Watch video of a cool Bluetooth roomba hack.
Roomba hacking website with source code.
Very cool stuff. We approve.
Archives for 2007
Recall: Coby Boombox
Coby Electronics Recalls Boomboxes Due to Fire Hazard
Name of product: Coby-Brand USB/MP3/CD Boomboxes
Units: About 13,800
Importer: Coby Electronics Corp., of Maspeth, N.Y.
Hazard: When left plugged into an electrical outlet and the off switch is not firmly in place, these boomboxes can overheat, posing a fire hazard.
Incidents/Injuries: Coby Electronics Corp. has received 18 reports of these boomboxes overheating resulting in three reports of minor property damage. No injuries have been reported.
Description: The recalled Coby boombox is a portable CD/MP3 player with an AM/FM radio. The USB feature allows it to be connected to a computer.
The boombox is primarily white with silver-colored speakers. The word “COBY” is written on the front and “DIGITAL” is written on the top. The model number, “MP-CD475” also is written on the top. The recalled units have serial numbers, located on the rear of the unit beneath the AC power cord plug-in outlet, in the following range limits:
0736000001 through 0736005000
0816000001 through 0816005300
0826000001 through 0826003500
Sold at: Discount, toy and office supply stores nationwide from August
2006 through December 2006 for between $20 and $50.
Manufactured in: China
Remedy: Consumers should unplug these boomboxes immediately, and contact the firm for information on returning the recalled units and receiving a refund.
Consumer Contact: For additional information, call Coby Electronics Corp. at (800) 524-9219 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site.
Recall: Holmes Oil-Filled Electric Heaters
The Holmes Group Recalls Oil-Filled Electric Heaters Due to Fire Hazard
Name of product: Holmes® Oil-Filled Electric Heaters
Units: About 300,000
Distributor: The Holmes Group, of Milford, Mass.
Hazard: A poor electrical connection within the heater can lead to overheating. This poses fire and thermal burn hazards.
Incidents/Injuries: The Holmes Group has received reports of 59 incidents involving the recalled heaters. There were 12 reports of minor injuries including four reported burns. There were 36 reports of property damage including four fires that caused between $41,000 and $200,000 in damage.
Description: The recall involves Holmes oil-filled electric heaters with model number HOH2505 and HOH2520. The model number and “Holmes®” are printed on the side of the unit near the bottom.
Sold at: Discount department stores, hardware stores and other retailers from September 2005 through February 2007 for between $40 and $50.
Manufactured in: China
Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled heaters and contact the Holmes Group to receive a free replacement heater.
Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact The Holmes Group at (800) 306-2471 anytime, or visit the firm’s Web site.
Appliance Life Span in the Home Varies – When to Replace
Appliances and materials that get daily use and lots of wear and tear eventually need replacing. Knowing their life expectancies may help you decide whether it makes sense to repair an aging appliance.
Here’s a general guideline:
- 6 years — trash compactor
- 9 years — dishwasher, microwave
- 8-10 years — carpet
- 10 years — clothes washer
- 11 years — freezer, water heater (electric)
- 12 years — garbage disposal
- 13 years — refrigerator, clothes dryer, electric range
- 14 years — range hood
- 10-15 years — air conditioner, garage door opener
- 15 years — gas range, kitchen faucets
- 15-25 years — laminate floors
- 20 years — medicine cabinet, tub/shower faucets
- 20-50 years — whirlpool tub
- 20+ years — water heater (tankless)
- 50 years — kitchen cabinets, vinyl floors
- 75-100 years — tile floors
- Lifetime — wood floors
Hot Fuzz – Killing Refrigerator Magnates With Comedy
From the makers of “Shaun of the Dead” comes this weekend’s hot buzz movie release “Hot Fuzz”.
In a parody of American cop movies “Bad Boys”, the posters for this movie read “They’re bad boys. They’re die hards. They’re lethal weapons. They are… HOT FUZZ”.
What on EARTH does this movie have to do with kitchen or home appliances? Cereal murder, maybe? Nah.
Apparently one of the victims is a “refrigerator magnate”.
Which got me thinking… in what movies or TV shows have home appliances played a prominent role, or at least a funny line?
