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Blu-ray Laser Gadget

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the hundred-bucks-a-milliwatt dept.

i4u writes, "Wicked Lasers has done the unthinkable. They took the sparse blue laser diodes used in Blu-ray Disc drives and are making cool laser gadgets out of them, called Sonar. You can own one of these very limited edition lasers for $1,999.99. The price is that high because Wicked Lasers buys Blu-ray Disc players and removes the Blu-ray diode for the Sonar laser."

157 of 204 comments (clear)

  1. Beyond publicity, is there a point? by Salvance · · Score: 4, Insightful

    OK, so it seems pretty crazy to junk a blu-ray just to grab the laser, but there must be some reason they are doing this other than the publicity, right? Can someone explain the importance of a blue laser over a regular handheld red laser of the same power that sells for ~$20? Or is it just supposed to be cool looking?

    Looking online, I see that the standard price for blue laser pointers is over $1000 (here's the cheapest I found, which has a longer wavelength and lower power than the Blu-ray) ... are these so expensive just because they're expensive to make, or is there massive demand that keeps that the price up (and if so, what is that demand based on)?

    --
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    1. Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? by JesseL · · Score: 1

      Demand > Supply = High Price.

      --
      "Prefiero morir de pie que vivir siempre arrodillado!"
    2. Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? by Associate · · Score: 4, Funny

      Sucker frequency: 1.67x10^-2Hz

      --
      Someone hates these cans.
    3. Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? by j00r0m4nc3r · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Can someone explain the importance of a blue laser over a regular handheld red laser of the same power that sells for ~$20?

      It's blue.

    4. Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? by cojsl · · Score: 1

      1. Buy Blu-Ray player
      2. Junk it to make nifty geek toy no one will actually buy
      3. Get your previously unknown web site publicized on /. for the $1500 cost of the blu-ray player
      4. Profit!

    5. Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? by NitsujTPU · · Score: 1

      No, it's just a status thing. Much like having green lasers when they first came out.

    6. Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? by SirTicksAlot · · Score: 1

      $1500 is a steep price to pay for /. publicity. Who is to say it's not vapor ware? I could have put a picture of my hand holding a polished tube and claimed the same thing and got the same amount of /. traffic.

    7. Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? by Kemanorel · · Score: 3, Informative

      This one's cheaper...

      All that searching and the cheapest source for one is right at the top of this page. ;-)

      --
      Mess not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup.
    8. Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? by general+scruff · · Score: 2, Funny

      You have a good point. And to take that a step further, who says they are "Junking" the Blue Ray player!!

      1. Buy a blue ray player for $1500
      2. Sell the laser for $2000
      3. Wait until blue lasers come down in price (say 6 months to a year)
      4. Put a laser in your *free* blue ray player
      5. ...
      6. PROFIT!!


      Its a brilliant plan!

      --
      As a rule, I never trust dark brown ketchup.
    9. Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? by eric76 · · Score: 1
      a regular handheld red laser of the same power that sells for ~$20

      If you are referring to laser pointers, those are typically 1-5 mW.

      According to the article, this puts out 20 mW.

    10. Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? by ottffssent · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Blue is cool. Also, hard to do. Between the two, you get expensive.

      Red lasers are cheap because they're cheap to make, though the suspiciously cheap ones are, indeed, suspiciously cheaply made. Green lasers are pretty close to the human eye's peak responsiveness, so they appear brighter at a given power level than red or blue lasers.

      There are all manner of lasers. CO2, Argon, and other gas lasers. Chemical lasers. Diode lasers. And several other varieties. Hand-held (and small bench) lasers are commonly diode lasers. Low-power red laser diodes are approximately free, which is why they show up everywhere. Infrared laser diodes aren't terribly expensive, even fairly high-powered ones. There is no such thing as a green laser diode. Hand-held green lasers are DPSS lasers, in which a high power infrared laser blasts a fancy neodymium compound that outputs a different infrared frequency that in turn hits a frequency-doubling crystal which finally outputs 532nm green light.

      The take-home message here is that blue laser light is hard to get so it's expensive. It's also not terribly useful unless you actually need the high frequency for denser data packing. Green laser light is harder to get than red laser light, but in addition to looking cool it legitimately is more visible per watt. Check out the CIE luminosity function - 650nm red light appears about 8x dimmer per watt than 532nm green light. A $100 15mW green laser therefore should appear almost as bright as a $200 200mW red laser. Even though production of green laser light is less efficient than production of red laser light, the green laser should consume somewhat less power than the red one.

      --
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    11. Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? by theaikidoman · · Score: 1

      check thinkgeek out... $999
      http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/lights/896a/

    12. Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      This one goes to 11.

    13. Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? by TheGavster · · Score: 2, Interesting

      What I find interesting is that they sell 3 other models of blue laser, at $2500, $3000, and $3500 depending on power (the bluray one falls in has the same power as the $2500 one and a shorter wavelength). Apparently, pulling the laser from home theater equipment is the *cheap* way to get a blue laser diode these days.

      --
      "Because Science" is one step from "Because old book". Try "Because of my experiment testing my falsifiable assertion".
    14. Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? by timeOday · · Score: 1

      I'm gonna put blue lenses on mini mag-lites and make out like a bandit.

    15. Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? by webmistressrachel · · Score: 1

      Nobody whatsoever has noticed that this question is still unanswered - why does demand exceed supply so much? I'll tell you why - blue lasers are most useful in medicine - for which they have been used for decades, and expensive to manufacture. This is why they are so expensive.

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    16. Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

      Because they're different and new, and some people will pay pretty much anything for that.

      I've been waiting for a blue laser pointer, but I'll wait a while more, until the blue-ray novelty has worn off and the things are $20.

    17. Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? by mooreBS · · Score: 1

      are these so expensive just because they're expensive to make, or is there massive demand that keeps that the price up (and if so, what is that demand based on)

      Blue lasers are expensive period. They're hard to produce. It's cheaper to use longer wavelength lasers and there are very few applications where blue lasers are necessary. In the lab where I work we have ~20 different lasers in use. Only one of them is blue.

      Thor Labs, a major supplier of lasers and optical components, has a 405nm 35mw laser diode for $2604.18. I'd assume Wicked is getting some kind of bulk discount on these parts. I call BS on them tearing Bluray players apart for the diodes.

      Now the real question is how long before Sony sues them for trademark violation? They have the Bluray emblem etched on their device. I wonder if it's been properly licensed.

    18. Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? by Technician · · Score: 1

      OK, so it seems pretty crazy to junk a blu-ray just to grab the laser

      Doesn't HD DVD also use the blue laser? If so, couldn't they save a bundle by not buying a blu-ray drive for $1500.00 and picking up an X-box HD DVD drive for $200.00 instead?

      --
      The truth shall set you free!
    19. Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? by kimvette · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Apparently, pulling the laser from home theater equipment is the *cheap* way to get a blue laser diode these days.


      Is it?

      http://www.laserglow.com/bluepointer.html
      --
      The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
    20. Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? by leuk_he · · Score: 1

      It's blue.,/i>

      No it gets even better:

      It is a blue ray!

    21. Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? by Tillmann · · Score: 1

      Hamid: What's that? Rambo: It's blue light. Hamid: What does it do? Rambo: It turns blue. - from Rambo III

    22. Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? by Crayon+Kid · · Score: 1

      Now now, don't be sketchy. Laser pointer, 2 grand. Moments like this, priceless.

