The folks at Anybots must have been testing QB, their latest remote-control robot, on an empty stomach yesterday. That's when a coffeeshop patron in Mountain View, California (prime-time Silicon Valley, natch) shot this video. Scrub forward to about 1:10 for the action. He may not be the most handsome robot, but he's a big tipper (more than 100 percent). More
Since many of you will be unwrapping iPads and iPhones for the holidays, we put together a list of food-themed apps and accessories we use regularly. Please chime in with other recommendations! More
When my mother-in-law emailed me a link to the Demy site and asked if I wanted one for my birthday, I couldn't say YES fast enough. I'm a lazy recipe organizer. I've got recipes squirreled away in many different formats—cookbooks, pages cut from magazines, email, docs and text files, 3-by-5 cards, etc. Makes it hard to remember what I've got when I'm looking for something different to make. Then along comes the Demy. More
Condé Nast, the publisher of Gourmet, is reviving the brand as an app. You can watch the promo video at live.gourmet.com, but in a nutshell, it looks like they're going to be adding to the existing archives with new content and packaging it all in a slick browsing experience. You'll be able to earn "rewards" (unlock hidden articles) and share the app's recipes, videos, and slideshows across social networks with your friends. More
According to the Wall Street Journal, Starbucks will begin offering free WiFi service in its locations beginning July 1, 2010. Previously WiFi was available in Starbucks stores under a variety of options, both free and paid. The new policy ends the ambiguity and also gives customers free access to otherwise paid content on sites such as ... the Wall Street Journal. The move comes after McDonald's started offering free WiFi in locations. Is this welcome news to you? Will you hang out longer in Starbucks now? More
Cookie Monster has a ravenous appetite for cookies, true, but really he'd polish off anything you put in front of him. Including this talking contraption, which Jim Henson used in an IBM training video [Update: IBM contracted Henson to make the videos for employees and a then-less-technologically-savvy public; read more about it here] back in 1967. At the time, the blue (well, greenish here) monster's name was actually Arnold the Munching Monster. Here he omnoms everything from the antenna to the generator to the krypton wavelengths. And who can forget about those scrumptious sonar metabolic transducers! More
Over on Lifescoop, our J. Kenji Lopez-Alt rounds up five of the best iPod apps that'll help you cook everything (OK, over 2,000 things!) a la Mark Bittman, understand what seafood is sustainable, and more. Which apps would you add to the list? More
Heatswell by electrical engineer and designer Scott Amron is a biodegradable and recyclable coffee cup wrapped with a heat-activated band that swells to form an insulating collar, thus eliminating the need for cardboard collars and saving on waste and space. The website says the material swells up to one inch, and its texture has a "knitted-on cloth towel feel." If I got my hands on one of these I'd probably stare at it and go, "Whoaaaoooooh, shaaaapes," instead of actually using it to drink a hot beverage. More
We mentioned Michael Ruhlman's Ratio iPhone app back in December, but it looks like Ruhlman just released an updated version, available in the iTunes Store for $4.99 (he says they're working on a Droid version). The application includes 32 critical ratios and will calculate the amount of each ingredient you need based on what you already have or want to make. It also includes basic recipes and variations and allows you to save your own recipes and notes. More
According to this poorly Google-translated article, South Korea's CJ Corporation has seen an uptick in sales for its snack sausage in the winter months because people have figured out they can use the meat stick as a stylus for their iPhone touchscreens. IPhone users in colder climes know all too well that you have to take off your mittens to use the dang thing. No more!... More
