How to make your kitchen smart
The kitchen is transformed by smartness, whether it’s a gadget or home appliance you can control from anywhere in the world, or a kitchen scale or steak grill that’s more accurate than previous versions.
Some smart kitchen gadgets incorporate recipe apps so you can cook more easily, while others help you work out what’s gone wrong without having to call in an engineer. There are technological solutions to air that’s too rich with smells or allergens, too.
Drop kitchen scale
Choose a dish from the range of recipes in the iPhone and iPad companion apps and the Drop wireless scales work with the app.
Therefore, if you pour the sugar in and find there’s not enough for the stipulated amount, it cleverly resizes the dish to suit.
The scales are accurate to under a gram and the recipes are all designed to be made in a single bowl, so there’s less washing up after.
PRICE: $99.95 from getdrop.com
Cinder
Cinder Smart Grill
This tabletop electric grill, available in the summer, promises the perfect steak. You can control it from a smartphone or iPad app but there are dials to use it directly, too.
Its strength comes from its accuracy – it controls the temperature uniformly across the grill to within 0.3F – so it’s cooked with more natural moisture retained.
A lid stops cool air from interfering with the result. The iPad app lets you select which cut of meat you’re using and how well done you like it, though you can add time for longer heat to get it just right.
PRICE: $199 from cindercooks.com
Philips
Philips Hue
If you use your kitchen to dine in, too, it’s important to get the ambience just right. Philips Hue is a hugely versatile system, with individual lights, lighting strips and portable lights.
You can set them to change colour or stay at the exact colour you choose from the 16 million on offer. There are also moody suggestions like Cozy Candle and Night Adventure (oh my).
It’s all controlled from a smartphone app so you can set it to come on as you arrive home, or turn on as a security feature when you’re away.
PRICE: Prices vary, from meethue.com
Nespresso
Nespresso Prodigio
Thanks to capsule coffee machines like Nespresso, it’s easy to have a drink made from your favourite coffee beans in seconds. Maybe you want it sooner than that though.
The Nespresso Prodigio is a connected machine so you can tell it to get brewing downstairs while you’re dressing, or set a schedule to sync with your alarm or the time your favourite TV show ends.
Not only does the smartphone app connect wirelessly to a nearby machine, it reports on the water level and even whether the machine needs descaling.
PRICE: $249 from nespresso.com
Honeywell
Honeywell UV Air Purifier UV2400U
Our homes are now so efficient at staying warm or cold, they’re often shut tight, which means there’s plenty of room for aromas from spicy cooking to wet dog.
What’s more, bacteria can be snugly wafting through the air too. The Honeywell 24V air purifier uses ultraviolet to remove airborne particles like pollen and reduces odours, allowing you to breathe easy again. Please put the dog in the shower first though.
PRICE: $349.99 from yourhome.honeywell.com
Invoxia
Invoxia Triby
No more sticky notes on the the fridge thanks to the modern equivalent: Triby. The E-ink display can show scribbles you draw on your smartphone app, and when a new message appears, a yellow flag pops out of the side of the unit.
You can receive phone calls over Wi-Fi as well as play internet radio and even Spotify Connect. It sticks to the fridge magnetically but because it’s battery-powered you can take it around the house.
Triby incorporates Amazon’s Alexa voice control for extra tasks like answering questions and adding items to shopping lists.
PRICE: $199 from invoxia.com
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, first E3 trailer shows beautiful interactive world
Nintendo’s new Zelda game is to be called: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild the company confirmed using its presence at the E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles this year to show off a three minute long trailer of some of the gaming action gamers can expect.
With a huge beautiful open world taking centre stage, not much is know about the game aside from the fact that you’ll be able to “Travel across fields, through forests and to mountain peaks as you discover what has become of the ruined kingdom of Hyrule in this stunning open-air adventure.”
While Sony has VR, and Microsoft has Xbox One S, Nintendo is clearly hoping a focus on games exclusive to its platforms will be able to woo gamers into not completely forgetting them amongst the bash and crash of games like Gears of War and Ghost Recon: Wildlands.
We can see where the Breath of the Wild namesake came from. The game’s huge vistas and inclusion of forest animals alongside a serene soundtrack is enough to destress anyone from a busy day at work.
The game is currently set for release sometime in 2017 and will launch on the Wii U as well as the company’s next generation console the Nintendo NX.
Now breathe.
Giveaway: Last chance to win a 10-year premium Netflix subscription!
