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Hardware

A Kitchen Computer That's Actually Useful? 166

Posted by timothy from the mac-tv-meets-the-cooking-channel dept.
twilightzero writes: "I was at the Rochester Area Builders' Home Show (Rochester, MN) today and ran across what looks to be first actually useful and practical computer appliance I've ever seen. Called the iCEBOX, it mounts under your cupboard or sits on your countertop, but I found the under the cupboard model much more attractive. It includes an LCD display on a tilt/swivel mount that locks up out of the way to protect the screen, a DVD drive and with DVD software so you can watch movies or listen to cd's while cooking, cable ready 125 channel tv receiver, and the ability to act as a remote monitor for a camera (as in a baby's room or the front door), useful for all you X-10 owners. But the best touch, IMHO, is the spillproof, shockproof, greaseproof, and washable wireless keyboard that comes with it, an absolute necessity for the kitchen. It also includes a modem and NIC and says it's compatible with any dialup or broadband service that doesn't require the downloading of software (i.e. prodigy yes, AOL no). There's no mention on the website about the hardware or software that it's running but with its name I might assume it's running Windows CE or Pocket PC...not sure though, since it also says it's not compatible with MSN. I'm thinking about redoing my kitchen sometime soon, I might have to put one of these on the list for installation ..."
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A Kitchen Computer That's Actually Useful? More

A Kitchen Computer That's Actually Useful?

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  • It'll be useful... (Score:5, Funny)

    by kabir ( 35200 ) on Saturday February 02, 2002 @09:04PM (#2944373)
    when it can do the dishes, get the shopping done, and have dinner waiting for me when I get home.

    Until then it's a waste of space.
  • "I don't know what happened, I was watching 'Jingle All The Way'
    and I must have been engrossed by the performances of Sinbad and Arnold,
    but the next thing I knew I had lost two fingers and there was blood everywhere."

  • please don't buy this. (Score:1, Interesting)

    by perdida ( 251676 )
    do we need to watch tv all the time? when we are working with hot things, etc?

    I don't like TVs in cars, either. There are times when we shouldn't watch tv.

    Yes, there is free enterprise. You have a right to buy this. However, the more people buy it, the more "ubiquitous" having every room wired becomes.

    Think about it from your grandkids' perspective: They might have to have a computer in every room of the house for their 18 hour workdays.

    • Great: and with our friends at Comcast, etc. trying to charge for every device using NAT behind your connection, or charging you extra per IP, I can only guess what's going to happen to your ISP bill once the iDishwasher, iMicrowave and iRefrigerator get hooked up.

      "Hello, this is Comcast. We've determined that your stove has been involved in a lot of KaZaA file sharing - a violation of our Terms of Agreement. We're cutting your connection."

    • Hey, I keep all my various recipes on my Palm -- useful when I get suckered into cooking when I'm not expecting it.

      If nothing else, something like this would be really handy for nothing else that to give me a large LCD readout of my recipes. If, in addition, they could provide a set of, say, eight simultaneous programmable stopwatches so I wouldn't lose track of when various things were getting done, that'd be outright damned useful.

      Besides, I already watch TV while I cook; cooking (or especially baking) has a nasty way of being a hurry-up-and-wait affair, and standing there staring at the clock gets old really quick.

  • Something even more space efficient... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Magus311X ( 5823 ) on Saturday February 02, 2002 @09:08PM (#2944394)
    1U essentially. would take up less room. has a DVI and DVD too. Exhaust is side mounted too so air can escape pretty easily. Mounts under the cupboard without a problem.

    Sleekline 1260 [pcpowerandcooling.com]

    These guys make absolutely bulletproof power supplies too. But take this, throw in a wireless/RF keyboard/mouse combo, and put in a 15" flat panel ($200 now?) and you have something for the kitchen or wherever.

    -----
    • Exhaust is side mounted too so air can escape pretty easily

      And steam and grease enters with the same amount of ease, I presume.
    • Well your idea would be great, except for one big flaw: This isn't aimed at you, or me for that matter. This is aimed at the USERS out there, the mom & dad with kids who need something they can plug and go. I didn't send in the article thinking a lot of slashdot ppl would buy it. It IS overpriced and basically non upgradeable. But the people who would buy this won't be TOO concerned about the price, will want something easy to use, designed well, and with a large number of uses, all of which criteria this supplies. They're NOT going to go out and buy a 1u server, put a monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc. with it. Some /.'ers might, and that's good for them, but then you still wouldn't have TV tuner, camera monitor, indestructible keyboard, remote control, flip-up monitor, and if it's running Linux difficult to get DVD software.

