Since the eInk displays aren't transparent we could try approaching the problem from a different angle. Maybe we should hack our eyeballs and get some reading lights embedded in them?
BTW for Mac users running XP on Parallels Beta 1 build 3094: The firmware update worked fine but there was a brief moment of panic. At a certain point in flashing the firmware the Sony Reader disconnects from Parallels and the update claims to have failed. At that point I didn't turn off the reader or disconnect it from the Mac. Instead I made sure it was connected in Parallels (via the Parallels USB menu) and told the reader software to re-try the firmware flash. Then the firmware flash worked. Whew!
And if anyone in Sony is reading this: Please improve the PDF reader - that is the killer format. I've got bucket loads of academic papers and such like that I want to read but the font size idiotically small. I've had loads of people drool over the reader but as soon as they see the PDF handling they run screaming, while saying they'll wait till there is a user centric device on the market.