      --
      i ate crayons when i was a kid and now i have two braincells and the blue ones taste nicer
    23. Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? by kbaud · · Score: 2, Informative

      - The big diff between the $1k and $2k blue laser is the frequency. 473nm vs 405nm. It is not unusual to see a 5x price difference between 100nm of emission. Same thing with LEDs.
      - Basically, there is quite a bit you can do with 405nm that you can't do or do as well with say 650nm (red). Briefly: fluoroscopy, higher speed optical comms, nano-scale work, gas spectroscopy, holographic storage, etc. As we get into the higher frequencies even more applications such as portable weapons, etc.
      - The average home has 1/2 dozen or more laser diodes. Most are in the cheaper/lower frequencies. As the cost comes done on the higher frequencies, this will open up the floodgates. If you recall, when laser were first invented they were called a, "good idea with no practical use". Sound like some of the posts to this thread?
      - The higher the frequency, the more effective the energy against the target. As a result, a 20mw 405nm is more destructive than a 60mw 650nm for example. Incidentally, the reason laser diode power output is rising in disk players is that is allows the disk to be spun faster. This maintains the average energy per data area. Historically, the biggest impediment to faster CDR/RW speeds has been the availability of the high power laser diodes. We are going to continue to see applications held up by the availability of sufficient laser diodes in desired frequencies and power levels until investment dramatically increases.
      - One of the difficulties with the higher frequencies is that the same energetic advantages of the wavelength work against the very materials of the diode. Basically the diode attacks itself. This reduces the lifespan of the device for a particular drive level. Early blue laser diodes had a lifespan measured in 100s of hours. The 405nm devices used in the disk players may only be good for 2-5k hours, depending on the drive level. This will improve of course. Eventually the 405nm 20mw devices will cost less than $5 and last 50k hours or more.
      - Basically, putting an expensive laser diode in a handheld pointer is mostly for fun at this point. People with money who also know lasers realize that with a 405nm device they are going to see very unusual things. For example, imagine what a 405nm pointer looks like when shone against a 3d object painted with fluorescent material. Some people buy the latest game or sci-fi movie, others buy rare laser pointers. As these devices become more available, creative people will find more uses for them. Like I said earlier, laser diodes are already quite common in the average home or business.
      - Our government is going to have a real problem with high power laser diodes in the near future. Without going into details, advanced laser diodes can have significant public threat. Right now the law is fairly lax and not enforced. I am not for more laws but I don't want to have to wear eye protection every time I attend a public event. It will be a sticky issue and I hope that whatever the solution, it provides the most liberty for scientific experimentation.

    24. Re:Beyond publicity, is there a point? by Quiet_Desperation · · Score: 1

      Blue is cool. Also, hard to do. Between the two, you get expensive.

      Wait... expensive doesn't rhyme with the "oo" sound. What sort of open-mike poetry is this?

  2. I see blue lasers... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Wouldn't buying a PS3 be cheaper?

    1. Re:I see blue lasers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yes, but its terrible ackward to point with at the meetings.

    2. Re:I see blue lasers... by SnarfQuest · · Score: 1

      Didn't we just have an article yesterday about this?

      And everyone was blaiming Sony.

      --
      Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
    3. Re:I see blue lasers... by ack154 · · Score: 1

      Blue-Ray home theater player availability: now?
      PS3 availability: maybe eventually.

    4. Re:I see blue lasers... by Rigrig · · Score: 1

      It would come in a lot more handy during boring meetings though

      --
      **TODO** [X] Steal someone elses sig.
    5. Re:I see blue lasers... by WilliamSChips · · Score: 1

      ...Because neither of those have a blue laser in them? The 360 is using DVDs which use red lasers(aka Cheat Commando lasers) and the Wii is either using DVD-like or CD-like disks(red and infrared lasers respectively), probably the former though.
      And Blu-Ray is actually less proprietary than HD-DVD. Blu-Ray is being supported by a very large consortium of companies. HD-DVD is being supported by...Microsoft. And one or two companies that are trying to make players that play both.

      --
      Please, for the good of Humanity, vote Obama.
    6. Re:I see blue lasers... by Fozzyuw · · Score: 1

      yeah, it was just sarcasm =)

      --
      "The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth." ~1984 George Orwell
  3. WTF? by JesseL · · Score: 1

    No pictures of the beam? All we get to see is an aluminum tube that may or may not have anything inside it?

    --
    "Prefiero morir de pie que vivir siempre arrodillado!"
    1. Re:WTF? by nietsch · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well we are being told that it has a 3 Volt lithium battery in it and a 20 mW blue laser, so we can take guesses how long you can play with this blue laser thingie before the battery runs down.

      Honestly, this is one of the most hollow slashvertisments I have seen in a long time. They are selling something, but we are not told why it is so good to spend 2K on it. My gues is they have bought 0 (zero) BlueRay players and created a mockup so somebody would pay them to take a blueray player apart (and put it's laser into a useless thingie).

      --
      This space is intentionally staring blankly at you
    2. Re:WTF? by Ignis+Flatus · · Score: 3, Interesting

      the wavelength of 405nm is right on the edge of the visible spectrum. i'm not even sure you can display that color on a typical RGB monitor.

    3. Re:WTF? by dangitman · · Score: 1

      That's a stupid excuse. It could be easily photographed, even if you had to shift the color a little to display on a monitor.

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
    4. Re:WTF? by Megane · · Score: 1

      the wavelength of 405nm is right on the edge of the visible spectrum. i'm not even sure you can display that color on a typical RGB monitor.

      Since when is violet not visible? Violet is a shorter wavelength than blue. Next comes ultraviolet.

      Of course you can't display it on a typical RGB monitor, because RGB monitors use combinations of single-color phosphors to trick the eye into thinking it's seeing a wider range of colors.

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    5. Re:WTF? by MasterC · · Score: 1
      the wavelength of 405nm is right on the edge of the visible spectrum. i'm not even sure you can display that color on a typical RGB monitor.
      This depends on your monitor and exactly what frequency "blue" is.

      Perhaps it is sufficient to say that neither the sRGB color space and the Adobe RGB color space support 405 nm (it is outside the superimposed triangle on the CIE 1931 image).
      --
      :wq
    6. Re:WTF? by alienw · · Score: 1

      A monitor can't generate a specific wavelength. It has red, green, and blue phosphors/filters that each produce some kind of band of wavelengths. It can trick your eye into seeing a particular color, but it cannot produce monochromatic light.

    7. Re:WTF? by sebi · · Score: 1

      It's not like this thing is the most expensive laser they offer. Sure, the whole Blu-ray laser pointer thing is mostly a marketing gag, although I have no idea how it measures up to other blue laser pointers available. But this is a legitimate company selling legitimate* products and judging from the image they created of themselves I'd say that this is exactly the kind of thing they would do.

      My guess (note the second s) is probably not much better than yours, but I am confident that they bought a Blu-ray player for the express purpose of playing with the diode and decided to make a product out of it. Now I agree that they might hold off on buying more players until the orders start coming in, but I doubt that this is vapour. I mean it's not like it is all that complicated a concept.

      * I assume that this is true, because I a reputable source reviewed a Wicked Lasers laser.

      --
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    8. Re:WTF? by Ignis+Flatus · · Score: 1

      so you're claiming that even the three phosphors are not monochromatic? because if they were, then that'd be three monochromatic colors you could reproduce.

    9. Re:WTF? by SnowZero · · Score: 1

      Yes. Look at this example of the light frequencies generated by CRT phosphors. It's not all that pure (i.e. a narrow band) when compared to a laser. So, if you are not being particularly stringent, you might say an (non-laser) LED or a phosphor is monochromatic; However if you are comparing it to a coherent light source such as a laser, you wouldn't call it monochromatic.

    10. Re:WTF? by deglr6328 · · Score: 1

      yaay someone found one of my spectra useful! :) :) neato.

