One thing to be said for incandescent light bulbs ...

[unixronin]

... is that I've never seen one do this.

Update:  I just talked to Sylvania.  In addition to replacing this lamp and the one other failed CFL we have (a 40W unit that flickers), they want to see this one for a failure analysis.  I rather expected they would, and I'm glad they didn't disappoint me.

Comments

[msa.livejournal.com]

The inductors they use seem to be inadequate and cook out over time.

Had this happen with the ballasts of a couple of GE CFLs.

I'm waiting for good LED replacements. I don't quite trust CFLs at this point, and they produce a lot of RFI.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

I'd far sooner be using LEDs myself, but the last time I looked, the cost was still prohibitive for anything more than flashlights. I haven't observed any RFI problems with CFLs, but I have found it rather annoying that they don't work well with remote switches. (I'm assuming the remote switches don't emit a clean sine-wave and the CFL ballast doesn't deal well with the output waveform. The result tends to be a strong 60Hz buzz and flicker.)