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The Worst Products of CES 2010
loose electron submitted a (sigh) slideshow page documenting 10 of the worst products from CES this year. Includes a baseball hat with a TV in the brim, vibrating earbuds, an Android powered microwave, and what appears to be the next generation of Teddy Ruxpin.
One look at that advertisement and I'm craving something other than an electronic cigarette.
That product, if done right (anti-bacterial stuff in the goo to get the keys actually clean, right consistency to not leave bits between keys) would actually be pretty useful in some environments.
For those who didn't RTFA, it's a keyboard cleaner via goo like substance that you push on and pull off and it takes the ick with it.
Interestingly enough, they weren't meant to go in your ears >.>
"Common sense will be the death of us all"
Many companies do something absolutely unusable just to be famous because of such lists. What other can be the purpose of so stupid things?
Hide your files and folders from others!
the HuffingtonPost fucking slide show that had that stupid fucking login on every goddamn page!
Oh. When I saw the microwave with Android it reminded me of something. Why is it that kitchen appliances have to have a fucking chip in them?!? Toasters to coffee makers! WTF! I was staying at a friends house and they had this incredibly expensive electronic coffee maker. It has all these lights, LEDs, LCD displays, an incredible assortment of UI crap. I looked at it and was horribly confused. My friend just said, "What!? You don't know how to use it? Mr. Computer-programmer-IT-professional!"
I asked, "Does it have a fucking keyboard or an USB connector to plug one it!? Smart-ass!"
Anyway, after spending way too long to prep the fucking thing just to make a goddamn pot of coffee, it finally brewed. I could have walked to the corner store and come back with the coffees before the fucking thing was actually done.
The coffee didn't taste any better than a pot made in a Black&Decker from Target.
I can understand a timer so that you can prep the night before and have it brew a pot in the morning so that it's ready for you when you get up. But all that other horseshit?!
Expensive coffee maker: $200+. B&D: $30+ and the B&D actually looks better! :-P
http://www.embeddedarm.com/software/arm-netbsd-toaster.php
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I think the reviewer compiler just has issues with bidets. The Japanese have had robotic bidets for some time now. Chalk it up to "weird Japan" if you must. The android powered microwave is flawed because it's in a microwave, not in a stove. I love to cook, but there are occasions when I want, or need to consult my computer-- email, recipes, perhaps a podcast. But I don't want to get spattering spaghetti sauce on my electronics. A computer, built for the kitchen environment would be valuable.
The cigarette isn't for tobacco. "Vaporizer". hint. hint.
I'd rather see dishwasher safe keyboards than yet another cleaning thing for computers.
Many of the choices just seem to be because the idea is new or somehow "weird" to the author (the parent's synthetic snot example, the bidet example by another poster) or something that the author doesn't personally have a use for (the e-cigarette) or just something that has a target audience which doesn't include himself as a member ($200 Blackberry Presenter that enables users, presumably mainly businessmen, to plug their BBs wirelessly into projectors but doesn't actually project itself - do you expect a good projector inside a tiny box like that for just $200?!).
Anyway, there are more examples. Probably over half of the products in that article are actually quite viable and/or unique/innovative ideas. Some of them may not be implemented too well, but could still prove to be a launching pad for other good products (imagine an fold-up full-size keyboard for the iPhone that could work in any text field). This author is trying to be disparaging for the sake of being disparaging. Nothing wrong with many of the products he listed.
Why does a microwave need to know the time in the first place?
Not to say they don't exist, but I have yet to meet anyone on the planet who has ever used the "Start cooking at 18:00" feature of any cooking appliance more than once.
A computer, built for the kitchen environment would be valuable.
...and here it is!
I think the terminal can also be used as an island. It looks like it's got room for use as a cutting board or for rolling out pastry too! What more could you ask for?
Putting moderation advice in your
I like how huffingtonpost.com's article consists of 99% widgets & advertising and 1% actual content. I actually had to scrounge around the page to find the content. If your content is buried in non-content, it's time to redesign your site.
I use the clock on my microwave several times a day. It's the most convenient place to look to what time it is when I'm in the kitchen area.
My confusion is around why LG couldn't spare a tiny capacitor to let the microwave remember its time throughout a half second power outage. This is in one of their supposedly high-end microwaves. They did apparently think it was worth spending extra on the the me-too blue interior.
www.clarke.ca
I don't think those vibrating "earplugs" are really meant to go in your ears.