Attention Pocket-lint readers: this is your last chance to enter the Netflix 10-Year Premium Subscription Giveaway! Read on, and enter now before this opportunity goes away for good.
Netflix has revolutionized home entertainment for millions of people around the world, delivering ad-free streaming without the annoying commercial interruptions characteristic of regular TV. And now that they’ve doubled down on stellar original programming, Netflix leads the pack in premium TV streaming. And now you can win a 10-year premium subscription to Netflix from Pocket-lint Deals!
Whether you’re a “House of Cards” or “Orange is the New Black” binge-watcher, a guilty-pleasure Adam Sandler fan excited for his latest film (a Netflix original!) or a fan of any of the thousands of shows and films Netflix has to offer, a decade of free premium streaming is a fantastic win for anyone.
From a virtually endless stream of stand-up comedy to the newly-added Bob Ross painting shows with the “happy little trees” we grew up loving, Netflix has you covered, with new and varied content being added on a regular basis.
Winning your own 10-year premium subscription to Netflix is easy. Simply head to the contest page and fill out the online entry form with a valid email address, and you’re automatically entered. Share the giveaway on Twitter, and once you get some friends to enter, you’ll receive additional entries to win. One registration per person please! Enter now before the giveaway ends.
Watch Microsoft’s Xbox E3 event in under 15 minutes
If you want to see what happened at Microsoft’s E3 2016 briefing without sitting through all the game trailers and yada-yada, you’re in the right place! In under 15 minutes, you get a video wrap-up of all the excitement, including the launch of a smaller Xbox One S, a powerful 4K model (Project Scorpio) and Xbox Design Studio that lets you customize your controller. Game-wise, you’ll see a beta launch of Halo Wars 2, Dead Rising 4 and Forza Horizon 3, among many others. Check it out, and if you still need more, hit our Xbox E3 wrap-up here, or check out all of our E3 2016 coverage.
Nissan’s bio-ethanol fuel cell would lower the cost of clean cars
Hydrogen fuel cell cars are eco-friendly, but they come at a steep cost: hydrogen is normally expensive to make and store. Nissan, however, thinks it has a solution. It’s developing a fuel cell system that will use bio-ethanol (generated from crops like corn and sugarcane) as a hydrogen source when it reaches vehicles in 2020. The technology combines the transformed bio-ethanol with air to power an electric motor. You’re theoretically getting a “carbon-neutral” car with much more range than a pure EV — Nissan is aiming for 497 miles on a tank where even the best Tesla Model S runs out of power at 294 miles. And since you wouldn’t need to store hydrogen, you wouldn’t need either giant tanks inside cars or special fuel stations.
Whether or not anyone embraces the idea is another matter. Nissan believes that its bio-ethanol fuel cell would cost as little as an electric car to run, but that fuel still has to come from somewhere. Bio-ethanol requires a lot of farmland, and it’s a stretch to claim that the plants would completely offset the carbon emissions involved in making this a reality.
There’s also the question of whether or not this is little more than a stopgap measure on the way to an all-electric future. Electric car ranges should improve by 2020 — there may not be much point to this fuel cell if you can get an EV that drives just as far. Nissan’s main advantage may simply be the lower cost of the car itself, since early high-mileage EVs will likely be expensive.
Via: Reuters
Source: Nissan
Amazon angers FAA by shipping industrial chemicals via UPS
The FAA wants to slap Amazon with a $350,000 fine for suspected violations of the Hazardous Materials regulations. According to the agency, Amazon has been caught shipping volatile, potentially dangerous chemicals without proper care and attention. In this case, the firm handed a gallon container of a drain cleaner to UPS for a flight between Louisville and Boulder. This wasn’t any old carton of Draino, however, but a chemical called Amazing Liquid Fire, looking like the sort of homemade explosive that’d be pulled from shelves the day it went on sale.
Unfortunately, the bottle leaked, causing panic amongst the nine UPS employees who had to handle the package. They all had to be treated with a chemical wash after reporting the sort of burning sensation you only get when you’ve touched commercial-grade drain acid. Naturally, the FAA wants Amazon’s head, saying that it failed to inform UPS what it was and that the package was improperly sealed. It’s also annoyed that Amazon didn’t provide emergency instructions, which probably caused undue panic to the aforementioned UPS employees.
According to the FAA, this isn’t the first time that Amazon’s cavalier attitude towards package transport has enraged officials. It says that the firm has broken rules 24 times between February 2013 and September 2015. UPS has confirmed, however, that the affected employees were fine after receiving treatment. Amazon, meanwhile, told Reuters that while it won’t discuss specific cases, it sees defects in its packaging as an “opportunity for continuous improvement.”
