I've experienced failures of over a dozen of these before I figured out what the problem is. If you put these into the below-ceiling-fan mounted fixtures with glass "tulips", the heat buildup on the electronic ballast at the base of the lamps (since the bulb is base-up inside the cup of glass shielding)causes failure within 6 months. My only solution (ugly and dangerous) came from removing the tulip glass shields and putting just the bare bulb below the fan. This exposes you to mercury poisoning if you break the bulb while it is turned on and looks awful. But after removing the tulips I now have lots of light in my computer room. I don't know what we're going to do when incandescent light bulbs are forbidden. They actually have their place in the fan lights.
These bulbs last well in free air mounts like the typical ceiling fixture, where air can circulate around the base electronics.
Great light for the laundry room, you can find stains you normally wouldn't be able to find with a lower wattage light. Comes on instantly. Worth the extra cost (was more expensive than Wal-Mart lights). Bought via mail order
I bought a four pack of these for $10 at Walgreens to replace my incandescent bulbs in the living room. The first impression of the light was that it was unusual since I am used to the warmer incandescent light. But soon enough I got used to it and realized that it is great for reading as well as crafts - pretty much everything where you need to see detail and natural colors. It is much easier on the eyes. However, it might not be appropriate for all rooms, especially if you want a warmer light. These are quite bright too, since they are the equivalent of a 100w bulb. I have also noticed that when I take pictures I do not need to adjust my camera's setting to get photos with natural colors without the yellow hue.