Appliances and Kitchen Gadgets

This week at the Microsoft CEO Summit in Redmond, Wash., Microsoft unveiled a multitouch prototype called Touch Wall, which has the capability to turn almost any flat surface into an interactive computer.

The technology works via a series of small lasers and a projector, so no expensive hardware is needed, which means it could be integrated into a wide variety of products. Immediately, that empty space above my stovetop comes to mind. What if I could interact with relevant information while I am making dinner?

Recipe books are great, but they would be much more useful if could display them … Read more

Maybe it's because I grew up in Texas, but I always thought the beauty of beer-can chicken was that it used materials you had on hand: a can of whatever beer you're drinking, a rimmed baking sheet or foil cake pan, and a grill. So it was with some amusement I read about this $25 stainless beer-can chicken rack on Kitchen Contraptions.

Turns out, there are plenty of other vertical roasting pans out there, from the simple $15 Cameron Cookware Chicken Beer Roaster to the deluxe Williams-Sonoma Stainless Steel Vertical Chicken Roaster ($30, pictured). Weber makes a $35 nonstick version … Read more

A few days ago we ran an item noting the faux pas of giving a Wii Fit as a Mother's Day gift and suggested sarcastically that a scale be included to round out the package (pun intended). Some disagreed with our post and, we fear, may actually make matters worse by doing just that.

For those misguided souls we have another unsolicited suggestion: Rather than a scale used to weigh Mom, here's one for the kitchen instead that's a little more subtle. Tanita's stainless steel KD-400 is supposedly the Cadillac of kitchen scales, "designed to … Read more

This may be the best way to deliver beverages since the "Flying Barstool."

The radio-controlled cooler can take the place of a poolside cabana boy and you won't even have to give it a tip. We suggest only sealed containers, however, not any fruity drinks that can easily spill their umbrellas.

There are other drawbacks: The cooler holds just six beverages and has a range of only 30 feet, according to GeekAlerts, so your guests will have to stay reasonably nearby whether you like it or not. But if you team it up with a beer-fetching Roomba … Read more

Stoves may not immediately come to mind when you think of cool gadgets, but that perception could change when you see the Izona CookSurface from New Zealand-based Fisher & Paykel. The colors alone make it look like something out of Tron. An LED indicator tells you how hot the burner is, according to Appliancist, and beside that there are dials to control the flame. But the coolest feature isn't digital at all: The pan supports retract. This means that, when not in use, the CookSurface looks entirely flat. The result is much more surface area to do stuff like … Read more

When it comes to storing dishes, I'm a big fan of efficiencies. That's why I've always admired the over-sink dish racks of my European friends. The over-sink racks let the dishes dry where they're stored so that you don't have to transfer them from drying rack to cupboard.

The Mural Dishwasher, a student work spotted by MoCo Loco at the University of Quebec in Montreal Design Grad Show, does that concept one better: instead of hand-washing dishes, how about automatically washing them where they're stored? The wall-mounted cabinet is subdivided into six sections, and … Read more

It's not often that we have one of those why-didn't-I-think-of-that moments at Crave, but this is definitely an exception. That's probably why we just write about inventions instead of create them and retire.

The idea behind the aptly named "Spoon Scale" is as useful as it is disarmingly simple: Just scoop what you think you need and let the integrated digital meter do the fine-tuning. Showing immediate results on its built-in LCD, this battery-powered scooper is purportedly accurate to "down to the last 1⁄10 gram," according to OhGizmo--and, thankfully, can be programmed … Read more

Bang & Olufsen has always been driven by avant-garde designs, but its latest concept for a remote control may be crossing the line from innovation to science fiction. Apparently not satisfied with its previous efforts, no matter how bizarre they may be already, B&O is contemplating a model that requires no physical contact to operate. We're not kidding.

The aptly named "TouchLess" was inspired by germaphobic trends that are increasingly influencing product development, leading the company's design mavens to work on a device that would never be sullied by your bacteria-infested mitts. "Designed … Read more

We're tempted to give these to a couple we know but, frankly, their marriage probably won't last anyway and we don't want to expedite the process. But if you know of pending nuptials involving cell phone addicts with a good sense of humor (if that's possible), this might be impossible to resist.

These figurines seen on GeekSugar are made of hand-painted porcelain, which makes us worried that someone might actually use them atop their wedding cake. If that's indeed the case--and you're trying to send a message to one of them--you can even mix … Read more