Blue LEDs

There is not much to say about the Arduino, yet.  I ordered it yesterday from Adafruit and it was shipped today.  It should get here in about a week.

In the meantime, I'm thinking about my first visit to WESCON (a now defunct OEM Electronics show) in 1995.  I knew a little less about electronics then than I do now (not that I know that much now).  LEDs were everywhere.  There were so many far eastern manufacturers and so many LEDs.  However, the hands down the stars of the show were the blue LEDs.

analog 12V RGB LED strip with the blue turned on

Fast forward to the present day and everyone has seen blue LEDs.  They are cheap and easy to get, though still not as cheap as red, green and yellow.  But I digress.  In 1995 practical and affordable blue LEDS were something new and awesome.  Not that I knew that.  I had to be told about their newness, the technological achievement, and general goodness.  I only knew that they were shiny, pretty, and cool.

I don't have a picture from that magical day back in the fall of 1995.  I wish I did, but even without a photo I think you can imagine that each booth at WESCON with LEDs was sparklier than the next. The blue LEDs looked like an ocean of lighted sapphires.  I still have my WESCON mug, a Mouser backscratcher; and every time I see a blue LED, I remember the magic of that day.

So, I dedicate this blog to those of you who remember a time before blue LEDs, and to those who don't; but especially to those who still think blue LEDs are awesome.