      --
      - "Hear that?! The percolations are imminent! Cease your ingress!"
  4. Please Move on by thejrwr · · Score: 1

    Nothing to see here, please move on

  5. Even in China they can't get cheap lasers? by jeffmeden · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "The cost of a new Blu-ray disc player combined with international shipping, and import taxes raises the cost of obtaining a 405nm diode in China to approximately $1,500." I smell a lie... why don't they go down the street to the Chinese factory churning out these diodes for $5/unit and leave the marketing BS to Sony?

    1. Re:Even in China they can't get cheap lasers? by bunions · · Score: 1

      sure, the diode is $5, but the bribes to export significant quantities of them runs around $1450/per.

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    2. Re:Even in China they can't get cheap lasers? by LesPaul75 · · Score: 2, Insightful
      why don't they ... leave the marketing BS to Sony?
      Well, probably because if they said "The cost of a blue diode from the factory down the street combined with international shipping, and import taxes raises the cost of obtaining a 405nm diode in China to approximately $8," then they would have a hard time selling them for $2000.
    3. Re:Even in China they can't get cheap lasers? by limekiller4 · · Score: 1

      This just happnes to be what I *do* these days (import from China). I just asked the president of my company about what it'd cost to import a blu-ray DVD player and he tells me it'd be around 2-3%. He also mentioned he's never paid more than 3.5% for anything we import (membrane keypads, circuit assemblies, etc.).

      If you can tell me the harmonized code for the device I can tell you precisely how much it costs to get through customs.

      --
      My .02,
      Limekiller
    4. Re:Even in China they can't get cheap lasers? by tricorn · · Score: 2, Interesting

      If the best way to get a blue laser diode is from a player, why not pull it from an HD-DVD player instead, as they're selling for a lot cheaper and have the same blue laser in it, right?

    5. Re:Even in China they can't get cheap lasers? by inKubus · · Score: 1

      Because "Blue Ray" is what comes out of the laser. Which is why Sony will probably win this one.

      --
      Cool! Amazing Toys.
  6. You fool! by UnknowingFool · · Score: 4, Funny

    Don't you know that there's a shortage of blue ray laser diodes?! Every diode you have is another PS3 that some poor kid who is willing to spend $600 doesn't have. Won't you think of the children? Or at least your fellow gamer.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    1. Re:You fool! by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Are you kidding? They are. If I were rich, and if I didn't think Sony was evil (probably, the two would go together) I'd be buying up all the PS3s I could - then I'd put them in a big pile, point a video camera at it, piss on the pile, pour gasoline on it, and set the fucker on fire. Then I'd post the video on YouTube and laugh while thousands of gamers worldwide burst out into tears in their mother's basements.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:You fool! by dpiven · · Score: 1

      Friends don't let friends buy $ony.

    3. Re:You fool! by stewwy · · Score: 1

      What are the slashdot crowd going to do when we find an evil company without a S in its name? Thats what I want to know, its the only use I have for that thing above the 4 on my keyboard

  7. Make sure to check out their videos by AKAImBatman · · Score: 2, Informative

    While they don't have any of the blue laser yet, the Wicked Laser Videos show off their other high-powered products. These things are powerful enough to light a match, blow up a balloon, burn a hole in your drywall, and other fun party tricks. What's cool about it, though, is that the laser is powerful enough to make the backscatter visible. i.e. You can see the beam!

    It's enough to make one wonder: How feasible is a handheld laser weapon? (Say, a few watts?) I realize that the key issue is that the laser does very little damage as it passes through an object. (Actually, it leaves a hole the diameter of the beam. Not very large.) However, I could see the laser rotating through a small arc during fire. That would at least carve out a centimeter or two from the target...

    --
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    1. Re:Make sure to check out their videos by AKAImBatman · · Score: 1

      Scratch that. There are two videos of blue lasers. Though I can't say if they're the same lasers as advertised in the article.

      --
      Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
    2. Re:Make sure to check out their videos by Nos. · · Score: 3, Interesting

      How feasible is a handheld laser weapon? (Say, a few watts?) I realize that the key issue is that the laser does very little damage as it passes through an object. (Actually, it leaves a hole the diameter of the beam. Not very large.) However, I could see the laser rotating through a small arc during fire. That would at least carve out a centimeter or two from the target

      That's an interesting question. I suppose carving a hole in someone's brain or heart could cause serious problems almost immediately, but if the wound is cauterized as it is made, it may be a relatively ineffective weapon.

    3. Re:Make sure to check out their videos by hamburger+lady · · Score: 1

      not if you cut a hole through the part of the brain responsible for 'fighting back'.

      --

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    4. Re:Make sure to check out their videos by alx5000 · · Score: 1

      Welcome to Slashdot's Carnival of the Sick.

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    5. Re:Make sure to check out their videos by Chris+Burke · · Score: 1

      The Wicked Lasers are more powerful than your typical green laser, but most green lasers are bright enough that you can see the beam, but can't do the tricks you see in those (totally sweet) videos. They're great for pointing at stellar objects when out stargazing. Just watch out for airplanes, not just for safety and common sense, but because Homeland Security will come after your sorry ass.

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    6. Re:Make sure to check out their videos by thatguywhoiam · · Score: 1
      That's an interesting question. I suppose carving a hole in someone's brain or heart could cause serious problems almost immediately, but if the wound is cauterized as it is made, it may be a relatively ineffective weapon.

      There's a lightsaber joke in here somewhere.

      --
      If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
    7. Re:Make sure to check out their videos by kaoshin · · Score: 1

      "if the wound is cauterized as it is made, it may be a relatively ineffective weapon"

      I'm in a fight with someone who pulls out a real life handheld laser weapon, my least worry is going to be how much I bleed or whether or not I suffer from internal bleeding as opposed to external. I'm going to be slightly worried about getting my nards and/or less important guts sliced by a frickin laser beam!!! There may be reasons why it wouldn't be an effective weapon, but this certainly isn't one of them dude.

    8. Re:Make sure to check out their videos by Goaway · · Score: 1

      (Actually, it leaves a hole the diameter of the beam.

      Maybe you should stop getting your information about lasers from comic books, to start with, and actually try to learn how they work.

    9. Re:Make sure to check out their videos by Will_Malverson · · Score: 1
      It's enough to make one wonder: How feasible is a handheld laser weapon? (Say, a few watts?)


      The main problem is that the amount of energy required to actually do *damage* with a laser is far greater than the amount of energy required to cause eye damage. If you fire your five-watt laser at an enemy, the reflection off of his reflective belt buckle, buttons on his jacket, or even just his glasses can be enough to damage your eyesight, at least temporarily. But even if that doesn't happen, you'll wind up doing far less damage than a typical handgun would.
    10. Re:Make sure to check out their videos by WilliamSChips · · Score: 1

      Actually it's called the "frontal lobe". Of course, that also houses all higher-level thought.

      --
      Please, for the good of Humanity, vote Obama.
    11. Re:Make sure to check out their videos by gloeglm · · Score: 1

      Well, its quite simple to figure out why a handheld laser weapon would not fly: A shout from a military handgun from 100 yards away has a kinetic energy of roughly 324 ft-lbs (from http://medlib.med.utah.edu/WebPath/TUTORIAL/GUNS/G UNBLST.html ). Converted, this means 440 Ws. So if you have a 4W Laser, you would need to point it on your target for 110s to even deliver the same ammount of energy (not considering your target moves, energy is lost due to reflection, cooling, etc.) But now your gun does not deliver that energy in 110s, but in lets say 0,1s (guessing). So you need about 1000 times more energy. (so you need to point only 0,1s). This means you need 440000 Ws. A Li-Ion battery has a energy density of 160 Wh/kg. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_ion_battery So this means you'd have to lug around 1kg of Li-Ion battery only for a single shot. This is all not taking various other points into account where you loose energy. So, you see where the problem lies.

