Slashdot Mirror
Beer Stein Goes Hi Tech
Spudley writes "Beer is a subject close to many slashdot-readers' hearts, so you'll be pleased to learn that Mitsubishi has invented a glass that can tell when it's empty, and order a refill from the bar. Of course, it'll still have to be filled the old fashioned way, but at least the bar staff will know which ones need refilling - the... ehm... empty ones." I
like that it's dishwasher safe. Drunk people can't be trusted to hand wash
glass.
Wonder if I can get my wife to monitor the glass...
A modern day witchhunt.
is to modify one of those Japanese humanoid robots to home-in on the signals from these empty glasses.
Strap a keg on it's back, give it a serious collision avoidance and guidance system, and let it roam the bars, filling empties.
I think the bigger thing is for restaurants. It would allow them to provide a higher level of service, with little additional cost (except for the initial cost of the system), providing that costs associated with replacing broken steins is relatively low...
A modern day witchhunt.
Don't entrust your glass with your credit-card number... :)
:)
Or, on the contrary: "I don't know, darling, maybe I forgot to reset the glass when I left the pub..."
-- No sig today
i dunno about you taco, but about the only thing i won't do when i'm drunk is the dishes.
four-oh-four
how about a beer stein that can scan the crowd in the bar...and then keep ordering you beers until the ladies look good...
"Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true." - Homer Simpson
One of the narrator's comments was "A glass like that could destroy a man"
"Prepare for the worst - hope for the best."
I'm sorry, but does anybody realize how stupid this is?
Like people that work at bars (or the bars themselves) are organized enough to guarantee that:
a. somebody will keep track of who, at which table, has which glass.
b. waitstaff will actually use this.
Come on. You look at a table. Glass is either full or empty. Or, if you are smart, you sold them a pitcher. That was probably the last technological update that any beer pouring establishment needed.
Fill glasses, fill pitcher, deliver to table. Periodically monitor the pitcher mechanism until you no longer detect an amber, or red, or dark, frothy content. When content is empty, fork a process to your waitress. Have her deliver a new pitcher of frothy goodness.
Electronic beer glasses, heh. Are they going to assign individual addresses to every glass made? Where there is one bar, there are more bars. Talk about miscommunication.
"OH! That must be glass 716 from across the street"
Heh,
-S
We Apprentice Developers and Designers
I think a more worthwhile invention would be a mug that electronically disables the drinkers car keys for a certain amount of time when the mug runs dry.
Wise men say, "Forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza."
Yahoo is also running a similar story, based on a New Scientist article. In the New Scientist article, this technology makes sense: in a restaurant setting, waiters can make sure to keep people's glasses topped off, that way the customers stay happier. But in a pub setting, I dont see this technology working as well. I mean, how does the glass know when the drinker has drunk enough for the night? Obviously it doesn't....and because everyone is different, there's no algorithm that can tell you how much a person should be allowed to drink, and that'd be treading on the person's privacy anyway. But yeah, I'd love to see this used on restaurant soda and water glasses...
I like that it's dishwasher safe. Drunk people can't be trusted to hand wash glass.
Either the bars you go to are staffed by drunks.. or they make you clean your own glasses.
Either way I'd find a new bar.
I didn't see any mention of price on the page.
It has to be comparable to the price of a regular glass, or bars and restaurants simply won't buy them. Broken dishes happen in these places. There is simply no denying it, and no way around it. Damn near everyone has been in an establishment and heard it happen. I can understand an owner shying away from these if they turn $100 in broken dishes into $1000 in broken dishes.
I mean ain't life already more than easy enough for us? What's next? A device that'll let you know when you need to get off?
I think you just stepped on some toes, including mine. I home brew beer, and I don't drink it to get drunk. Beer has a long and colorful history, and has been enjoyed through the ages. Many people don't agree with you. Personally I like the taste of beer, now if all you have had is Bud Coors and Miller than I can understand why you don't like beer. However, there are some very good microbrews, and even things like Sam Adams can be very enjoyable. And not all beer is incredibly bitter, bitterness is a quality that is affected by the ingredients. A very strongly hopped beer like a Pale Ale will be bitter, however, I find that beers like Guiness, and Sam Adams Spring and Summer ales to be much less bitter. Guiness is almost creamy, and I've considred trying it on pancakes, and Sam Adams Spring and Summer ales are very mild, and in the case of the Summer actually have a slight fruity flavor to them. Before making a statement "All beer sucks" I sample something more than just the ass beer that fills the shelves and coolers of most gas stations an convenient stores.
GPS navigation embedded in the glass so it can tell you where to find the toilets?
----- Whats wrong with this picture? http://www.revoh.org:1234/whatswrong
if the bartender isn't paying attention this could be a big timesaver. remember who buys this: not the bartender, who wants to schmooze the pretty women and get tips, but the owner, who wants to sell more beer.
sulli
RTFJ.
