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It won't console you as you drown your sorrows in alcohol, but MIT's Makr Shakr robotic bartender can make exactly the drink you're looking for before you've even arrived at the bar.

MIT's Senseable City Lab teamed up with Coca-Cola and Bacardi Rum to bring Makr Shakr to Google I/O, which starts Wednesday in San Francisco. The system allows barflies and frazzled developers alike to personalize their cocktail recipe of choice via a smartphone app, or to choose a libation created by another user, creating a crowdsourced drink menu.… Read more

Keep an eye on the sky the next time you're at a concert -- a cold beer might be coming your way. It's been announced that attendees of South Africa's OppiKoppi music festival will be able to order beer that comes delivered on an octocopter drone.

Called the OppiKoppi beer drone, the device is an 8-propeller helicopter that can be loaded with beer and flown over the festival, arriving at the GPS location of any person who orders a cold brew from a mobile app. Once the drone arrives at its location, it drops its cargo and a single beer attached to a parachute will make its way down to a designated campsite called District 9.

With beer intentionally flying in the air, there's some concern about a cold brew randomly hitting festival goers in the head. Darkwing Aerials, the South African company that's providing the beer drone for the festival, says it is taking safety precautions. … Read more

For many, the first kitchen appliance of the day is the coffeemaker. But that's not the only drink-dispensing machine in town these days. Sure, there are tea makers that are dedicated standalone devices as well as those that are integrated into standard coffee makers, but there is another beverage trying to muscle in on the kitchen countertop scene. Time to make room for soda (or, depending where you live, pop, tonic, or soft drinks, etc.).

The Sprizzi Drink Machine aims to define a new generation of everyday beverage dispensers. Currently a Kickstarter project, the device ups the ante by … Read more

Cooking and waiting go hand in hand. Sure, sometimes, the action is fast and furious, but other times it just becomes a matter of patience. This "hurry up and wait" aspect of meal making isn't a bad thing; flavor develops at its own pace. As cooking can be all about timing, it would not be inappropriate to consider the fact that sometimes it is the actual appliance that needs to catch up. So it seems only natural that the cooking appliance itself should know what is expected of it. Like what time to have dinner ready at.… Read more

Dining can be a delicate thing. Finding the right balance of flavors and ingredients can be tricky, but the meal is only half the story. Surrounding whatever food is on the plate, of course, is the environment. The setting could be anything from the soft glow of a candlelight dinner to the bright glare of a midday meal. Or, it could be any number of options dialed up from the range hood. Yes, that oft-overlooked thing above the stovetop.

The color of meal-making can now be controlled with the Arkea range hood made by the European firm Faber. The striking … Read more

January is a time of renewal. It also happens to be when appliance makers show off their visions of what is to come. The event is CES 2013 and this year, according to those that make kitchen gadgets and appliances, everything is going to be very, very smart. While we have been promised automated kitchens in one form or another since the time of the Jetsons, there is one important factor in the modern world that may see the smart kitchen finally grow up: mobility.

The year 2013 is going to be one marked by plenty of smartphone and tablet sales. … Read more

Food generally isn't too big of a deal in the "Star Trek" universe unless you're talking about tribbles eating all the quadrotriticale or Picard ordering up a hot cup of tea to go with his space scones.

All those Enterprise crew members still have to eat and that means there's going to be some hot food coming out of the replicators. That also means you're going to need a space-worthy oven mitt. A Spock oven mitt. The $14.99 oversize Spock hand has just enough blue uniform on the cuff to designate its rank.… Read more

Cookware can be deceptively simple. Deceptive, because it usually is simple. But then something comes along and adds another piece to the puzzle. Then another. Eventually, a set of interlocking pieces comes together, promising to do anything and everything. The problem is, sometimes when things get too complicated, their original utility gets lost in the fold.

Not so with the Twiztt by Joan Lunden Cut, Cook & Serve Set ($79.99). Like a puzzle, the set of kitchenware comes together to form something greater than the sum of its parts. As the name implies, the multitasking set goes from prepping … Read more

Fondue is fun. Relaxing with family and friends over a warm pot of bubbling deliciousness is something meant to be enjoyed at its own pace (assuming the participants can agree on what to put in the pot). The shape of a fondue party, being one that can be either sweet or savory, can take on its own structure, yet the jostling for ingredients always remains the same. Unless, of course, the ingredients come to you.

The Cuisinart CF0-1000 Lazy Susan Electric Fondue ($79.99) is a fun, countertop device orbited by moveable ingredient trays. Featuring a built-in electric heating element … Read more