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PiePal orders pizza with the push of a button

The PiePal gadget simplifies pizza delivery ordering down to the turn of a dial and the push of a button.

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
PiePal button for ordering pizza
This big button makes pizza happen. iStrategyLabs

Let's examine the evolution of pizza ordering. In the olden days, you went to a pizza parlor to order. Then, phone ordering and delivery popped up. More recently, online ordering willed itself into existence, meaning you didn't have to talk to a person anymore.

The next step of the evolution has just happened. With PiePal from iStrategyLabs, you dial in your number of pizzas, push a button, and your pizza is magically delivered.

There is a mechanism behind the madness. The light-up PiePal button was 3D-printed using a MakerBot Replicator 2. The iStrategyLabs team created a programming interface to work with Domino's online ordering system. The button works over Wi-Fi to connect with your Domino's account and order your favorite pizzas.

The gadget is powered by Arduino and Raspberry Pi, which leads me to believe it would also be pretty sweet to rig up a Raspberry Pi button that would order an actual raspberry pie. I'm willing to settle for pizza, however.

As delightfully silly as the product may seem, it is real. There is currently a call for beta testers. I expect the ideal candidate would be a hermit with a good appetite, or anyone who wants to impress the heck out their friends.