This might be kinda interesting for Oktoberfest, but the cost for more than 1M of the 1-liter mugs would be incredible. Speaking of Oktoberfest, I'll let you all in on how it all works here:
- Put your butt on a bench and they'll bring you a beer. You will NOT be served at Oktoberfest unless you are seated. Everyone will let you sit down for the two or three minutes necessary to order a beer if you ask nicely and tell them that's what you're doing.
- Tourists go to the HB (Hofbräuhaus); the best beer is Augustiner.
- To be sure to get faster service, fuller beer steins and better food, tip 15% or more. The women work HARD (and if you had to listen to the "Hey, Baby" song 3 times an hour, 13 hours a day for 2 1/2 weeks straight, you'd understand).
woof.What I need is not a beer mug that tells the staff I need another. I need one that tells me I don't!
it's probably way cheap. the technology is like that used in sensormatic - probably well under $1 per unit, even at release. i bet they throw in 1000 glasses with your order of the base station (where the margin is).
sulli
RTFJ.
Click here or here.
Unless this has a GPS embedded in it, how are the waitresses going to find the glass to refill it? People wander around at bars so the glass probably won't be in the same place that it was filled. It's too much to keep track of.
A better use of this would be at a restaurant where there's assigned seating and people stay in the same place.
Says Mrs B Sober:"My boy, Larry (37), was such a nice boy. Sure he couldn't talk to people so never went out. When he drank at home I would switch to serving him warm milk after the third glass and send him off to bed. Then MBG came along and he could sit in the corner of the pub and the beer kept coming. The MBG didn't know when to stop, didn't order milk after the third glass or snuggle him into bed. MBG killed my son. MBG is responsible because they should have a warning label that says it can enhance addictive behaviour and won't order milk or put you to bed."
Or see the recent 9 Chickweed Lane takes on the question (starting around the beginning of March).
Rather than just a way of improving customer service this strikes me as more a way of selling more beer. The moment your glass is empty someone comes offering to fill it it. Not only are they selling more beer but they're getting people a LOT more drunk as it's now so much more convenient to have another one.
I stole this Sig
Maybe if you sucked the beer, rather than letting it suck you, you would appreciate it more.
i don't know wher you shop, but my grocery store has a wide variety of beer (and no, not just american piss beer).
Moon Macrosystems. Sun's biggest competitor.
I go to the local Irish pub and say:
"Keep this Guinness full"
Then leave a nice tip.
Works every time.
Prolly closer to their guts.
personal attacks hurt, especially when deserved
Well the article says that this technology is adapted from the process that goes into the theft proof tags that set the buzzers off on the doors of a merchant to stop thieves. My guess is that with a little tweaking this can be used not only to determine when your glass is empty but also to set of an alarm if you cross the threshold from the bar to the parking lot with a few of these glasses in your pockets.
(+1 Funny) only if I laugh out loud.
Let me put this in words you'll understand:
Uh, h'yuk, h'yuk. We's don't wanna hafta holla cross a room to tell the perty waitress that I's a need a refill.
Come on. You look at a table. Glass is either full or empty. Or, if you are smart, you sold them a pitcher. That was probably the last technological update that any beer pouring establishment needed.
Obviously you've never been in a high-end restaurant in the midst of a dinner rush (or a popular bar at the peak of partytime, like 2 or 3am). It can be murder to get the pretty lady who brings the magic jump juice to come around. If they can make a cocktail and wineglass version (and I don't see why not) they might just have something to contribute to the future of the service industry.
Most establishments in NYC (my base of experience) already run their ordering off a touch-screen system, eliminating errors, waste and such. The next logical step is a bluetooth-enabled waiter PDA that maps the floor, the tables, and shows the frazzles server whos glasses are empty at a strategic level. She/he can then plan her/his serving game plan.
Trust me, keeping track of 5 or more tables eatch with large parties and seperate orders spread out over a large floor plan is a headache even for a seasoned server. Sure, if I'm talking about my sleepy corner bar, this is the most frivilous thing in the world, but for a hectic place like the W or Soho Grand (or some of the more classy clubs) this could be a big sell.
Howard Dean for president
Anyway I was in this one conveyor belt sushi bar where the plates had different patterns, but instead of counting them the waitress came over with something that looked like a bar code scanner, but no laser, she waved it vaguely at the pile of plates from several feet away, and the thing printed out an itemised list of everything we had eaten ... (and yes I did check there were no obvious marks on the rims of the stack of plates). Just had to give her the cc and we were off. Often wondered exactly how that was done, guess it's embedded stuff again ...
Some sort of auto-eroticiser... I'll have to think about that. Might be a business plan in there somewhere.
