vending machine

MONTREAL--For the first time in maybe 20 years, I got a new cassette tape.

It's a bitchin' mix of 1970s funk tunes and it sounds delicious on my car stereo, which fortunately is old enough to be able to play it. But the best thing about this tape is that it came out of a vending machine.

Distroboto is a nonprofit network of machines in Montreal that have been retrofitted to sell works by independent artists. They spit out music, literature, and accessories, all for $2 a pop. … Read more

Comic books and soda seem to go together pretty well. That's why Epic Comics has a soda-dispensing machine. But it's not just any soda machine, it's a Tardis. I'm assuming, in this case, T.A.R.D.I.S. stands for "Time And Relative Dimensions In Soda."

The Orlando, Fla., comic book store admits it hasn't tried to use the soda Tardis to travel back in time to bring back Crystal Pepsi or Surge, but it is allowing its fans to vote on what the machine will hold. The current lineup includes five different carbonated drinks, each with a different "Doctor Who" actor assigned to it.… Read more

We have finally dispensed with the idea that there is any difference between the 1 percent and the 99.

How moving, then, that some of life's utter essentials are now being dispensed to everyone. Well, everyone who can afford them, that is.

It is with stomach-tightening joy that I bring you news of a vending machine that has been placed in the Burbank Towne Center. This is a vending machine that brings all of America's social classes together and gathers them around foods without which they cannot live -- like caviar, truffles, and escargot.… Read more

You could walk up to a vending machine and blow $2 on a giant soda that will give you a sugar buzz and rot your teeth. Or you could walk up to a Biblio-Mat vending machine and wisely spend $2 on a book that will enrich your mind and soul.

The Biblio-Mat is installed at the Monkey's Paw used and antiquarian bookstore in Toronto. It was built by designer Craig Small and takes the place of the usual discount book bin that so often sits lonely and neglected in front of bookstores.

Half the fun of the Biblio-Mat is not knowing what book you'll get, but that could also lead to disappointments. Oh great, another copy of "The Anatomy of Melancholy." I already read it twice!… Read more

Our long national nightmare of vending machines only delivering cold items is almost over. Once EatWave vending machines take over the break rooms and hotel lobbies of the world, we will no longer have to wait in line at the microwave.

EatWave offers a complete junk food meal from a single machine. You can get a cold soda, a bag of chips, a hot pastrami sandwich, and a chocolate bar all at once. Each EatWave machine is equipped with a built-in microwave unit and a gravity delivery system for moving the food.… Read more

All these years later, we here at Crave are still driving around at 3 in the morning (is it still 3 in the morning?) with the mad munchies eyeing the all-night gas stations and closed supermarkets and looking for that WonderPizza vending machine we heard so much about back in '07.

Honestly, with our stomachs growling maniacally as they have been for the last 39 months or so, we've been considering bagging the pie and grabbing a kosher hot dog, a piece of raw meat, or even a pair of socks to eat. Whichever vending machine appears first.

Ah, but it looks like there's hope. The smartphone we picked up at that last vending machine we encountered -- the smartphone we've so far refrained from eating -- tells us that another company promises to bring pizza vending machines to the States. And judging from the video (embedded below), the resulting pies might not be entirely revolting.… Read more

Japan marked the first anniversary of the March 11, 2011, earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disasters this week, and over the past year Japanese companies have been working on technology for use in similar emergencies.

One thing that struck me when I was in Tokyo after the quake was the darkened streets and vending machines, which had been dimmed amid electricity shortages. Up north in the tsunami-hit areas of Tohoku, I saw many vending machines that weren't working because entire neighborhoods had no power.

Vending machine maker Sanden, which has some 30 percent of the global market, has been showing off a hand-cranked vending machine for emergencies when the power's out and solar generation isn't available or feasible. … Read more

Who needs to bother with a fitting room when you can use a Kinect to model outfits?

Between pitches for mobile payments, new self-checkout machines, and virtual customer service assistants, technology rules the show floor at the 101st Annual National Retail Federation Convention and Expo in New York, taking place this week.

This year it's possible to try on a new dress -- with matching purse, belt and jewelry -- in just a few seconds using a Microsoft Kinect camera. You become a paper doll on the television monitor with FaceCake's Swivel, a virtual dressing room that will … Read more

Much like Lego is attempting to expand its audience into the uncharted world of girls, Kraft is trying to get adults to eat Jell-O outside of shots at frat parties.

Kraft's new line of Jell-O Temptations products features flavors like lemon meringue pie, chocolate truffle indulgence, and raspberry cheesecake. I guess that might turn off kids who are used to simpler Jell-O tastes like grape and cherry.… Read more