: > This is not a new idea.  At least 10 years ago I got this little gadget with
: > a keyboard on the back and 8 LED's in a vertical row on the front.  It has a
: > long handle and when you wave it in the air it "writes" the message you typed
: > on the keyboard in the air. 
: 
: This is not news.  In fact it's where I got the idea from, since it was
: such a neat item.  Mattell made it, I believe, modeled after a "space 
: saber" or "light sword" or something likewise theme-y.  My addition was 
: using a motor for continuous display, and polar effects in addition to 
: character graphics.  I should have protected it when I had the chance.  
: No one to kick but myself...
: 
: Ten years ago is about right, since I built mine in '84 or '85.

It's even older than that.  I remember seeing a description of
a garage operation selling them at some of the early Computer Faires 
in San Francisco about 5 years before that.