      What I posted the article for was to show that some companies seem to be getting the idea that if you're going to produce an appliance, it had better be useful, look good, be able to withstand appliance-type conditions, have a LOT of function, and be designed well to fit into an average home. It's definitely overpriced, as I said before, but for everything it does and the design that's obviously gone into it, I think it's a superb product and I wish we would see more devices on the market with this much forethought into them.

  • the name... (Score:2, Informative)

    by thebigbadme ( 194140 )
    the might have just chosen to call it an iCEBOX because it's a box, they wanted to use jargon (i-). and being for the kitchen wanted to give it some sort of name that would fit in with the rest of your everyday stuff. Ice, commonly found in freezers, or an ice-box, a name for a freezer type thing; iCEBOX or i-cebox, fits right in. Follow?
  • This is something that I could build with a Spacewalker [google.com] case, a mid-range Celeron, a DVD-ROM drive, and a flat-panel monitor. Toss in a Logitech cordless keyboard and mouse, an inexpensive remote control, and a PCI TV tuner card, and you're good to go for less than this alleged "iCEBOX" (ugh) costs. How do I know? I have one in my kitchen right now. It runs Linux, too.

    • Re:Unnecessary (Score:1, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      You wouldn't have the waterproof greaseproof keyboard / remote control though would you?

      However I agree with you, the prices are high.

      Especially for the under-cabinet device. That is nearly $3000. For a fancy case with speakers and a strange rotatable display. An iMac2 would be a better option in my opinion, and you could watch that you kid does his homework on it whilst you are cooking/fetching beer.

      And with all those phone cables, network cables, power cables and the like as well taking up space. Hmmm.

  • Missing some key features (Score:5, Insightful)

    by yzf750 ( 178710 ) on Saturday February 02, 2002 @09:19PM (#2944426)
    The flipdown one is $2995.00. OUCH. Still it is a neat device, but missing a few key features I think. Where is the touch screen? Recipie program? Wireless? I couldn't find if it would play streaming audio from my server. Since it doesn't look to allow loading of software, no AOL or MSN, how does it get updated for new software? I really would like to have a LCD panel WITH touch screen in my kitchen that I could view recipies and play streaming audio with. Oh well, back to coming up with something myself I guess.
  • Who would own one? The darn pop-up and pop-under ads have turned me off to it.
  • For (i=1; i Run-Sequence(Make_Me_a_Pie!);

    Mmm...
    • Man, it looks like my pie code got screwed up as it posted!

      I guess these kitchen internet PCs aren't as stable as I thought...and I don't want any ruined pies!

      • Man, it looks like my pie code got screwed up as it posted!

        I guess these kitchen internet PCs aren't as stable as I thought...and I don't want any ruined pies!


        And here I was looking for a 3.14... joke. Sigh!
      • Gee ... I guess you just need someone with a little more "pie" experience :-)

  • What I'd rather have (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Enry ( 630 ) <enry@wayga.nELIOTet minus poet> on Saturday February 02, 2002 @09:22PM (#2944439) Journal
    If I want to listen to a CD, I'll turn up my amp, or tune into Digitally Imported on my PC and be done with it. What I'd rather have in the kitchen is a recipe server. Something with...say...the Joy of Cooking built in, along with plugins for other recipe books, and the ability to input my own recipes.

    So lessee, I'm in the mood for a chicken dish. What recipes have chicken in them?

  • Windows CE.NET (Score:3, Informative)

