The consumer Internet is too young for anyone to be certain that portals may be any more than a passing fashion.

ECONOMIST: When the bubble bursts

The tax benefits, although much exaggerated by insurance salesmen, are sometimes enough to overcome the considerable overhead costs (salesmen's commissions, etc.) of passing on wealth in this fashion.

FORBES: Magazine Article

These are going out of fashion because they convert too much of the electricity passing through them into heat, rather than light.

ECONOMIST: Solar power