    12. Re:Make sure to check out their videos by AKAImBatman · · Score: 1

      Makes sense. In particular, thanks for doing the math. It's always easier to understand when there are some hard numbers behind it.

      Generally, what you said has been my understanding as well. However, I keep going back and forth on it because of all the low-powered cutting lasers on the market. But I suppose you'd be more likely to give yourself a nasty burn than actually cut straight through a person.

      Anywho, thanks for your help! :)

      --
      Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
    13. Re:Make sure to check out their videos by bronney · · Score: 1

      You know what's cool, I bet there's no law against concealed laser in the Hong Kong firearm regulations. Ooooo..

    14. Re:Make sure to check out their videos by fallen1 · · Score: 1

      Actually, shooting someone in the head would (probably) not carve out a small hole but cause severe decompression coupled with boiling of the brain in its own juices. Actually, depending on how 'hot' the laser is the brain may do a nice explosion routine from the supercritical heating of the liquids contained in the brain cavity. Even if the sci-fi complete head exploding routine didn't happen, enough brain matter would be seriously injured by the supercritical heated material + the laser itself that, well, it wouldn't matter...

      Suddenly, I'm feeling a bit queasy and just thinking about the subject makes my brain hurt. Pun intended.

      --

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  8. There's something I need... by maynard · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...A $2000 laser pointer which outputs coherent light in the most difficult color spectrum for humans to see. I'll take one and a dozen pet rocks, please!

    1. Re:There's something I need... by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 1

      Now theres an idea!

      1) Buy up lots of sharks
      2) Remove lasers from heads
      3) ???
      4) Profit!

      --
      liqbase :: faster than paper
  9. Really? by jandrese · · Score: 1

    Hmm, for $2000 I could buy 3 PS3s (maybe just 2 off of eBay) and make two crappy laser pointers myself. The term that leaps to mind is "rip off".

    --

    I read the internet for the articles.
  10. *snickers* by Dr.+Eggman · · Score: 1

    Nintendo and Microsoft didn't just toss them in a warehouse after all! Ok, but seriously, who would do this kind of thing without some sort of prompting? I mean really, this is just too far fetched not to buy into a conspiracy theory. Come on, I can't even find any information about this China-based Wicked Laser company. Toshiba? Is that you behind the curtain?

    Really now, an independent Blue-Ray laser. For $2000. From China. Nothing suspicious about that!

    --
    Demented But Determined.
  11. What function do these lasers serve? by ArmedLemming · · Score: 1
    I can see pointing a(ny color) laser at something a long way away as being kind of cool, but is that all they're primarily purchased for by non-gun-toting people? (I reckon some might use 'em as sights on a rifle or something) Is there some kind of geeky use of a laser I'm missing out on?



    /. enlighten me!

    --
    Two fish swim into a wall, one turns to the other and says, "Dam".
    1. Re:What function do these lasers serve? by Dravik · · Score: 1

      Oddly enough, the lasers sold by this company are pretty useless for firearms. There are much better ways to aim at long distance targets that a laser despite what you see in movies. Lasers are good for very short range fast target acquisition shooting. You've been able to find multiple adverts in any edition of Guns and Ammo for years.

      --
      The purpose of language is communication, If the idea is clear the grammar ain't important
    2. Re:What function do these lasers serve? by russ_allegro · · Score: 1

      >Is there some kind of geeky use of a laser I'm missing out on?

      You can measure things -- inferometer.
      You can use it to communicate (miles away if the laser is good enough) - wireless point to point network
      You can use them to make patterns for integrated circuits

    3. Re:What function do these lasers serve? by bibendum59 · · Score: 1
      Obviously these are preferred because they don't tip off the bad guy when you have him in your sights.

      I mean every bad ass villainous mofo knows that when you see a red dot on your chest its game over time, but a blue dot? They're like "Whoa! What the heck is this blue dot thing? I'm gonna put down my piece so I can get a better look at this blue dot action going on. Maybe if I move closer to the window..."

  12. Barely Visible! by Myriad · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Sheesh, this thing is down at 405nm... that's almost at the bottom of the visible spectrum. The funny thing is, that's so low it's not even blue anymore - it's violet!

    Other "blue" lasers are in the range of 473nm. Given the color responsiveness of the eye these already appear darker than their Red and Green cousins even at similar power output. And you can't really get high power blue lasers.

    So given that these are only 20mw and super low on the spectrum, I'd expect these are hardly visible in comparison with other pointers. A unique color, if you can see the damned thing.

    Seems pretty pointless to me really... why would anyone buy one?!

    --
    "They do not preach that their god will rouse them, a little before the Nuts work loose." Kipling, 'The Sons of Martha'
    1. Re:Barely Visible! by drgonzo59 · · Score: 1

      Hardly visible => The cat/friend/child/self will not avert their eyes immediately and end up with a burnt retina. That is why the infrared lasers are also very dangerous.

  13. Spam!!!!!!!!! by zip0nada · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Ah!!! Slashdot has been invaded by spammers! since when are we interested in $1,999.99 laser pointers that are made from a $1,000 drive? First of all it's a rip off, and second it's not news. This is an ad in disguise.

    1. Re:Spam!!!!!!!!! by Linker3000 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Humblest Friend,

      My name is Kwame Ebola, attorney at Law and I have been referred to your esteemed self as a person of outstanding character who will help, my client, Mrs A Ohura, Widow of the late Mr Kim Ohura, founder of the highly successful company known as Wei-Kid Lasers. Mr Ohura founded his company not long ago with the aim to take apart fairly cheap laser-based products and use a small quantity of the parts to make something smaller that sells for a lot more money. Mr Ohura's business was very successful with many happy fool^h^h^h^h customers purchasing his noble products.

      Sadly, Mr Ohura suffered an untimely death when his private plane crashed while landing at his personal retreat near the delightful city of Lagos, Nigeria, when the pilot was blinded by a mysterious blue light - possibly due to witchcraft used by a rival company. Mr Ohura left the bulk of his fortune - some FIFTY SIX MILLION DOLLARS and TWENTY-FIVE BLUE LASER DIODES to his, wife, my client, but due to the complex inheritance laws in this country, my client needs a person outside the country to claim the estate to avoid Sony claming the diodes.

      Etc..

      --
      AT&ROFLMAO
  14. Uh... am I missing something? by ivanmarsh · · Score: 1

    It's a laser... but it's called sonar... it causes an incredible amount of waste to produce... and serves no purpose?

    Is it a stupidity detector?

    1. Re:Uh... am I missing something? by ivanmarsh · · Score: 1

      You could call it radar I suppose... and you can, apparently, charge a lot of money for it.

  15. Re:Stupid. by dattaway · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Using blu-ray hardware just to get the laser out of it? Won't the manufacturers sell them lasers instead? This seems utterly backwards.

    I took apart a double layer DVD player for the laser. Output is something over 200mW. The beam puts out some heat and can be used as a tool. You won't find this laser pointer in a store for obvious reasons. Its a $50 cutting torch.

    The narrow wavelength from this laser may be more interesting as things can fluoresce.

  16. yeah but... how are you going to spin the disc? by atarione · · Score: 1

    fast enough or hold your hand steady enough for that to read the disc???? oh wait... that thing is retarded seriously what kinda idiot would pay $2K for that?