    by Ldir ( 411548 ) on Saturday February 02, 2002 @09:23PM (#2944444)
    If you dig around in the Press section, you can find a little more information. For example, this is quoted from a publication (?) called "Twice", whatever that is:
    Icebox, LLC, the makers of a line of kitchen-centric interactive TV terminals, announced here that it will develop an interactive kitchen entertainment terminal as a rapid development partner for Microsoft's Windows CE.NET operating platform. Windows CE.NET is an embedded operating system designed for maximum interoperability between CE devices while allowing a broad range of Internet-based features including instant messaging and home networking capability using such standards as wireless 802.11. Icebox, LLC executives said the "thin client" OS needs minimal storage memory and is said to be ideal for typical CE devices that have only DRAM or internal Flash memory chips to store software programs. Other key benefits of the new version of the OS are said to be: reduced overall cost to consumers, faster delivery of products to market, and an open environment for third party developers to write additional software programs. Also, because device and software interoperability is enhanced, Windows CE.NET products will be less likely to crash, iCEBOX exeuctives said. iCEBOX executives said the new OS should cut down on product development cost since it is designed to require a minimal amount of customization when manufacturers plan to add new features or functions. Earlier iCEBOX products had been based on a Wind River operating system. Home networking and interoperability between CE devices will be enhanced as Microsoft expands its list of manufacturer partners building Windows CE.NET into next-generation devices. As a rapid development partner, iCEBOX has agreed to have a Windows CE.NET-enabled kitchen terminal by the second quarter of the year. The company is demonstrating an early prototype with an undercounter LCD display design at CES. iCEBOX expects its first Window CE.NET product will leverage such applications as Microsoft's calendar system for a family calendar. The company's kitchen terminals combine TV reception with DVD, and CD playback, and Internet access. "We're not inventing anything new, but it's useful," said Heidi Mikkelsen, Icebox's marketing manager. "You can have your morning coffee, see the news and check on the kids. And it doesn't take up a lot of counter space.
    Anyone know what their previous products were ("based on a Wind River operating system")? Another blurb mentions that the iCEBOX is from the same people who developed the George Foreman grill.

    I agree that they've come up with an ideal form for kitchen use. I'm not sure if it's worth $3000, but it's pretty cool.

    • Allow me to summarize the above story...

      iCEBOX is basically another iOpener. Even though the market has already decided that there was no interest (outside of hackers) for a home based $99 thin client, this company thinks that a kitchen based $2999 thin client will sell.

      iCEBOX is direct competition for Microsoft's Homestation. In addition to that iCEBOX is dependent upon Microsoft's future home networking technologies. (Hm... dependent upon the competitor, smart strategy).

      Let's just hope that the 'Market' decides to put these guys out of business soon so we can pick them up cheap on clearance and hack them!!

      • Actually, I posted the article to highlight the great design, especially of the under the cupboard unit. I will agree, it's very overpriced, but I think the design is spectacular. Also I think you're a bit off on it being dependent on M$'s future home networking technologies. It says that it's compatible with almost any dialup/broadband ISP that doesn't require the downloading of software. Note that this does NOT include MSN, which they specifically state the device isn't compatible with. I just love the design and wish we had more devices on the market with this much forethought behind them.

  • Saw it last year, didn't like it. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by AndyMan! ( 31066 ) <[moc.liamg] [ta] [ydnaogacihc]> on Saturday February 02, 2002 @09:25PM (#2944459)
    This has been out for a while. I saw the Icebox at the Atlanta Builders show last february. At the time my company was considering partnering with them.

    The booth lackey clearly liked demoing throwing the keyboard into the sink in the booth. IMHO, this was it's best feature.

    My single biggest complaint is that the entire machine is done in firmware. There is no disk, and no OS per se.

    At the time (last year) the Icebox shipped with it's own custom browser. It didn't have Adobe or flash plugins, and because the software was done in firmware, there was no ability to install these plugins.

    This machine is entirely rigid in it's application. This makes no sense in the world of Internet where standards seem to change monthly.

    The people behind the Icebox clearly come from a consumer electronics background. These machines have more in common with a DVD player then a PC.

    As I mentioned, the waterproof keyboard is the only "feature" of this machine that actually has value. I'd like to see more "Internet Appliances" pick up on this.

    _Am
    • I think that this is one of the reasons Microsoft must really be careful to not use its monolopy to gain an unfair advantage over competition dependant on related portions of its technology. For Microsoft to be completely fair it must sell its product, AND not do anything to screw over their competitors, such as iCEBOX. If they can, its well and fine if they are a monopoly... may the best product win. This is what people need to see. What usually happens is Microsoft uses its ubiquity to stifle its comeptition, even when their products are technically and price wise superior.

      Oh well...

      we can dream.

      Jeremy
    • You must've seen one of the early devices that was based on WindRiver's VxWare (I believe), which had WR's own custom browser with it. The current model is based on WinCE.NET, probably comes witn IE, and is (very funny) not compatible with MSN or AOL. It probably has no disk and my guess is, with something like that, there's a good chance it's not running on Intel hardware anyway so you of course wouldn't be able to run your ISP's downloaded software.

      The thing I was extremely impressed with was the design behind the thing - CD/DVD/TV/camera monitor/web/email, indestructible keyboard and remote, flip-up monitor that flips up with the screen facing up so as to protect it...they may come from a consumer electronics background, but the design of the device reflects it in that it's actually USEFUL in the environment it's designed to be in. Also see above post [slashdot.org], the AC has some good points :)
    • The people behind the Icebox clearly come from a consumer electronics background.