I’ll start this off…
- Lilo & Stitch:
Nani: You are so finished when I get in there! I’m gonna stuff you in the blender, push “puree,” then bake you into a pie and feed it to the social worker! And when he says, “Mmmm, this is great, what’s your secret?” I’m gonna say…
[Mr. Bubbles hooks his foot around hers and pulls her away from the dog-door]
Nani: …Love… and… nurturing… - ALF:
Alf: The cat won’t fit in the toaster. Never mind, I’ll make a peanut butter sandwich, where’s the blender? - The Simpsons
Marge Simpson: Ooh, the toaster takes bagels. How ritzy. - Kate & Leopold
Leopold: Why is it called a toaster when it produces no toast, but simply warm bread, and inserting it two times produces charcoal? The ideal toaster would have one and a half insertions to produce the correct toast.
Love to read your favorites in our comments.
High Tech Home Appliances
From Forbes magazine:
Fifteen years ago, you needn’t look further than the ice cube-maker on the door of your Whirlpool refrigerator to find innovation. But these days, we expect a bit more than crushed ice when it comes to high-end, high-tech gadgets.
And we’re not afraid to spend on these domestic devices. Consumers worldwide forked over $301 billion on housewares in 2005, and $72.6 billion of that was in the U.S., according to the most recent data compiled by the International Housewares Association.
The latest innovations include a motion-sensing trashcan and a wall-mounted fish tank that’s only 4.2 inches thick and computer-controlled to sense oxygen flow or when water needs changing.
They join a cadre of housewares built to accommodate the consumer who wants user-friendly, time-saving appliances in every room in the home.
Smart Appliances
The Turbo Chef Speedcook Oven, for example, cooks meals 15 times faster than conventional stoves. Unlike your run-of-the-mill microwave, a Turbo Chef-prepared roast is just as well cooked, and sometimes even better than that of a standard oven, the company says. The oven, currently used only in restaurants, will be available to consumers in April.
Steve Beshara, chief branding officer of TurboChef Technologies, says everyday entertainers were hungry for the Turbo Chef for three reasons: performance, design and, of course, efficiency.
“[It] essentially empowers the home cook to be the cook they want to be,” he says. “Time has become the world’s most precious commodity and we’re trying to help busy people enjoy healthier, tastier meals with an efficient, ergonomically designed tool.”
Other time savers abound.
Consider HomeRight’s Velocity Waxer. This cordless contraption allows you to buff and wax your car, truck or yacht in 30 minutes flat.
Or check out Bialetti Thermovisual Cookware, which debuted this week at the 2007 International Home and Housewares Show and will be available later this year. When the line of pots and pans are ready for cooking, they literally say just that, right on the side of each piece. Now, you can spend your time slicing and dicing instead of watching a pot that appears to never boil.
Gorgeous Gizmos
Of course design is also a factor. The Espressione Nuvola Professional Pod Espresso Machine is not only simple to use, it’s lovely to look at. The dry steam makes concocting a milky espresso drink easy as pie, but it’s Espressione’s knack for designing an artful product that distinguishes itself from competitors.The combination of well thought out constructs and stunning styles has also worked for Simplehuman, a trashcan company that released its the aforementioned garbage pail, boasting a sensor device that’s recessed so to prevent false triggers.
Beauty aside, Gary Grossman, president of Innovations and Developments, a marketing, advertising and industrial design firm that advises companies on what satisfies today’s consumer, says that above all, Americans are in love with ease.
“It all points back to convenience,” he says.
Nifty.
Crunchy Brownie Pan
Does it have to be electric to qualify as an appliance?
I don’t know and I don’t care. I tell my daughters to bake my brownies for 2 weeks because I can’t get enough crunch.
BoingBoing points to the Baker\’s Edge – Edge Brownie Pan.
Here’s the description from Cooking for Engineers that BB cribbed:
Each of the brownies from the Baker’s Edge did indeed have chewy edges – two of them (and sometimes three) in fact. It was almost like every piece was a corner piece from the standard pan. Therein laid a problem I hadn’t considered. I had tasters that liked brownies with edges and tasters that liked brownies that didn’t have any chewy edges but were soft and moist throughout. With the regular pan, I had corner pieces, edge pieces, and center pieces (although there are always more than four people who want corner pieces and not enough edge pieces). For the edge lovers, the brownies from the Baker’s Edge were perfect – chewy edges surrounding a moist chocolate brownie. For the center lovers, the brownies were good, but they much preferred the texture of the brownies from the 9×13 pan.
Heavenly.
Recall:Maytag and Samsung Front Loading Washer
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firms named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer products. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.
Name of product: Maytag and Samsung Brand Front Loading Washing Machines
Units: About 250,000 Maytag-brand units and about 20,000 Samsung-brand units
Distributor: Maytag Corp., of Newton, Iowa, and Samsung Electronics America Inc., of Ridgefield Park, N.J.