    --
    actually I am happy to see you, however that is in fact a banana in my pocket.
  17. Warning! by Lethyos · · Score: 3, Funny

    Do not look directly into laser with remaining eye!

    --
    Why bother.
  18. No, it's a publicity stunt... by blorg · · Score: 1

    ...well timed to coincide with the (non) launch of the PS3. Given that it's made the front page of Slashdot, I'd say quite a successful one. I am sure there are many slashdotters who would be interested in their other (cheaper and more practical) lasers.

    1. Re:No, it's a publicity stunt... by jdray · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It makes you wonder if they actually constructed one of these blue lasers, or if it's just vaporware...

      --
      The Spoon
      Updated 6/28/2011
  19. Yay by lostwars · · Score: 2, Funny

    New cat toy! I can't wait to give this to my cat. Plus in most areas its illegal to point lasers at anything that isn't white. Or at least not at airplanes. Its now a federal offense.

  20. Inside?? by Saikik · · Score: 1

    It's probably just yellow cake...

    1. Re:Inside?? by thc69 · · Score: 1

      I want yellow cake!

      With chocolate frosting...

      --
      Procrastination -- because good things come to those who wait.
  21. Only fun until someone loses and eye! by RingDev · · Score: 3, Funny

    $2k for a laser to show off to your friends.

    $10k for corrected surgery to attempt to salvage vision after someone peeks at the source.

    -Rick

    --
    "Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs
    1. Re:Only fun until someone loses and eye! by loraksus · · Score: 1

      The key word being "attempt"...

      --
      1q2w3e4r5t6y7u8i9o0pqawsedrftgthyjukilo;p'azsxdcfv gbhnjmk,l.;/
  22. they're going down the street or stockpiling parts by SuperBanana · · Score: 1

    I smell a lie... why don't they go down the street to the Chinese factory churning out these diodes for $5/unit and leave the marketing BS to Sony?

    What makes you think that isn't exactly what they're doing now? They're probably not $5- more like $50/100, especially in single unit quantities...some laser diodes ARE pretty pricey. And then you need a drive circuit, though nothing specific to this type of diode, most likely. I also doubt they're being made in china; South Korea, Japan...maybe Malaysia. Japanese electronics manufacturers moved out of China as fast as they moved in, because of very high bin rates.

    Even if they DO buy the blu-ray players, they're selling or stockpiling parts for when the blu-ray machines break. None of the manufacturers will want to service the systems. They'll want people to grumble, throw last year's unit in the trash, and buy next year's model; same reason I wouldn't expect the first units to be very reliable. Repair prices from the manufacturer will be sky high, and the market ripe for a replacement-parts company.

    --
    Please help metamoderate.
  23. idiots by localoptimum · · Score: 1

    Idiots like these guys sell this crap because there are rich idiots somewhere who buy it, and other idiots elsewhere who read about it, and other idiots who write... hang on...

    --
    This message was scanned by European governments and contains no terrorism.
  24. $2k laser by neuro.slug · · Score: 4, Funny

    But can it be mounted on a shark?

    1. Re:$2k laser by iwes · · Score: 1

      is there an hd-dvd version?

    2. Re:$2k laser by McMoose · · Score: 2, Funny
      But can it be mounted on a shark?

      No, but it fits nicely on an ill-tempered sea bass.

      --
      ... The idiots are ALREADY more creative.
  25. Shameful by grgcombs · · Score: 1

    What a shameful waste of a scarce commodity. Not that I care that much, cuz I'm an HD-DVD man.

    1. Re:Shameful by AKAImBatman · · Score: 1
      I'm an HD-DVD man.

      Um. You do know that HD-DVD uses a Blue-Violet Laser, just like the Blu-Ray, right? In fact, it's pretty much the same laser.
      --
      Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
    2. Re:Shameful by WilliamSChips · · Score: 1

      Actually, the only significant difference between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD is the size of the disc.

      --
      Please, for the good of Humanity, vote Obama.
  26. My eyes! by Merc248 · · Score: 1

    Stop shining that blu-ray into my eyes, it's too overrated!

    --
    "Hegelians, who love a synthesis, will probably conclude that he wears a wig." - Bertrand Russell
  27. Re:Stupid. by KlomDark · · Score: 1

    A cutting torch? Really?

    Explain how to make something that actually cuts out of a DL-DVD laser, for a non-electronics geek, please? I'd like to mess with one.

  28. suggested tag: amor by pikine · · Score: 1

    It stands for "Amazing Misuse of Resources," and this acronym comes from a KDE toy that features little roaming characters on screen.

    --
    I once had a signature.
  29. Re:Stupid. by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

    I'm just guessing, but maybe Sony's already reserved all the manufacturer's production for this diode. Also, I seem to remember reading that Sony itself was making the laser diodes for Blu-Ray. So they probably just don't want to sell them to Wicked Lasers, since they're more interested in pushing Blu-Ray crap on everyone.

  30. I think it's energy density that's preventing by blueZ3 · · Score: 1

    weaponization of lasers on the "handheld" scale. The flying "anti-satellite" laser that the DOD has is packed in a commercial-airliner-sized jet, and a good portion of that space is taken up by energy storage. At this point, even vehicle-mounted lasers aren't really practical, even when you're talking about some wheeled vehicle large enough to crate around a generator. In any "man-portable" laser weapon, the difficulty isn't the laser itself, it's carrying around the power storage/generation unit.

    It's possible that we'll eventually be able to have "laser pistols" but for now, you'd be foiled by the lack of a long enough extension cord.

    --
    Interested in a Flash-based MAME front end? Visit mame.danzbb.com
    1. Re:I think it's energy density that's preventing by AKAImBatman · · Score: 1

      I only asked about a few watts, not a military grade, anti-tank weapon. :)

      Unfortunately, I don't know enough details about laser weaponry. (Thus my question.) For example, how does the wavelength affect the penetration of the beam? Can the diameter be adjusted to do more damage? How much power is required to actually drill the target rather than totally cauterizing the wound you create? Would spinning the laser help, or would the laser fail to deliver enough power before it's moved off to a cooler spot?

      Honestly speaking, a laptop battery could deliver about 20 watts of continuous power for an hour or two. From what I understand, that's a lot of firepower for a cutting laser. It won't outright destroy the target (you're still only delivering a maximum of 20 watts!), but it may allow for precision destruction. Remember, a sniper has to lead his target with a normal weapon. A laser has the advantage of What You See Is What You Kill (WYSIWYK!). The distances involved in most sniping exercises are inconsequential to laser weapons.

      --
      Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
    2. Re:I think it's energy density that's preventing by drinkypoo · · Score: 1
      The flying "anti-satellite" laser that the DOD has is packed in a commercial-airliner-sized jet, and a good portion of that space is taken up by energy storage.

      The flying "anti-satellite" laser that the DOD has is packed in a commercial-airliner-sized jet, but a good portion of that space is not taken up by energy storage. It's a chemical laser, which means that it's a system that basically is there to mix some compounds. When they mix, they lase; the output is then simply focussed and aimed. A good portion of the space is taken up with chemical storage.

      If you want some information on a partially declassified DOD laser weapon test bed, check this out. They don't tell you how powerful it is, but it's "megawatt-class".

      I want five megawatts by mid-May!

      Anyway in theory, you could use this technology (when miniaturized) to build handheld laser rifles, but they would still have cartridges and ammunition and not batteries. I don't think that the theoretical maximum energy storage density of batteries is even enough to provide sufficient output to make a practical weapon based on them in the theoretical best case.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    3. Re:I think it's energy density that's preventing by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 1

      This has got me wondering about Ghostbuster-style backpacks with attached rifles. If you wore either a massive battery or some sort of generator on your back, things could get portable and interesting. If nothing else, you could go after some big cockroaches...