      They have a kitchen appliance background. Iceboxllc is a subsidiary of Salton, the same people who brought you the George Foreman grill, Juiceman, Breadman, etc. It slices, it dices, it displays your pr0n ;)
  • One thing I always thought a computer would be useful for in the kitchen is is a digital cookbook. My mom has all sorts of old, tattered recipes shoved in a folder. Just whip up a quick PHP set of scripts that will allow you to enter, edit, and view recipes and you'll never lose one again.

  • What would be really useful in the kitchen (Score:4, Insightful)

    by selan ( 234261 ) on Saturday February 02, 2002 @09:26PM (#2944463) Journal
    ...is a food inventory system, something that would keep track of how much milk, eggs, etc. I have in the fridge. It would automatically print me out a shopping list before I go to the store and alert me when I'm running low on essentials. Or if I think I'm out of carrots I can call up the inventory and see that they're just buried in the second shelf of the pantry and, oh, they're about a month old, better use them quick.

    Okay, I'm dreaming now but I don't think it's so far-fetched. It would need a way to input what foods you just bought and the amounts (bar code scanner?) and then what food you just used and the amounts. Combine that with a recipe database and you can input that you just made pancakes and it will automatically deduct milk, eggs, flour....

    Of course, then the kid will sneak some chocolate cake in the middle of the night and the data will get all messed up. But a girl can dream :).

    • Yes! In fact, get it to send the list once a week to one of those web grocery places and you'll never have to grocery shop again.

      Even if you just have it scan all the packaged stuff, and the let you edit the list before it is sent.

      I like the recipe database idea too. I don't think you would need to start with an inventory though, just have it track all the stuff it knows you used from the recipe database and the bar code reader, and a default weekly inventory would be generated. When you edit the list, that becomes next week's default.

      This, to me is the only real use for a pc in the kitchen. If you want to listen to music or watch movies, use a DVD player and a 14" telly. It'll be cheaper.
    • would be the option of letting it pick recipes randomly based on the ingredients in the fridge. I think this has already been done on some website or another, just that this would be that much more automatic. :)

      Especially useful shortly before payday. :)
    • Actually this is being done. When I visited IBM's research lab about two years ago they had something very similar to this built into a refrigerator. Each item had an RF tag attached to it and the refrigerator recorded when something was taken out and put back in. I'm not sure how they could tell how much milk was available. The whole inventory thing was controled via a touch panel on the front of the refrigerator.

      The lab had the full house setup with different proof of concept devices. The entire deal, lights, door, alarms, and about everything you could think of was controled from the tv in the living room. One very impressive feature was how one could send mp3s from the house wirelessly to the car so they could be played later. That kind of house is for me!
    • The old (very old) Deskmate DOS menu system from Tandy had a really spiffy grocery list and inventory system. Of course, it couldn't interact with your fridge and pantry, nore could it automatically order groceries for you from the web. It also had a recipie program for keeping track of your recipies, and if you wanted to make something, it would check the inventory and tell you what you needed to buy by starting a new grocery list. Amazing stuff for a simple DOS program (:

      The 'random mean' thing that someone else mentioned would be cool. I'm trying to talk some of my friends into writing a nice web script/database that keeps track of the individuals in the group; ie: where they will eat, where they have eaten recently ... and then pick a place for 'todays' group to go to. It seems pretty simple to me, and it would save hours a week of seven or eight guys arguing about "so what do you want today?", "I dunno, I picked yesterday and everyone yelled at me ..."

      ~LoudMusic
      • Sort of like a movielens [umn.edu] for restaurants? Sounds like a winner.
        • That's an interesting site! Too bad that of the first five or six pages of movies (60 movies), I had only seen eight of them. That doesn't help the system tell me what movies I will like. And someone spent a lot of time putting those movies into a database and including information about them to build cross-referancable data.

          It's close to what I was talking about. I live in a small town (population roughly 50,000), but there are three colleges (total of about 45,000 students) and a few large corperations that bring people in from neighboring cities (probably 15,000). So we have lots of resturants for lunch. Basically I thought it would be a cool idea for all the guys in our 'lunch group' to have a database that listed the resturants (in order) that we would like to eat at for lunch with the group. The server would keep track of where each of the individuals had eaten recently, and suggest where they should go next.

