years younger had one. So there was always an Etch A Sketch around." Responses from his pupils were generally positive. "It's rad." wrote one 12-year-old boy.

i "Far, far out." said a 12-year-old McCordsville boy who kept the Animator a week six days longer than was assigned. But he also thought the toy was "too slow" for his purposes, 's Before computers there was Etch A Sketch. Black lines cutting across a gray screen, sur 5512 East 82nd NEXT TO K-MART Phone 849-8871.