      --
      Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
    4. Re:I think it's energy density that's preventing by bmo · · Score: 1

      " you'd be foiled by the lack of a long enough extension cord."

      Go rent the movie Body Double. There's a scene similar to that, but more interesting.

      To be on topic, this is one of the silliest things I've seen on slashdot. Someone buying one of those would have more money than brains and can't be trusted to not look into the laser with the remaining good eye.

      If you can afford to toss $2k at a lame laser pointer, you can afford $10K for a laser engraver which can actually do something.

      http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en_ US&q=laser+engraver&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

      _Those_ are cool.

      --
      BMO

    5. Re:I think it's energy density that's preventing by goldenpanda · · Score: 1

      Actually one of the big challenges to fielding a laser weapon is atomospheric distortion.

    6. Re:I think it's energy density that's preventing by geminidomino · · Score: 1

      If you wore either a massive battery or some sort of generator on your back, things could get portable and interesting.

      Or an unlicensed nuclear accelerator...

    7. Re:I think it's energy density that's preventing by default+luser · · Score: 1

      I only asked about a few watts, not a military grade, anti-tank weapon. :)

      FIRST PROBLEM: I think you'd need more than 3w to provide a serious weapon for the battlefield. I mean, HIGH SPEED PLASTIC WELDERS use lasers with over 100W output...I would expect nothing less of a weapon intended to cut through skin as fast as a bullet would. Higher power requirements mean big, bulky batteries.

      Sure, you can burn things with a measly 3w laser, but only if the enemy stands still.

      Let's just say you need the minimum power (100w) laser welder I linked to get the skin-cutting performance you want (still pretty low, considering industrial cutters get up to the 10KW range). That's a lot of battery to lug around.

      SECOND PROBLEM: it's not just the power SOURCE that's a problem, it's the power dissapation that's at issue.

      The efficiency of lasers is pretty low to begin with - numbers I've seen are in the %30-40 range, best case, and less than %1, worst case.

      So, let's take our 100w laser rifle, and give it a pretty high efficiency (%40): to generate 100w output continuous fire requires an input of 250w!! That means you have to dissapate a massive 150w while continuously firing the device.

      This leads to the THIRD PROBLEM: laser efficiency decreases significantly with the increase in laser temperature, making cooling an even more important problem. If you don't control the temperature with active cooling, your laser spirals out of control in a feedback loop. Thus, you MUST have a bulky cooling solution.

      Until they make power virtually free and tiny, man-portable laser weapons are a pipe dream. The good news is, there are DARPA-funded research programs to produce more efficienct lasers, and they've already reached levels of %65. Their eventual goal is %80 peak efficiency. Now all you have to do is solve the energy problem :D

      --

      Man is the animal that laughs.
      And occasionally whores for Karma.

  31. Done the unthinkable? by Jugalator · · Score: 1

    Huh? It would only be unthinkable if they sold these for like $100. What's unthinkable when they purchase ridiculously expensive Blu-ray drives and reuse their lasers in ridiculously expensive products? Is the weird and "unthinkable" part that the lasers can at all be disassembled, or what, exactly?

    --
    Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
    1. Re:Done the unthinkable? by aiken_d · · Score: 1

      The "unthinkable" is that these morons are apparently disassembling $1500 bluray players rather than $150 OEM PC HD-DVD players, thereby increasing the cost of their product by $1350. Either that, or they're not being entirely honest. Oh, and the beam wouldn't really be visible anyway. So I guess the bottom line is that "unthinkable" comes into this from several different angles, especially on the context of "is this worth spending money on?"

      --
      If I wanted a sig I would have filled in that stupid box.
  32. Re:Stupid. by dattaway · · Score: 3, Informative

    Explain how to make something that actually cuts out of a DL-DVD laser, for a non-electronics geek, please? I'd like to mess with one.

    I see another person did it too!

    http://www.felesmagus.com/pages/lasers-howto.html

    When you take the laser assembly out, you'll notice two of them mounted to little heatsinks. One of the two puts out light well into the visible red spectrum and the other is useless.

    You can use the usual optical feedback supply to run at peak output, but since this dvd laser application used no feedback, neither did I. I hooked it directly up to the 5 volts from a USB cable through a 10 ohm resistor. You might want to steal a lens off another laser or a camera. If you don't use a lens, the beam spread will light up half the room.

    This would be a good time to consider buying some eyewear that will filter out the red, because an accidental burst can get focused onto your retina. That would be bad.

  33. Why not buy a 472nm Blue Laser on eBay? by pyrofx · · Score: 1

    Just enter/paste (dpss) (laser,lasers) (blue) into the ebay search box?

    I have a 10mw 473 Blue laser for sale: $500

    Regards,

    Ken

  34. hahahah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    "Seems pretty pointless to me"
    You, Sir, are a genius of the highest order in regard to accidental puns. Bravo, I say, bravo.

  35. Total Bullshit by ivan256 · · Score: 4, Informative

    From TFA:

    "The cost of the Sonar is mainly due to the high price of laser diodes which are taken from Blu-ray disc players. The cost of a new Blu-ray disc player combined with international shipping, and import taxes raises the cost of obtaining a 405nm diode in China to approximately $1,500."

    Either these guys a clinically stupid, or they're totally full of shit.

    You can buy a brand new, already-imported, Sony BD-RW drive for under $500 according to the PC Connection catalog that is on my desk right now, and you can get a Sony standalone player for $799. They're paying $1500 for them? I bet they making the whole thing up and he's just holding a piece of (poorly) machined aluminum or a regular laser pointer in the picture. It's a ploy to get you to go to their website that you wouldn't have ever heard of otherwise. They priced it at $2k so that nobody would buy one, and they're hoping you'll pick up an overpriced green pointer while you're there.

    1. Re:Total Bullshit by ivan256 · · Score: 1

      Crap. I forgot to preview, and I blew the link. The link to the $799 player is as follows:

      http://www.pcconnection.com/ProductDetail?Sku=7235 241

  36. Sony by Glacial+Wanderer · · Score: 1

    Sony finds yet another way to screw us!

    --
    Hobby Robotics
  37. License? by Loconut1389 · · Score: 1

    I thought you needed a license to buy and/or sell lasers over certain power ratings (above Class IIIa)?

  38. Thinkgeek........ OSTG by obsidianpoet · · Score: 1

    Umm....... there is one of these on sale at Thinkgeek (Another OSTG Website) for $999 http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/lights/896a/

    --
    "Gentlemen, You cannot fight in here, this is the War Room...." - Dr Strangelove
    1. Re:Thinkgeek........ OSTG by kd5ujz · · Score: 1

      When I saw this ad a few weeks ago, I was skeptical, the picture appears to be a blue LED stuck through a hole in the wood. Not saying that TG does not have them, but the picture is misleading.

      --
      -William
      God is everything science has yet to explain.
  39. Sonar!?!? by orcrist · · Score: 1

    Ugh. What the hell were they thinking calling a laser device "Sonar"? In case anyone here doesn't know (and any geek *should*), 'sonar' refers to the sound-based systems used by various marine vessels, submarines in particular, to navigate and locate other ships. I've also heard it used to refer to bats' natural navigation system. 'Sonar' means Sound Navigation and Ranging. As an ex Submarine Sonar Tech I'm aghast that a supposed tech company would make such a stupid mistake.

    -chris

    --
    San Francisco values: compassion, tolerance, respect, intelligence
    1. Re:Sonar!?!? by ScrewMaster · · Score: 1

      They must have meant LIDAR.

