cocktail

Reading through Greg Sandoval's detailed reporting of SpiralFrog's demise, I once again found myself wondering--as I did many times during the late 1990s dot-com boom and subsequent bust--how anybody could possibly have thought this was a good idea. Ad-supported music downloads that are incompatible with the iPod, the device that basically created the MP3 player market? Who would possibly buy such a thing? SpiralFrog seemed like such an obvious nonstarter, I wrote about it once in 2007 and never wasted time revisiting it. But investors were spending serious sums of money on it, right up until the end. … Read more

When news broke late Sunday that Apple has plans to create the next-generation music album, some in the record industry were steamed.

The Financial Times reported that Apple was working on a plan code-named "Cocktail" that involves the creation of "new type of interactive album material, including photos, lyric sheets and liner notes that allow users to click through to items that they find most interesting." That's nearly identical to a plan that executives from some of the four largest music labels pitched Apple about 18 months ago, said a music industry source who requested … Read more

Apple's Safari comes loaded on everyone's Mac and the latest Safari update is a huge improvement on an already solid browser, but that doesn't mean it's the right browser for everyone. Mozilla Firefox, the most popular alternative browser, just received an update, too, and Firefox fans should definitely download it to fix security issues.

Already have your browser of choice squared away? We also have the latest update for Cocktail, the software that's loaded with Mac maintenance tools and interface tweaks to get your Mac running the way you want. Our game this week is … Read more

As party season ratchets up to full swing, those with an appreciation for the sciences might enjoy this novelty Chemistry Cocktail Set. The chemical composition of drinks won't be affected, but for the mad scientist in all of us, this cocktail set glows with (hopefully nonradioactive) whimsy.

The set includes four glass test tubes, a glass beaker, a stirrer, a cocktail shaker, and a metal tray. It is hand washable.

Fun is fun and all (and we all know science is fun), but I am a little confused by this product. I can imagine it sitting on my kitchen … Read more

Here's a good way to become the most popular person at a party or bar--suggest and mix interesting cocktails. But if you're only interested in the most common drinks of our day, you may want to wait for version 2, which will feature more shots and modern drinks; this set will make the classics new again.

Regardless, Drinks for iPhone and iPod Touch is still one of the better bartending applications in its category, featuring great navigation to quickly get you to your favorites, the entire drinks library, or a search by mixers, liquor type, or garnish (in … Read more

Cocktails recipes may be the sustaining purpose and anchor for the bartending application Party Pro, but the drinks library isn't the only character in the cast. An international unit converter, basic bartending tips, and a blood alcohol calculator make up the other three-fourths of the application, along with those recipes for the Lady Love Fizz and the Bloody Brain.

While the library is excellent, the application's organization could make the recipes more readily accessible. Instead, it favors a list-like architecture. The search function would be better were it predictive, and the application's bar locator misses an opportunity … Read more

Mac OS X looks great and runs smoothly right out of the box. But if you wanted to make minor tweaks to the interface or automate specific maintenance tasks, in the past you had to know how to use the command line. Fortunately, some savvy developers have made it possible to perform once-difficult tasks through the use of an easy-to-understand interface. We have a couple of freshly-reviewed programs this week that make tweaks and useful maintenance tasks in Mac OS X much easier for the regular user.

Cocktail (Leopard or Tiger) is perfect for those who like to tinker with … Read more

Ah, the beautiful people. Stylishly waving their finger food rings around whilst delicately balancing the perfect canap?. Champagne glasses reflect off of the crystal chandelier above, bathing the fancy party-goers in intricately refracted light. Yet amidst the swirl of delectable excitement, a small group huddle in a corner, obviously too uncouth to join in the festivities. It is not the garish party hats perched upon their heads that has banished them, nor is it their propensity to wear leisure suits to black-tie affairs. No, it is their greasy fingers and crumb-crusted attire that give them away as the boorish step-cousins … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Since I was one of the first people to arrive Friday night for a preview of this weekend's cocktail robots exhibition here, I was going to get the first drink.

David Calkins, one of the organizers of the San Francisco version of Roboexotica--an event that has been taking place in Vienna, Austria, for a decade--had set up his robot, Chapek, and, determining it was ready, asked me to tell the machine what I wanted to drink.

This was after, of course, Calkins had finished getting Chapek ready to go.

"Let's see if it turns on and … Read more