Manufacturer: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., of South Korea
Hazard: Water leakage onto the electrical connections to the washing machine’s thermal sensor could cause an electrical short and ignite a circuit board, posing a fire hazard to consumers.
Incidents/Injuries: Maytag has received five reports of incidents involving ignition in the circuit board. Samsung has received one report of an incident involving ignition in the circuit board. No injuries, fires or property damage outside the washing machine have been reported.
Description and Models: The recall involves certain Maytag and Samsung brand front-load washers. The Maytag washers have model numbers beginning with MAH9700 or MAH8700. The Samsung model number WF306BHW or a model number beginning with WF316. Not all serial numbers are subject to the recall. The model and serial numbers are located on a tag at the bottom of the door opening. Maytag models with a serial number ending in the last two letters identified below are subject to the recall:
| 2005 | GA | GC | GE | GG | GJ | GL | GN | GP | GR | GT | GV | GX |
| 2006 | JA | JC | JE | JG | JJ | JL | JN |
Sample Maytag Serial Number: 10123456GN
Samsung models with the six-digit number 100001 through 799999 prior to a letter at the end of the serial number are subject to the recall:
Sample Samsung Serial Number: 230854AL300026B
Sold at: Major department and appliance stores nationwide from April 2005 through August 2006 for between $1,000 and $1,200.
Manufactured in: South Korea
Remedy: Consumers should immediately contact the firm for information on how to receive a free repair. Consumers should not return the washing machine to the retailer where it was purchased.
Consumer Contact: For more information, consumers can call Maytag toll-free at (800) 868-5109 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or go to Maytag’s Web site at www.washerrecall.com – Samsung customers can call (800) 515-7902 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or go to Samsung’s Web site at www.Samsung.com/washerrecall
Maytag Media Contact: Monica Teague, (269) 923-7405 or monica.teague@Whirlpool.com
Samsung Media Contact: Deborah Szajngarten at (201) 229-4090 or dszajngarten@sea.samsung.com
Internet Enabled Wall Ovens- Now your Blackberry can make dinner
Ah those were the days. Mom in the kitchen cooking dinner (chops, potatos, peas) while we all played tag outside for hours until she finally called as the sun came down “Dinner” and we slowly worked our way back home for a family dinner. But what happens if the boys are at little league, the girls are at karate, dad’s stuck on the freeway, and mom is on the way to pick everybody up as she swings home from court? Well if you want to justify having those two incomes check out this super hot (or super cold) integrated refrigerated double wall oven with internet controls. Just buy a premade meal from one of those almost home cooked shops and toss it in the oven before you leave in the morning. Afraid of salmonella? no problem. These ovens have built in refrigeration. Program it to stay cold all day. When you walk out of court, you can pull up the browser on your blackberry, hit the oven over the wireless net and tell it to start cooking.
Pick up the kids, meet dad on the driveway, and dinner is waiting as you walk in. The Jetsons never had it so good.
Check it out here: SuperSmart Internet Enabled Wall Ovens
TMIO announced an expanded Intelligent Oven product line based on the original Connect Io double wall oven of consistent accolades. The original Connect Io double offers remote control by Internet and telephone, and comes with built-in refrigeration to keep foods fresh before and after cooking. These advanced remote features allow homeowners to communicate with the oven to give cooking, warming, and refrigeration instructions so that “dinner is ready when you are.”
Here’s a link to TMIO: to read more
How to ruin your electric wall oven for under a buck
No matter how high tech our ovens, ranges and other appliances get, we’re sometimes still driven to try old fashioned fixes. I’m sure that you hate when your food overflows and spills on the bottom of the oven. You know its just gonna burn off and smoke up the joint before its gone. So you quickly try mom’s old trick of lining the bottom of the oven with foil. Maybe not such a great idea with today’s high powered, but delicately balanced ovens. I found this piece in a Missouri paper called the News Leader.
You want to keep your oven sparkling clean so you protect it by putting aluminum foil on racks, under food as it cooks, and down on the oven floor where food drops and burns to a crisp. But instead of helping, you’re hurting your oven.
Foil placed on the oven floor reflects and intensifies heat, which can cause the bake element to burn out prematurely.Foil placed under foods on the racks is bad because it traps heat in the bottom of the oven, keeping it from circulating and reaching the heat sensor near the top. Severe overheating is possible; besides damaging the bake element, that could also affect insulation in the oven wall and discolor or even crack oven-door glass.
By disrupting temperatures and air circulation, aluminum foil messes up cooking times, too.
A quickie clean just isn’t worth it.