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
  40. I have a Wicked Laser by Aku+Head · · Score: 1

    Mine is 1/8 Watt, green, looks just like a common laser pointer on the outside. In my opinion, Wicked Lasers is a reputable company.

    I can pop balloons if they are dark colored. I can melt electrical tape. I can light a match if I color it with a Sharpie first.

    If I shine it on the back of my hand, I don't feel anything. If I take a pen and make a black dot on my hand, then it hurts pretty bad.

    I have to be within a couple of feet of the balloon to pop it. You have to hold your hand very steady to do this. I have to be within inches of the match. I cannot ignite liquids. I wanted to start my charcoal with it, but I have been unable. Another problem is the reflected light is so freaking bright that you cannot see anything for a minute or so if you look at the target while you are doing your tricks.(It came with safety sunglasses, but then you can't see anything else at night when you are wearing them.)

    Cooling is a big design problem. I don't think that the laser diodes were originally designed to run continuously.

    The reason that you can see the beam of a green laser and not a red one is because Rayleigh Scattering is frequency dependant. A violet beam should scatter even more than a green one. So the beam should be more visible unless the decreased sensitivity of the human eye to the violet color cancels this out.

    Since this violet laser is more powerful than my green one, you should be able to do more things with it, such as light a cigarette. You could probably pop balloons at a greater distance, too. Your common laser pointers are less than 5 mW. This violet one is close to 200 mW.

    1. Re:I have a Wicked Laser by Slashcrap · · Score: 1

      I have to be within a couple of feet of the balloon to pop it.

      So the beam has spread significantly within a couple of feet? I'm no expert, but that sounds like a pretty lame product.

      Your common laser pointers are less than 5 mW. This violet one is close to 200 mW.

      Oh, so that's why my BluRay player keeps evaporating all my discs!

  41. Re:WTF! by thrillseeker · · Score: 1

    This shit gets posted and not my stem cell research?

    You must be new here.

  42. $2000 Lasers by bluemonq · · Score: 1

    Hmm...let's see... if I had to spend $2000 on a Wicked Lasers portable laser, would I pay for a 20mW Blu-Ray laser that's supposed to be cool 'cuz it's blue, or a 300mw green laser that's supposed ot be cool since it can burn through certain materials? Choices, choices...

  43. Re:Let me get this straight. by LindseyJ · · Score: 1

    Duh. Didn't you watch Frankenstien?

  44. I'm glad it's $2K! by catdevnull · · Score: 1

    Thank God it's $2,000 for one of those damn things. The intense, blinding blue LEDs are annoying enough so I can't imagine just how annoying a blue laser would be. At least the pricing keeps the average jackass from pointing a Blue Death Ray laser at my eyes at a concert, sports event, or while I'm driving.

    Too bad I can't do anything about how managers will spend their bonus money...(and I know a couple who would love to do their damn Powerpoints with this thing...)

    --

    I might know what I'm talkin' about, but then again, this is Slashdot...
  45. Green/Blue pointers just toys by Doppler00 · · Score: 1

    I've seen someone use a green laser pointer during a meeting for a presentation. It's just waay to distracting. Not because it's green, but because it was so bright! It almost hurt my eyes to look at it. It's like staring at a bright light bulb across the room. Not something that helps your vision as you'd get ghost images of it after looking around. I guess a blue laser pointer would be okay, but not if it's extraordinarily bright.

  46. Incredible plug for Blu-Ray by heroine · · Score: 1

    Considering you can get the blue lasers out of HD-DVD players for 1/2 the price, this is an incredibly inefficient way to make laser pointers unless the idea is to leach off the Blu-ray brand.

  47. For Once Thinkgeek's Not the Most Expensive by Greyfox · · Score: 1

    Their blue laser pointer only costs a grand. Of course you don't get the uber-cool titanium alloy and you probably can't burn a hole in someone like you can with the Wicked Laser but if you don't need those cool features you could save yourself a grand on thinkgeek.

    --

    I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

  48. Remarkable comments on the price tag by eebra82 · · Score: 1

    A lot of Slashdot users are bashing this company because it has created an expensive and sort of pointless product.

    I don't understand why people complain. This product is obviously not intended for Wal*Mart or Best Buy. It's a high-tech gadget designed to appeal to the very same people who would care spending $5,000 on 3D glasses. It was never meant to sell for 179,99. Instead, it's just a nifty gadget and just a fraction of comparable items out there that are overpriced but neat.

    The day everyone will need a pocket laser will be the day that the Blu-Ray handheld laser will be on sale for less than a 100 bucks.

    --
    Full Tilt
    1. Re:Remarkable comments on the price tag by Slashcrap · · Score: 2, Insightful

      A lot of Slashdot users are bashing this company because it has created an expensive and sort of pointless product.

      I'm bashing them because of the incredible waste of materials that would result if these actually sell (which of course they won't). Apart from all the crap that will end up in landfills, most people simply don't appreciate the amount of energy that goes into manufacturing the components in something like a BluRay player.

      I'm not going to suggest that this kind of thing should be banned or in any way prevented.

      It's just that I'd quite like it if a truly horrible accident befell the person who thought it up. Preferably something involving rats.

  49. Re:2 grand for a toy laser? by that+this+is+not+und · · Score: 1

    It would be almost like spending $999 on a PS3.

  50. HD DVD? by tepples · · Score: 1
    The 360 is using DVDs which use red lasers(aka Cheat Commando lasers)

    What color laser does the Xbox 360's HD DVD player accessory use?

  51. The kind of idiot... by 9Nails · · Score: 1

    Which kind of idiot would pay $2K for it? Perhaps the same kind if idiot who would pay $140K for an H1 Hummer...

    There are lots of people willing to pay ridiculous amounts of money for excessive items.

  52. Pack the landfills with laserless players by mnemotronic · · Score: 1

    This ranks right up there with burning down a forest because someone wants a spotted owl as a pet, or owning a humvee. I feel sad those who can justify the waste of natural resources for the sake of ego.

    --
    The Russians have won. They have made the world a cesspool of distrust, greed, fear and hate.
  53. Re:Let me get this straight. by EtherealStrife · · Score: 1
    Actually yes, it is ineffective (potentially). Ever heard of the split brain procedure for severe epileptics? And of course, there's that chick with the split heart. The body is extraordinarily resilient. You're best off using the beam to chop off the opponent's head. Then soak the head in sodium hydroxide, to avoid the possibility of freezing for later revival.

    Or you could just use a gun. . . .

  54. worst. name. evar. by teh_chrizzle · · Score: 1

    i hate to be that guy, but sonar is based on sound waves. radar is based on radio waves. the acronym (you did know that SONAR, RADAR, and LASER are all acrnyms, right?) they are looking for is LIDAR which stands for Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging.

    --
    sarcasm:
    -noun
    1. harsh or bitter derision or irony.
    1. Re:worst. name. evar. by ivanmarsh · · Score: 1

      The LI in LIDAR stands for light as the RA in RADAR stands for radio.

      Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging is sort of like DVDs being called Digital Versital Disks instead of Digital Video Disks after they realized they could be used for things other than video. I just love it when acronyms end up meaning more than on thing.

      I can only assume they called their completely useless and overly expensive toy Sonar because it's using a frequency of light that's on the low (deep blue, ocean, submarine) end of the visual spectrum... though that still makes very little sense.

      Can't you put your eye out with one of those things?

  55. 20mw is wimpy ... more powerful are available ... by Skapare · · Score: 1

    ... here.