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Actually, that is pretty cool. I always liked the BASF or 3M commercial where it talked about inventions of the future, and then said "DONE" to Typhoon-proof glass. I guess I would rather have more genius people working on things other than automated sushi calculators.
Click here or here.
Remember "I" before "E," except in Budweiser. *Anonymous
To some it's a six-pack, to me it's a support Group. *Anonymous
Beer - Because one doesn't solve the world's problems over white wine. *Anonymous
When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading. * Henny Youngman
Reality is an illusion that occurs due to lack of alcohol. *Anonymous
Drinking provides a beautiful excuse to pursue the one activity that truly gives me pleasure : hooking up with fat, hairy girls. * Ross Levy
Sometimes I reflect back on all the beer I have consumed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their Hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, "It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver." * Jack Handy
I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day. * Frank Sinatra
The problem with some people is that when they aren't drunk, they're sober. *William Butler Yeats
An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools. * Ernest Hemingway
Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut. * Ernest Hemingway
Time is never wasted when you're wasted all the time. *Catherine Zandonella
A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her. *W. C. Fields
What contemptible scoundrel has stolen the cork to my lunch? * Tee Mans
Life is a waste of time, time is a waste of life, so get wasted all of the time and have the time of your life. *Michelle Mastrolacasa
I'd rather have a bottle in front of me, than a frontal lobotomy. *Tom Waits
When we drink beer we fall asleep. We fall asleep, we commit no sin. When we commit no sin, we go to heaven. Sooooo, let's all get drunk and go to heaven! * Brian O'Rourke
You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer. * Frank Zappa
Always remember that I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me. * Winston Churchill
Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. *Benjamin Franklin
If you ever reach total enlightenment while drinking beer, I bet it makes beer shoot out your nose. *Jack Handy
Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza. * Dave Barry
The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind. *Humphrey Bogart
Give me a woman who loves beer and I will conquer the world. * Kaiser Wilhelm
Not all chemicals are bad. Without chemicals such as hydrogen and oxygen, for example, there would be no way to make water, a vital ingredient in beer. *Dave Barry
You know you're drunk when you fall off the floor. *Anonymous
And God said, "Let there be vodka!" And He saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let there be light!" And then He said, "Whoa - too much light." * Anonymous
You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on. *Dean Martin
Beer: Helping ugly people have sex since 1862! *Anonymous
Sam Adams is known as the independent beer the same way that Anheuser-Busch Budweiser is known as the American beer[2] the same way that Heineken is still the US import beer.
woof.
[1] Don't give me a hard time about not mentioning Oldenburg, which only started brewing in 1990 or 1991.
[2]Of course, it doesn't hurt that reputation when you consider that about 20% of all beer brewed in the US is Budweiser (regular, not including Bud Light), and that Budweiser alone accounts for more barrelage than the next largest brewery (Miller brands).
really needed that.
Best Slashdot Co
Finally, a product announcement on Slashdot where I could actually use a Beowulf cluster of them!
Ideally (read: not bloody likely, pal) it would note the rate at which you're drinking, extrapolate how much longer it'll take you to finish, know its location and how long it'll take for you to be served (using a digital camera to assess whether you're an ugly geek and adjusting based on that), and send the signal at the right time.
Visit me on #weirdness on the Galaxynet.
If the girl with the mustache and 3 chins starts looking attractive the Beer mug should stop ordering refills and start ordering coffee.
http://www.kubuntu.org/
Now many of these places offer bottled beer because there isn't a good way to offer draft beer when you don't have a bartender in the room. And putting a tap in the room would be an invitation to massive floods when a drunken salaryman (or woman) accidentally forgets that he needs a glass for all that beer he's drinking.
But with this solution, problem solved! The manager simply looks at the beer status display, and when enough glasses show up as empty on the display, he sends a waiter back to the room with freshly poured Super Dry. Happy customers, more revenue, perfect!
sulli
RTFJ.
So when it's only half filled, will the chip see it as half empty or half full??
Also, a pub/bar is more of a social setting than a restaurant. Part of the deal is bothering the bartender with your life, or using the "let me get a drink" excuse to cruise the bar, or the "can I get you a drink?" to talk to someone of the opposite sex just enough to hear the "not interested" part. Having an excuse to move around the bar lets you interact with other people, even (specially) if they're strangers.
"Automating" the re-fill would not be a convenience but a hassle, it would remove a great part of the ritual from the whole bar-thing. It's not like we have a lot of excuses left... going to the bathroom is a perfectly valid but too attractive excuse to use in public. Since the whole point of going to a bar is the ritual, that's probably not a good idea.