Seriously, try putting an inexpensive pair of earbuds up your rectum (use a lubricant). Then, if you play the second Pavement album at full volume, while watching The Wizard of Oz, you will achieve states of Tantric ecstasy. You have to start them at exactly the same time. Then, just as Dorothy is about to meet the Tin Man, yank out the earbuds as fast as you can.
Warning: Be sure to lock the door to your office before doing this. Having a co-worker walk in could cause some uncomfortable feelings in the workplace.
You are welcome on my lawn.
A guy I work with bought one of these...not the same brand, but pretty much same deal. I've tried the e-cigarette and if they were more easily available, I probably would have bought one by now. It actually tastes pretty much like a cigarette, and once one gets accustomed to it, I see it as a direct replacement.
The guy I know who has one...smokes in wal-mart, restaurants, in public, etc. Granted, he's going to catch flak for it from the countless busybody-douchebags in this world that just cannot stand seeing someone else enjoying themselves, but its not banned anywhere. It doesn't burn anything and produces no smell.
This product deserves an A +.
The Phubby isn't that bad. There are times where you don't want your phone in your pocket, such as when exercising. I mean, iPods already have armband holders, this just looks like a generic one for your phone. I could see wanting something like this for my phone, moreso than a hat that can hold my phone in the brim. And it certainly relates to consumer electronics, so I think CES is as good a place as any to debut it.
The name, though, is certainly unfortunate...
Write your representatives! Repeal the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics!
That hat's great, but it really needs a Visorganizer stuck on it.
1) Insert popcorn 2) Push popcorn button 3) wait 4) When popcorn is ready instead of a chime you'll get: DROID!!! DROID!!! DROID!!! DROID!!! DROID!!! DROID!!! DROID!!! DROID!!! Only if you can program the replacement chime :)
There's no Freedom like UFP-dom
"The makers of the BabyPlus Prenatal Education System claim that their device, which emits a sounds similar to the mom's heartbeat..." Really? Wouldnt the mother's heartbeat imitate their heartbeat much better than this pointless instrument? Maybe they are marketing this towards the pregnant zombie demographic who would clearly have no heartbeat and thus need this product..
My microwave is my main clock that I check in my kitchen. Why bother with a wall clock when the microwave is sitting right here?
And while I don't look atit as often as the microwave for just general time checking (because the display is much, much smaller), my coffee maker has a clock and I certainly use it for automatic turn on (typically I am in a hurry in the morning so it's nice to get up, take a shower, and have the coffee already ready).
The stove also has a clock on it - which is new for me as I just had an older unit (with no clock) replaced about 2 months ago, but I'm really enjoying the digital controls on that too. Previously my old oven for example had regular knob controls. They worked fine for what I used them for, but that stove was over 25 years old. On the new one, I can hit bake, type in a target temperature to pre-heat to and hit start. It'll beep once it makes it to that temperature. Pop in something, type in a time, and hit start, and it'll bake it for that long and then turn off. It works a heck of a lot like a microwave now, and I'm loving it. While I haven't used the clock on that unit much (other than setting it - as a rule I don't like clocks in my house that aren't set), it's basically free to add since all that electric circuitry is there anyways.
My only concern on the new stove (which is theoretical, not actually confirmed yet) is one of longevity. Like I said the old one was 25+ years old. It still worked fine. Two of the knobs on the top to control the burners had become stuck and the shaft snapped on them (the two back burners), but the front burners still worked, as did the oven, and technically the back burners still WORKED - you just had to use pliers to turn the little piece of a shaft that was left. That thing was built like a tank. With the heat and such that a stove is subject to, I'm not sure that the little computer controls on the new stove will still be going in 25 years.
Overall though, I think appliances with clocks on them is a good thing.
"People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
I bought some Cyber Clean from Thinkgeek a while back and it's awesome. Works just as described on my phone, keyboard, etc. These retards picking it as one of the worst products have obviously never tried it.
We had Teddy Ruxbin when I was a little kid, some of the first models. Unfortunately, they kept breaking. Sometimes Teddy would slowly die with his speech getting slower and slower. One time his lower jaw fell of and he kept talking apparently oblivious. That was slightly traumatizing. The technology really didn't exist to make that sort of robot that was both cheap and dependable. This newer toy sounds much more promising. The other gadgets not so much.
WARNING: There is a nice & healthy virus in the above link. Don't open unless your box is well protected. No, the computer's metal casing doesn't count as protection.