    --
    now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
  56. Nuclear laser by Thomas+Shaddack · · Score: 1

    Nuclear pumped laser. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzap!

  57. Re:Let me get this straight. by jawtheshark · · Score: 1

    She might be a freak, but she's frigging hot... ;-)

    --
    Ahhh...the great dumpster continuum. Many a free computer will be found there. -- sowth (748135)
  58. We now have RED, BLUE and GREEN lasers by ancient_kings · · Score: 1

    so when shall I expect a 2D holograph projector to be sold?

  59. Call me a screaming leftie but.. by clickclickdrone · · Score: 1

    There's something faintly obscene about dropping $2000 in a trinket toy when there are people that can't afford to pay their heating bills, eat or get medical attention.

    --
    I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
  60. Re:Pay attention kids... by leuk_he · · Score: 1

    damn... no edit button! 8-(

    --not an ac.

  61. I... can't... by Zaatxe · · Score: 1

    breath... the... stupidity... is too... thick...
    Gaaaaaaaaa!!! I can't take it!!! Is there any limit for lameness?!?!?!?

    Sorry my fellow slashdotters for this post that doesn't add anything to the subject. But this is too lame for me to not to take it off my chest. Sorry again. I hope you all forgive me someday.

    --
    So say we all
  62. Two words by Crayon+Kid · · Score: 1

    Jedi sword.

    --
    i ate crayons when i was a kid and now i have two braincells and the blue ones taste nicer
  63. Response from Wicked Lasers by wickedlasers · · Score: 1

    Hi, Good day, its very interesting to read your comments, some are very insightful. Let me explain why we used a Blu-ray laser disc player to obtain the laser diodes. The reason is that there are only 2 manufactureres (Nichia, and Sony) that manufacture Blu-ray diodes in all of the world, and they are located in Japan. When the project was first envisioned two months ago, we called Nichia to obtain pricing on a diode, the cost quoted for 100pc was 2000$ US per unit, but the problem lied in the fact if we could ever get them, as there are global shortages of blu-ray diodes. We had to find a better way to create this laser. Our alternate plan, which was the one we ended up going with was to buy Blu-ray disc players* from the USA, and have them shipped into China. This was a slightly cheaper and also more reliable way of guaranteeing we would have something soon. Our profit margin on this product is by far the lowest compared to all our other products, and at this point we are in the negative from the development of this product. We hope to make this money back through a few sales, but we believe that in the long run, the world will know that Wicked Lasers is willing to innovate; that all true laser enthusiasts will recongize our efforts and help us revolutionize the world of lasers. Lastly, some of you believe that we have targeted Slashdot as a "slashvertisement". However, we had no intention of seeing this story out on Slashdot, it came as a pleasant surprise. In fact, we were hoping that with i4u.com (the original poster of the story), we could gain some publicity in their tech-oriented crowd. We are very proud that Slashdot has acknowledged this story, and we hope that we will have something even more newsworthy to give to you guys next time! Thank you for your time to read my reply. Best Regards, Steve Liu CEO *Blu-ray disc players are not released in China, the only option is to purchase a Sony AR Laptop at 3,500$ to obtain the Blu-ray drive. At the time of this project conception HD-DVD XBOX drives were not yet released. We will be considering cheaper options in the future to offer a better price to our customers.

    1. Re:Response from Wicked Lasers by wickedlasers · · Score: 1

      Hi, Good day, its very interesting to read your comments, some are very insightful. Let me explain why we used a Blu-ray laser disc player to obtain the laser diodes. The reason is that there are only 2 manufactureres (Nichia, and Sony) that manufacture Blu-ray diodes in all of the world, and they are located in Japan. When the project was first envisioned two months ago, we called Nichia to obtain pricing on a diode, the cost quoted for 100pc was 2000$ US per unit, but the problem lied in the fact if we could ever get them, as there are global shortages of blu-ray diodes. We had to find a better way to create this laser.

      Our alternate plan, which was the one we ended up going with was to buy Blu-ray disc players* from the USA, and have them shipped into China. This was a slightly cheaper and also more reliable way of guaranteeing we would have something soon. Our profit margin on this product is by far the lowest compared to all our other products, and at this point we are in the negative from the development of this product. We hope to make this money back through a few sales, but we believe that in the long run, the world will know that Wicked Lasers is willing to innovate; that all true laser enthusiasts will recongize our efforts and help us revolutionize the world of lasers.

      Lastly, some of you believe that we have targeted Slashdot as a "slashvertisement". However, we had no intention of seeing this story out on Slashdot, it came as a pleasant surprise. In fact, we were hoping that with i4u.com (the original poster of the story), we could gain some publicity in their tech-oriented crowd. We are very proud that Slashdot has acknowledged this story, and we hope that we will have something even more newsworthy to give to you guys next time! Thank you for your time to read my reply.

      Best Regards,
      Steve Liu CEO
      http://www.wickedlasers.com/ [wickedlasers.com]

      *Blu-ray disc players are not released in China, the only option is to purchase a Sony AR Laptop at 3,500$ to obtain the Blu-ray drive. At the time of this project conception HD-DVD XBOX drives were not yet released. We will be considering cheaper options in the future to offer a better price to our customers.

  64. Official Response from Wicked Lasers by wickedlasers · · Score: 1

    Hi, Good day, its very interesting to read your comments, some are very insightful. Let me explain why we used a Blu-ray laser disc player to obtain the laser diodes. The reason is that there are only 2 manufactureres (Nichia, and Sony) that manufacture Blu-ray diodes in all of the world, and they are located in Japan. When the project was first envisioned two months ago, we called Nichia to obtain pricing on a diode, the cost quoted for 100pc was 2000$ US per unit, but the problem lied in the fact if we could ever get them, as there are global shortages of blu-ray diodes. We had to find a better way to create this laser.

    Our alternate plan, which was the one we ended up going with was to buy Blu-ray disc players* from the USA, and have them shipped into China. This was a slightly cheaper and also more reliable way of guaranteeing we would have something soon. Our profit margin on this product is by far the lowest compared to all our other products, and at this point we are in the negative from the development of this product. We hope to make this money back through a few sales, but we believe that in the long run, the world will know that Wicked Lasers is willing to innovate; that all true laser enthusiasts will recongize our efforts and help us revolutionize the world of lasers.

    Lastly, some of you believe that we have targeted Slashdot as a "slashvertisement". However, we had no intention of seeing this story out on Slashdot, it came as a pleasant surprise. In fact, we were hoping that with i4u.com (the original poster of the story), we could gain some publicity in their tech-oriented crowd. We are very proud that Slashdot has acknowledged this story, and we hope that we will have something even more newsworthy to give to you guys next time! Thank you for your time to read my reply.

    Best Regards,
    Steve Liu CEO
    http://www.wickedlasers.com/ [wickedlasers.com]

    *Blu-ray disc players are not released in China, the only option is to purchase a Sony AR Laptop at 3,500$ to obtain the Blu-ray drive. At the time of this project conception HD-DVD XBOX drives were not yet released. We will be considering cheaper options in the future to offer a better price to our customers.

    **I apologize for the double-post, don't know how to edit formatting in the other post.

  65. Conflicting Feelings by airship · · Score: 1

    What a stupid product.

    I want one.

    --
    Serving your airship needs since 1995.
  66. Re:Stupid. by KlomDark · · Score: 1

    "This would be a good time to consider buying some eyewear that will filter out the red, because an accidental burst can get focused onto your retina. That would be bad."

    I've had a 'dead pixel' in my eye for about 20 years now after staring directly into the beam of an early grocery store UPC scanner. It's not very big, and I usually do not notice it anymore. But I just did now, thanks. :)