In a restaurant, you normally don't interact with other customers. Contacting the waiter/waitress may actually be an excercise in acrobatics and gesticulation, but it's definitely a disposable part of the restaurant ritual: you go there to eat and interact with those at your table, any moment interacting with someone else is usually an interruption and minimizing it makes sense.
Freedom is the freedom to say 2+2=4, everything else follows...
Heck, when my pint's finished, it's pretty obvious, and I'm not overly pissed off if the bar stewards nick the last few dribbles...but when they walk off with a not-yet-empty tumbler of whisky, that really pisses me off.
This is the type of glass that needs to have a loud "I'm not empty, leave me alone" sensor. Bar staff are just blind when it comes to whisky tumblers!
I mean really, the Big Brother Beer Stein! Now my drinking is being electronicly spied on. Does everyone on the planet have to know everything that I'm doing every second?
:P
How annoying to have the waitress zoom over the very second you sip the last of your beer every time. "Would you like another?". Uh, no... I'll ask for another if I want one thank you
Contrary to popular belief, coding is not all free blow-jobs and beer. Those things cost MONEY!
what you really need is a device that will tell you how many drinks all the ladies in the bar have ordered.
How dare they consider this?! Now every time I visit a bar, they will be keeping tabs on when and how much I drink and sell it to the Alcohol industry. This is a gross violation of my privacy and I will only ever drink straight from the bottle/keg/bathtub/still to preserve my precious privacy!
Won't someone think of the children?!?! er...
You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
But you've reminded me of a joke:
Q: What's the difference between bogeys and broccoli?
...
A: Children won't eat broccoli
Beer is a subject close to many slashdot-readers
Frankly, I think drinking alcohol as a beverage is downright stupid--and no, I'm not trying to make some moral point. It's just not the slightest bit practical. C'mon now, think about it:
- it's expensive
- it really doesn't taste very good by itself
- it doesn't quench your thirst
- it damages your brain and liver
- it has a high fat content (10g/std. serving)
- it wastes your time if you get tipsy or a hangover
- it dulls your wit, judgment, and intelligence
- it creates all sorts of societal problems when used irresponsibly
- used as an escape, it is highly unhealthy psychologically
..and if you think it'll help you get guys/girls, you've got a bigger problem than lack of a mate. (ie. it should not be a requisite for acting sociable)
Why on earth would any self-respecting geek want to poison themselves with this crap? Stop listening to the big beer companies. Drink water. Live healthfully. Enjoy life.
Why drink beer from a glass when my PBR comes pre-packaged in an easily disposable container?
Quite frankly this project is a waste of time and resources that could be more useful in the attaining of more beer and the consuming of materials thereof.
Why waste money on these glasses when the R&D money would be better suited to get more beer, cheaper for you and me... who's with me?
Chief Booya Executive
Help, anyone? I cannot remember the commercial. Basically shows a series of neat thinks a company is working on; dent-resistant car doors, etc. It then shows a high-rise apartment building with a family peering through the floor to ceiling window into the storm, and it says "typhoon-proof glass: done". I think it was BASF or 3M or Du Pont. Anyone remember?
Click here or here.
I think this is a left-over April Fool's joke, you know it's late because of the time-difference and all... :)
- passion
:)
hawk
How about personal medallions that learn your pickup preferences and glow when you approach someone compatible. That way you could, for example, bypass the ones who are searching for that special someone and go right to the ones who just came in to get laid.
I've travelled most of the world and I've never found a bar that beats an English/Irish pub. Other nationalities simply don't get it.
>has drunk enough for the night?
well, to drink, first ya gots to bring the mug to yo mout. Den ya breeds out, and den ya drinks.
And they test on the exhale . .
:)
hawk
>you and you want to get completely shit faced...
If you can't remember (or tell!) which of these your dating, is it any surprise s/he/it dumped you???
:)
hawk
THe packet it sends looks something like:
:)
hawk, coauthor of "IP over drunken mug" protocol
This reminding me of something I saw the other day that proves that many humans would rather not talk to people at all:
I was at the bank, and pulled in the back to use the ATM.
in the back, there are three lanes: 1) a live teller 2) the ATM 3) another teller.
i was using the ATM, and the other two teller lanes were empty.
Tellers can do everything an ATM can, and more, faster.
Not one, but TWO card pulled behind me to WAIT for the ATM when there were two teller lines available?! I was surprised.
Moon Macrosystems. Sun's biggest competitor.
>Tellers can do everything an ATM can, and more,
>faster.
1: An ATM doesn't make you write out a check to "CASH" when you want money.
2: An ATM doesn't ask for another form of ID to check your balance.
3: An ATM will let me use my friend's card to get cash from his account to pick up some lunch for him without him having to write me a check, which typically involves me going inside the bank and giving them a thumbprint (for 20 bucks? no thanks).
-l