Top
Browse > Home / Caffeine / Internet Teapot

Internet Teapot

April 9, 2005

So how do you track that an elderly person is okay, without invading their privacy? In Japan, at least some folks do it with teapots…

His electric kettle, an “i-pot” (for information pot), not only boils water for his instant miso soup and green tea but it also records the times he pushes a button and dispenses the water. A wireless communication device at the bottom of the i-pot sends a signal to a server. Members of the service can see recent records of i-pot usage on a Web site. In addition, twice a day the server e-mails the most recent three usage times to a designated recipient.

For Kijima, that recipient is neighbor Tadahiro Murayama. “Once, I didn’t use the pot for a day, and I got a phone call from Mr. Murayama,” Kijima said. The i-pot, he said, helps him feel he’s not alone.

Electronics maker Zojirushi Corp. began the service four years ago. The company rents the pot for a $50 deposit and charges $30 per month for e-mail and Internet service.

On the whole, that sounds pretty cool (if a bit pricey, perhaps)… Zojirushi makes some fairly interesting hi-tech cooking gear — I’ve got one of their “fuzzy logic” rice cookers that I really love, despite suspecting that it may just be smarter than I am (I’ve never used a tenth of its book-length feature set).

It’s too bad that not only are my parents confirmed luddites, they don’t even drink tea…

Like this article? Share it!
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon

Written by Chuck Lawson · Filed Under Caffeine 
Tags: • • •

Comments

Got something to say? [privacy policy]





Possibly Related


Verizon FiOS Internet DetailsAfter all of the fooling around getting the order in place, the installation of 15/2 FiOS went pretty smoothly yesterday. The tech arrived and had everything installed and running within the scheduled window, and was cheerful and pleasant -- a new experience with Verizon, and (knocking on wood) maybe the way things will go from here. The equipment installed was a little different from what I'd expected. There are essentially three components, one mounted at the service entrance, one mounted inside (that requires a power outlet) and an off-the-shelf consumer broadband router (a D-Link DI-604). The inside component is strictly a battery backup, and as such, it needs to be mounted physically very near the outside gear at the service...


Tea is a satisfying part of a balanced diet (NC)—Tea news continues to stir the pot in Canada. Records show we drink as many as 7 billion cups of tea each year – and those who study it as a dietary factor are now telling us not to put on the brakes. Both black tea and green tea contain antioxidant plant compounds called flavonoids, which are thought to be important cancer fighting agents. This, combined with its potential benefits against heart disease – plus zero calories and comparatively low levels of caffeine – is a sound reason to treat oneself to one or more cups of tea every day. And while those who drink the 7 billion cups don't seem to need advice, still connoisseurs insist on preparation...


Zojirushi EC-BD15 Fresh Brew Coffee Maker ReviewI finally ended up with a decent "backup" to my Starbucks Barista Aroma drip brewer - the Zojirushi EC-BD15 Fresh Brew. I've been a fan of Zojirushi for awhile now -- they make the rice maker for cooking sushi rice (or other kind of rice). Given that their other big product lines are some very fine thermal carafes and hot-water dispensers, it's not a real surprise that they make an excellent thermal carafe coffee maker as well. Unlike their fuzzy-logic rice makers (which are smarter than many of the computers I've ever owned), the Fresh Brew is about as basic as a coffee maker gets -- the only piece of programmability on the thing is a timed brew feature, and...


OS X Firefox Users - Don’t Hold That Button!There is an article causing a bit of a ripple this morning claiming a "major bug" in Firefox under OS X. There is a major bug in Firefox where if you hold down the mouse button to select text, or scroll, or anything inside the browser window, the Firefox CPU usage shoots up to nearly 100% and hogs your entire system until you let go. I just tested it using top and can verify that the CPU usage jumps to between 75-95% depending on the other applications in use at the time. For Powerbook or iBook users this is a major issue, considering your fans will probably turn on and you'll battery will drain much quicker. This is real, but...


They forgot “over-priced” and “over-roasted”Apparently Starbucks is in the market for a new PR firm, to try to get a more global-friendly image... The decision to look for another PR firm follows a recent survey of 8,000 consumers which found that Starbucks was seen as "arrogant, intrusive and self-centred". Oh well, I still like their drip brewers... ...

Bottom