Has anyone ever found success by using an external object to remind them that they're dreaming whilst they're within a dream?

I read Exploring The World of Lucid Dreaming, and LaBerge said he tried using blindfold devices with a light attached to the inside that was designed to turn on during the REM periods of the user.

The results showed that people did in fact notice the light within their dreams, but it was translated into something reasonable and understandable to the user by the subconscious mind - such as a sunrise, headlights - anything bright. If you were to teach yourself to recognize such an instance, wouldn't this be an extraordinary invention for the advancement of lucid dreaming and general LD awareness?

If anyone used a technique similar to the one above or even completely different I'd love to hear your ideas. If you could somehow perfect something to remind you that you're dreaming within a dream, it would effectively cut out all the anxiety due to technique and method learning and let people who want to lucid dream get down to business.

Even with such a device, I think it would be important anyway to know how to lucid dream without the need of a device, because therefore you can do it without the need of anything but your own head. But for people who can't seem to LD at all and have spent ages learning and trying a wide array of techniques (Like myself, sadly enough ) it would be nothing more than a godsend.

Opinions? Facts? Info? I want it all!