Via: Gizmodo
Source: FAA, Reuters
Engadget giveaway: Win a Get Together speaker from House of Marley!
This week’s giveaway comes just in time for summer, so you can kick up your feet and pump up the jams. The House of Marley has been carrying the legendary Bob Marley’s legacy forward with its line of audio products crafted from a variety of sustainable and recycled materials. The Get Together Bluetooth speaker is a clear example, with bamboo panels on the front and back, along with the company’s custom Rewind fabric (made from hemp, organic cotton and recycled plastic bottles) to pull it all together. While portable, it’s still built for big sound, with 3.5-inch woofers and 1-inch tweeters packed into its nearly 16-inch wide body. House of Marley has provided us with three of its Get Together speakers to help a trio of lucky readers keep jamming all through summer. Just head down to the Rafflecopter widget for up to three chances at winning.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
- Entries are handled through the Rafflecopter widget above. Comments are no longer accepted as valid methods of entry. You may enter without any obligation to social media accounts, though we may offer them as opportunities for extra entries. Your email address is required so we can get in touch with you if you win, but it will not be given to third parties.
- Contest is open to all residents of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Canada (excluding Quebec), 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so direct your anger at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
- Winners will be chosen randomly. Three (3) winners will each receive one (1) House of Marley Get Together Bluetooth speaker ($200 value each).
- If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of being contacted. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Make sure that the account you use to enter the contest includes your real name and a contact email. We do not track any of this information for marketing or third-party purposes.
- This unit is purely for promotional giveaway. Engadget and AOL are not held liable to honor warranties, exchanges or customer service.
- The full list of rules, in all its legalese glory, can be found here.
- Entries can be submitted until June 15th at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
Net Neutrality upheld by appeals court
An appeals court in Washington DC has upheld the FCC’s Open Internet Order, affirming that Net Neutrality can live to fight another day. While the appellate judges have had to rule in favor of telecoms companies in previous cases, the FCC’s law is now watertight and is acting within its powers. The decision is likely to stick in the craw of many networks, including AT&T and Verizon, which fought bitterly against provisions to maintain a free and fair market online. Unfortunately, Net Neutrality still has plenty of critics in high places, and several Republican politicians have attempted to gut the FCC in the hope of getting their own way.
.@FCC #OpenInternet rules mean consumers can go where they want when they want on the Internet without interference from network gatekeepers
— The FCC (@FCC) June 14, 2016
In a statement, Tom Wheeler said that “today’s ruling is a victory for consumers and innovators who deserve unfettered access to the entire web.” He added that “the internet remains a platform for unparalleled innovation, free expression and economic growth.”
There are still, however, loopholes that companies can (and do) exploit in order to get around such provisions, like Zero Rating. T-Mobile’s BingeOn and Verizon’s Go90 both get around mobile bandwidth caps, giving preferential treatment to some content at the expense of others.
Via: Politico
Source: FCC
PS4 players can get ‘Modern Warfare Remastered’ a month early
We’ve known the upcoming Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare title would come bundled with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered for a few weeks now. However, at this week’s E3, Sony and Activision clarified just how the availability of the reboot will go down. If you pre-purchase Infinite Warfare bundle that includes Modern Warfare Remastered for PS4, you’ll receive that latter game a month before the duo is officially released on November 4th. Those packages range from $80 to $120 and the pre-release of Remastered will only feature the campaign. Those 10 multiplayer maps will remain under wraps until the first week of November.
You’ll notice we said “pre-purchase” and not “pre-order.” Unlike the usual scenario where reserve a copy in advance, these Call of Duty bundles require you to pay for them outright in order to get access to the perk of having Remastered on October 5th. And again, the deal is only available on PS4. But hey, at least Xbox and PC gamers still have a battle with Kit Harrington to look forward to.
Source: Polygon
Where to watch Nintendo’s E3 announcement stream
Microsoft and Sony made some pretty major announcements yesterday, but we’re not done yet — Nintendo is holding an online press conference this morning. Things may already be winding down on the Wii U era, but we expect Nintendo to show off details on the next Legend of Zelda game as well as some news for Pokémon fanatics. Hopefully there will be some other surprises, as well. It all kicks off at 9AM PT / 12PM ET, and you can watch the YouTube stream below. Of course, we’ll be covering all the news as well.