          • Ordered list of resturants for each individual including last date/time they dined there
          • Page to update information, including times the indivudual may have eaten there without the group
          • Main page would include a list of everyone in the group with a checkbox next to each name. Before lunch, you check everyone's name that is in your group for the day. The server checks the database, and makes a few suggestions of where to eat that will make everyone happy. Then you tell it which one your group has chosen and it updates all the individuals in the database automagically.


          If you have 15 to 20 people that usually group up to go to lunch, and everyone has 20 to 30 resturants in their 'personal favorites' list, I think the system would work quite well.

          I thought it was cool, so did everyone else ... but they're too lazy to make such a cool idea happen. Oh well ... loosers.

          ~LoudMusic
          • Actually it isnt all that easy as it seems - I dont know how many restaurants there are in your town but it seems like if you want to make best solution you'd have to optimize it and depending on how many people, restaurants etc it might become some quite heavy calculations. Optimizing is surprisingly heavy on the comp and it becomes amazingly complex if you have several players and try to go back further than a week to make everything be ok.

            And surprise surprise, not everyone would still be happy :). but that's human nature :)

            Dont get my wrong - it sounds like an intresting little home-project to code, i mean some people code kernels and windowmanagers for fun :)
          • Off-topic content:
            Wow! That's exactly what we need at work. We are always trying to figure out where to go to lunch but no one can ever decide. So we end up driving around until we get tired and then just pull into somewhere. :)

            Slightly on-topic content:
            Oh, and if we could mount it under the Kitchen cabinet in the break room it would be really cool.

  • is it just me? (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Or does the icebox look like an old 80's style Macintosh Classic?
  • Kind off odd that Slashdot would finally mention the icebox, considering that it was in PC Magazine months ago in the After Hours section... Typically, I consider Slashdot to have the latest news, albeit with slightly less accuracy.

    Still, awesome little device. If it wasn't for the fact that I was economically disadvantaged due to corporate and familial mismanagement, I'd get one.

    The real question is, does it include a built-in receipe book program? If not, somebody please make one!
  • but how much movie do you plan to watch while you slap a Pizza in the microwave or get a new brewsky from the fridge?

    I mean, that's all I ever do in the kitchen...

  • Has Potential (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Stephen VanDahm ( 88206 ) on Saturday February 02, 2002 @09:34PM (#2944484)
    I wish I had some sort of computer terminal in the kitchen that was somehow attached to a recipe database. This product would work except for two problems. First, it looks really hard to program -- I'm guessing that you'd need special drivers for it. Second of all, it doesn't appear to have a touch screen on it. I don't think I'd want to leave a keyboard sitting around the kitchen. It would get dirty quickly, and it would get in the way.

    I want a simple X-terminal with a flat-panel touch screen that mounts under the cabinets like this one does. I could then write a graphical application that interfaced with the recipe database and control it by touching the buttons on the screen. This is close, but probably not what I want. Grrr....
    • That's why it should also have a catalog of your food. If you don't know what to make, it will tell what you can with the ingredients in your fridge.

      I would also like something like this for my bar. I have software but its not interactive. Something that could print out shopping lists, and tell me how to mix drinks. I dont need the movie feature, but controlling my stereo or play mp3s would be nice.
    • RTFA (Read The F***ing Article)
      spillproof, shockproof, greaseproof, and washable wireless keyboard that comes with it

      This is actually a lot MORE than you want, since it also does cd's, dvd's, TV, remote camera monitor, the net, and is really designed to BE in a kitchen, unlike a regular old box that would not be happy near the greasy stove.

    • I want a simple X-terminal with a flat-panel touch screen that mounts under the cabinets like this one does

      I've been wanting one of these for a while. A flat touch screen running an X server, built-in wireless networking, no disk. I could check my email and read Slashdot while eating breakfast, or sit in the living room reading as if it were a book.

  • keyboard (Score:2, Funny)

    by DanThe1Man ( 46872 )
    . But the best touch, IMHO, is the spillproof, shockproof, greaseproof, and washable wireless keyboard that comes with it, an absolute necessity for the kitchen.

    Forget the kicken, I already wasted enough keyboards due to excessive p0rn watching. Give me a keyboard that I put in the dishwasher and I'll never use an old sock again.

  • But where's the barcode scanner? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Restil ( 31903 ) on Saturday February 02, 2002 @09:41PM (#2944501) Homepage
    For tracking groceries? How can one in this high-tech time we live in even CONSIDER attempting a task so complex as grocery organization without keeping very careful and accurate inventory via computer. With a barcode scanner to ease the entry and removal of items from the system. I mean, *I* have a grocery inventory system in my kitchen (although I've yet to figure out WHY).

