text: Not on the ones I bought at Costco as recently as 4 years ago.  They still have a warm-up period.  Not as bad as the earlier ones but it's still quite noticeable.
  
  And no, you misunderstood my "standard size" reference.  I meant E26 sockets.  There's lots of different shapes and sizes of incandescent bulbs.  The CFLs were primarily just an alternative for the E26 standard bulbs though, not a replacement for all sizes of incandescents.  
  
  And "still common now" doesn't mean they JUST NOW became common.  Good grief.  They've been common for like 2 decades.  And BTW, it's wasn't a Bush "mandate".  Mandates force you to use something.  What Bush did was force the phase-out of 100w incandescents. What people chose to buy instead was not mandated.  
  
  You also completely ignore the shelf life of light bulbs. Most people buy more than they immediately need, and have a supply. Since most bulbs last years, it can take many more years to finish up your supply. So of course it's a long transition.