> I have yet to see a fluorescent bulb that works instantly. Oh, they all
> strike instantly, but it takes about quarter of an hour for them to
> "warm up" to the point where they produce any appreciable quantity of
> light. And even then, they always seem a bit dark.

You do realise that CCFLs come with different power ratings and 
different light outputs, exactly like incandescents? If "they always 
seem a bit dark" then maybe you are always buying ones with too low 
power for the room?

> LEDs sound like a nice idea, but the light they produce is usually very
> directional,

Most "candle" type LED bulbs will actually consist of multiple LEDs 
pointing in all different directions with scattering/diffusing lenses. 
If you buy LED spotlights/downlighters then yes you will get a 
directional light pattern, that is the whole point (same if you buy a 
halogen downlighter).

> and they're not really bright enough. You'd need to coat
> your whole ceiling with them.

Realistically you're going to get equivalent of maybe 40-60W 
incandescent from a single "normal" LED bulb. If you are used to using a 
single 100W bulb to light a room then you won't be able to replace it 
with a single LED bulb, but if (like me) you had those light fittings 
that take 3x or 5x 40W halogen/incandescents then you can easily make it 
brighter than it was before with LEDs.

> As a matter of fact, my new flat has LED downlighters in the ceiling of
> the kitchen. Consequently, no matter where you stand, you are ALWAYS
> casting a shadow over the work surface. A normal light, suspended just
> below the ceiling and throwing light in all directions, doesn't seem to
> suffer this problem nearly as much.

That's because they are downlighter spots, nothing to do with the fact 
that they are LED. You'd have the same issue with halogen spots. 
Kitchens often used to have full-sized fluorescent tubes, which actually 
worked quite well, they just went out of fashion. A "normal" uplighter 
works by throwing the light onto the ceiling and it reflecting back 
down, LED uplighters will do exactly the same, but typically you don't 
have them in kitchens.

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