    Oh well. Maybe the next version.

    -Restil
    • here's a cuecat... slightly used... oh wait - the keyboard is wireless - nevermind
    • The company I work for designs bar code scanners, among other things. A few years ago, some of our advanced development folks played around with the idea of putting a scanner on the kitchen garbage can. The idea was as you threw away a package, the bar code on it would get scanned and the item would be added to your grocery list.

      Cool idea, but there were too many roadblocks. Cost was one. Where the item database would reside was another. Also, where do you store the data once it was scanned? Yet another was the fact that you'd have to use one trash can to throw away everything that needed replenishment (no more throwing away shampoo bottles in the bathroom trash). And what about items that get recycled?

      Interestingly enough, missing a bar code scan due to placement as the package went into the trash wasn't a big problem. Most high end scanners these days are practically omnidirectional. Scanning a torn or damaged bar code wasn't a big deal either - there are some pretty sophisticated algorithms that can read a damaged bar coade and reassemble the number.

      And yes, we all laughed and made jokes about putting scanners on toilet bowls next when we first heard about it.

  • realistically..... (Score:2, Insightful)

    by pcgamez ( 40751 )
    The price tag apears to be $3,000. I ask why pay this?

    If I have the extra cupboard space (and many people have it), I can easily build a similar system. Take an empty kitchen cupboasrd of mine. It is 11.5 inches deep, 16 inches wide, and 19 inches tall. Using this available space, I can fit a LCD monitor into the front facing (15 inch). I could also add say a DVD drive and mount it underneath. To protect everything could be encased in plexi.

    The total cost would be under around 1200.

    Wile this is a good all in one solution, I beleive that the more savvy users could easily build a much cheaper solution.
  • Since the iCEBOX link is Slashdotted, you can go here [marketware-tech.com] instead. You can order the iCEBOX from this page for $3,500.00.

    iCEBOX Flipscreen
    A complement to any contemporary kitchen, the iCEBOX is the first web-enabled entertainment center designed specifically for the kitchen. This sleek new space-efficient device combines cable-ready television, DVD and Audio CD Player, Internet access and household monitoring - all delivered to you seamlessly and with push-button simplicity. the iCEBOX also comes equipped with a waterproof, wireless keyboard and remote. The perfect union of elegance and innovation, the iCEBOX fits conveniently under a kitchen cabinet and features an adjustable LCD monitor that flips up and out of the way when not in use. Finally, an appliance that recognizes you do more in the kitchen than cook.

    Screen Size: 12.1" LCD TFT
    Resolution: 800 x 600
    Aspect: 4:3
    Contrast: 400:1
    Weight: 40lbs.
    Dimensions: 23.54" x 11.8" x 3.8"
    Power: 110Vac, 60 Hz, 230Vac, 50Hz
    Ships in two business days
    CMI-ICEBOX-000
    $3,500.00

    There is a news article at USA Today. [usatoday.com]
    Another article on Cnet [cnet.com]
    And there is the press release here. [stellcom.com]
    • On the slashdotted site, the price was listed for $2995. Way too much there for what you are getting, even more so if the posting above is correct that the machine is diskless.
      Also, 40 pounds? My server isn't that heavy!

    • Re:Other Information on iCEBOX (Score:1, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      You've got to be kidding me. For roughly half the price, you can get an iMac with dvd-rom, 15 inch LCD, weighing 22 lbs, and with much more use in it.

      I thought it looked really cool, until the price tag was WAY over what it's worth.
  • I swear, if one more piece of software, hardware, or company comes out with goofy capitalization, I'll go postal.

    I'm also losing patience with the "in" use of the letter "i" being tacked onto the front of every new "i"nternet enabled device. I almost completely lost it when they started putting "e" in the front of everything, but then a whole bunch of those companies went "e"xtinct.

  • We almost have one (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Well not quite. All we really have is a network port on the kitchen island, with an old 486 laptop plugged into it.

    Ok, so we can do google lookups, look up recepies and play mp3s hosted on the main box in the basement with pretty cheesy sound. No DVD movies but, dammit, we're cooking dinner.

    The important part is that it didn't cost $3000. When somebody spills a pot of spaghetti on it, well, there goes another 486 laptop, not the marriage.

    It's a kitchen, people. It's a social place. Any computer stuff in it should take its lowly utilitarian place alongside the potato peelers and colanders or get the hell out.

  • The iCEBOX(TM) is the first web-enabled kitchen entertainment center designed specifically for the kitchen.

