Coffee might not be essential to life (although the jury is still out on that one), but it does show up every day of the week. The ubiquitous brown beverage that supplies a caffeinated jolt to imbibers can be enjoyed seemingly in a million different ways. However, before the cream and the sugar quandary comes up, how to brew it must first be addressed.

The Hamilton Beach (Model 49983) Two-Way Deluxe Coffeemaker ($99.99; available in August) is actually even more versatile than the name would imply. While true that the coffeemaker is designed to brew into either a travel … Read more

Supermarkets are labyrinthine behemoths laid out in a convenient linear fashion. So where's the maze? On the supermarket shelves, of course. Food products galore stare back at us, silently appealing to our penchants for sugar, salt, and fat. We pick and choose, knowing full well what we are getting into. But it's the hidden components that are increasingly becoming a salient issue.

If supermarket shelves are overwhelming due to the sheer diversity of items, imagine the corporate structure behind the packaging. Or don't; just let your phone do it. Scan any bar code (UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN8, EAN13...) with your phone and the free Buycott app (for iOS; a previously available Android version is now "Coming soon") will display the product's corporate family tree on the screen. The app takes knowing where your food comes from further, telling you not only what brand belongs to what company, but what that company does with your dollars.… Read more

The inside of the refrigerator is no place for fast food. Aside from the fridge gnome who turns the light on and off when the door is opened and closed, it is pretty slow in there. Of course, this is exactly how we want it; it's nice to be able to look inside and find the dairy and the lunch meat where you left it (not counting housemate intervention). Zoku, of quick-pop-maker fame, understands that sometimes it's OK to slow down.

The Zoku Mini Pop Molds ($16.99) are part of Zoku's "Slow Pops" line. (… Read more

It won't console you as you drown your sorrows in alcohol, but MIT's Makr Shakr robotic bartender can make exactly the drink you're looking for before you've even arrived at the bar.

MIT's Senseable City Lab teamed up with Coca-Cola and Bacardi Rum to bring Makr Shakr to Google I/O, which starts Wednesday in San Francisco. The system allows barflies and frazzled developers alike to personalize their cocktail recipe of choice via a smartphone app, or to choose a libation created by another user, creating a crowdsourced drink menu.… Read more

My poor iPad has survived flour, oil, lemon juice, and countless other kitchen mishaps. Maybe it's time I look a little more seriously at a dedicated kitchen computer. My options have just expanded with the arrival of the Archos ChefPad, an Android tablet built to handle the rigors of the cooking life.

The ChefPad is a full-blown 10-inch Android tablet running Jelly Bean with a 1.6GHz processor and 1GB of RAM behind it. There are the usual front and back cameras, in case you want to launch your own online cooking show. What makes it kitchen-specific are the preloaded cooking apps and easy-to-clean case.… Read more

The inside of a vacuum cleaner is no place to be. Luckily, most of us will never have to endure such a place. The detritus we create in daily living, however, is another story. Not only do we want dust, dirt, and pet hair to be subjected to the internal whirlwind of a vacuum cleaner, we want it to stay there. At least until it's time to empty the bin.

Emptying the bin may be the last step in the journey for particulate matter, but other side of the story is just beginning. The bagless technology that Dyson uses … Read more

Sooner or later, every object in existence, including you and me, will be re-created out of Legos.

Fans of the bricks have limitless passion. But beyond creating cool dioramas, Lego modelers truly impress when they make functional tools.

Case in point: the Hippmikser 2000 by Flickr user Hippotam, whose real name is Marcin Danielak.… Read more

Keep an eye on the sky the next time you're at a concert -- a cold beer might be coming your way. It's been announced that attendees of South Africa's OppiKoppi music festival will be able to order beer that comes delivered on an octocopter drone.

Called the OppiKoppi beer drone, the device is an 8-propeller helicopter that can be loaded with beer and flown over the festival, arriving at the GPS location of any person who orders a cold brew from a mobile app. Once the drone arrives at its location, it drops its cargo and a single beer attached to a parachute will make its way down to a designated campsite called District 9.

With beer intentionally flying in the air, there's some concern about a cold brew randomly hitting festival goers in the head. Darkwing Aerials, the South African company that's providing the beer drone for the festival, says it is taking safety precautions. … Read more

The search for pizza never ends. But unlike other quests, hunting for the perfect slice is not fraught with peril and possible despair; instead the path is lined with deliciousness. Occasionally, a truly unremarkable specimen may foil us, but the possibility for the restoration of hope is always only but a bite away. With so many trials and tribulations along the way, a clear picture of common pitfalls starts to emerge. No, it's not what is in clear view on top of the pizza, but rather, what lurks underneath. Pizza is all about the crust.

If the crust fails … Read more