    Were all of the other ones designed specifically for the toilet?
  • What happens when Grandpa Billy tries to open the CD/DVD Drive and tries to put ice in the "Icebox" ??
  • Wow! Imagine a beowolf cluster of these!

    (Yes, I know it runs WinCE, but lighten up and laugh - it's good for you.)

    (And, yes, I do agree that this joke has warn out its welcome but this is /. - flogging dead horses is par for the course.)
  • i think i need a spillproof, greaseproof, shockproof computer for regular computer use.

    (spillproof for my coffee, greaseproof for my hands and shockproof for stileproject)
  • And you could overclock them by sticking them in the freezer! So close. So convenient. So cold. The kids would need the "never lick a frozen computer" talk a little early though.
  • Is it just me, or does anyone else think it looks like an old Macintosh or something?
  • Compaq IA-1 from Tigerdirect (if in stock), $89.

    Seeing some dork spend $2900 on this overpriced crap, priceless.

  • Kitchen PC's have always attracted my attention, since I spend a lot of my spare time cooking or brewing beer. I love to cook, it's one of my favorite hobbies (next to eating, perhaps!) and so when I see kitchen devices, I'm pretty harsh unless it gets it "right".

    So, let's look at this baby. Waterproof, shatter proof, so far so good. TV tuner, very nice. DVD so you can listen to music, not bad, although un-necessary for me since I have an MP3 server. But this is seriously missing the point, IMHO. Why would I want a TV tuner? Yeah, it would be nice to watch TV while cooking, but I like watching those cooking shows. And the recipe tends to fly by too fast! I want to record the show as I'm watching, rewinding, pausing, and so on. As for the keyboard, it's nice to be water proof, but I just don't want to move a bulky keyboard around when my hands are covered with dough, oil, sauce, what not. Flat panel screens should be touch sensitive, and ave an on-screen keyboard! And when it comes time to wash it, think about it. How easy do you think it would be to remove gunk from between the keys, versus removing the LCD and washing it like your other dishes, with it's flat surface and all? (No, I'm not asking for a dish washerable LCD, just removeable and hand-washable.)

    I think the problem is that the designers still look at these as peecees. Yes, it would be nice if it were a real PC since us geeks could easily customize it to do what we want. But most importantly, this is a tool, a kitchen appliance. Focus should be on that aspect, not "what cool feature is available on the PC market today?" Computers were meant to be tools, not self-conclusive devices. And that's what I want in my kitchen!

  • Huh? (Score:1)

    by nizo ( 81281 )
    ..a DVD drive and with DVD software so you can watch movies or listen to cd's while cooking,..

    Just how many movies/cds can you watch/listen to while waiting for your 5 minute pizza to cook in the microwave??

  • http://www.iceboxllc.com/flipscreen/index.html
    Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price $2,995.00
    Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

    Man, just buy a $1000 dell, stick it out of site in a cabinet, and hookup an lcd/washable keyboard.

    It looks cool and all, but $3K? No way.
  • Wouldn't one of those heavy duty military grade laptops be the go for this? Surely it would be chealer, and in addition to music/movies, you could actually hook it up to your SQL server full of recipes and have it generate your shopping list.

    O/S could be anything that can talk to a server with a database.

  • Get an Audrey! (Score:1, Informative)

    by Frank of Earth ( 126705 )
    Get an Audrey with a USB ethernet adapter and you have a cheap kitchen internet appliance for a little more than 100 bucks. What's even better is that it runs QNX.

    I use my Audrey in my kitchen to pull up recipes, get the weather and even to control my whole house mp3 player.

    It's great for doing a quick search when you're too lazy to go to your desktop.
  • Since I purchased a wireless access point a few months ago, I have no need for a "kitchen computer." I just take my laptop wherever I want to work in my house. I think that since the use of wireless networking continues to grow, people will stick to multifunctional laptops and PDA's rather then spending money on a system that is designed to function in only one specific area.
  • Impossible, as a former MSN Tech Support weiner I can tell you that MSN uses standard PPP MS-CHAP dialups with a username of "MSN/" and your regular password.

    Kindof hard to not be compatible with that.

    -- iCEBaLM
    • Impossible, as a former MSN Tech Support weiner I can tell you that MSN uses standard PPP MS-CHAP dialups with a username of "MSN/" and your regular password.

      Very true, but how about email? The "proprietary" secure password mechanism for POP retrieval requires Windoze libraries. Webmail sucks and is the only option for non-Windoze users.

  • A number of comments in this thread remark on the need for a touch screen. I believe a better solution would be to incorporate some type of voice activation / voice recognition. Make the system completely hands free. Voice recognition technology has advanced quite a bit in the past few years, and it would make the product infinitely more accessible to your average user. A keyboard/mouse/remote could still be included, but the unit should be capable of being operated completely by voice command.

  • Give me a break. $3000 buck to listen to CDs? Watch a DVD? Monitor my (non-existant) baby?

    In my kitchen?

    People need to take a lesson from the success of the Palm. The Palm is a device that fills a niche well and does little else. The result is a well-tuned machine that doesn't cost too much. There are some things that I want to do in my kitchen. Optimize a device for them.

    I'll consider wiring my kitchen when I can get a machine for a few hundred bucks that can serve me up recipies, access the Webtender, and check my email. If it does more, great, but form and price are key here.

    Here are the specs that I'd like to see in a kitchen machine:

    • No more than 8"x6"x1" deep so that it will attatch under my cabinet and not get in the way. Counter space is a premium.
    • A small screen. Maybe 6" diagonal. I don't want the thing to get in the way too much even when I'm using it.
    • No keyboard. No mouse. Make it a touch screen. Counter space, remember?
    • Integrated 802.11. I don't want to have to recable anything.
    • Less than $500.
    I don't see why this isn't doable now. Start with a palm, use a bigger screen, and integrate a wireless card. Voila!

    Follow similar logic to create my wireless tablet, my bedside-table computer, my waterproof shower computer.

    Lather. Rinse. Repeat.


    • I think what you're looking for is (was) called the Audrey [zdnet.com] from Compaq. It did a lot of those things.

      Unfortunately, no one bought one. [com.com] Why it died is hard to say: it seems like no one has yet hit that magical balance between price and features. I wouldn't be about to spend $3000 for something to help make me grocery lists; then again, I wouldn't want to spend even $500 for something that helps me organize my calendar.

      I've been watching this industry to, because I would really like somethign that would call PeaPod automatically when I run low--but so far, I do just as well with an iBook and an 802.11 card. Cost more than the Audrey, but a LOT less than this device--and I can play Unreal on it and learn to program in Objective C. So we're still waiting.
  • So we can see what's going on in the...um...baby's room? :).
  • Yes, having a computer in the kitchen is great for things like: keeping your grocery list, displaying recipes, setting multiple timers for cooking times, keeping track of nutritional contents, etc. But who on earth would watch a movie?! If your hands are that free, you're not going to stay in the kitchen to watch on a tiny screen. Playing music or streamed radio? Maybe. But piece of crap computer can handle that. This thing is a useless gadget. And if you really want to be able to browse / e-mail in the kitchen or other locations with small terminals, don't you think you'd at least want a centralized login to each machine in the house? Oops. And no, WinCE won't cut it for that. Lameness..
  • Finally, something that I can set up next to the shitter so I never have to take a break from coding. Yeah!
  • Personally, I think this device won't end up doing that well either... Why? the price is to high. People will wonder 'why should i get this instead of a pc or an imac?' For an internet appliance to be successful is for it to be low cost AND robust...
    What I think would be interesting to see someone do is market a combination of superthin clients designed for the enviroment they are in, and a server to serve applications... Perhaps do it over 802.11... Applications could be distributed to a terminal that was liquid spill-resistant, or perhaps push button in the kitchen. Special terminals for the kids would be available, and in the family room another terminal could be used to control a dvd or cd changer, and surf the internet. Essentially, design a good system that lets multiple devices connect to it... I know it's doable, it would just be interesting to see someone do..
  • iOpener.. hacked to use linux and added a touchscreen... Or a basic hacked Gateway Connected web appliance.

    don't need a keyboard at that point. no I cant watch a DVD from it or watch tv... but then those are 2 useless features for me and most prople., if you can afford a PC in your kitchen then you already spent $300.00 on a dishwasher, so watching TV while washing dishes isn't needed. being able to access my recipies easily and listen to mp3's (by commanding the Audiotron in the basement, and telling the Home automation system to switch on the kitchen speakers to the audiotron's source....( BTW, I have a measely $90,000 home getting rich mans automation and whole house audio is easy and cheap you can get a more sohpisticated system than the richest man on the planet can buy for less than $10K total) If you really wanted to watch DVD's in your kitchen on a 9 inch screen, get a small sony Wega and actually enjoy the DVD instead of looking at a low quality screen. I cant see anyone spending that kind of money for a Kitchen PC, except for the rich that have money to burn.

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