Slashdot Mirror
The Next Keurig Will Make Your Coffee With a Dash of "DRM"
FuzzNugget writes "Apparently seeking to lock competitors out of the burgeoning single-serve coffee market, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, maker of the popular Keurig coffee machines, will make their new machines work with licensed pods only. GMCR's CEO confirmed this in a statement: 'The much-anticipated ‘Keurig 2.0’ single-cup brewing system with ‘interactive readability’ (that doesn’t work with unlicensed/copycat pods) will offer such “game-changing functionality” that consumers - and unlicensed players - will want to switch.'"
Is it really so hard to just grind the beans and brew it yourself? I do this every morning.
Coffee from pods is an affront dignity anyway. Get a proper espresso machine, or use a press.
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
That $30 Mr. Coffee espresso maker that breaks down after two years actually makes better economic sense. I amortized the busted unit over two years (sometimes longer) and achieved $0.57/shot espresso. Keurig can suck it.
they deserve to fail miserably and go down in flames.
If you can't be good, be good at it!
How much "game-changing functionality" can you really work into a fucking coffee machine?
I only drink certified genuine OEM HP inkjet printer ink. It's much cheaper than Keuring.
Reminds me of when Microsoft attempted to make their own (proprietary, locked in) java.
Although I am a heavy user of their current line of products, I appreciate the fact that I have the choice to buy unlicensed pods that are either cheaper or represent coffee that is otherwise unavailable. Surely this will kick open the door for a competitor that can take advantage of their self-disruption!
hackmykeurig.com is currently available for purchase. I suspect variations will become popular.
This won't be legal to sell in Europe by the sounds of it..
Get out your cartridge razor handle. Find a razor cartridge from a different manufacture and try to mate the two, e.g: Schick stick with Gillette cartridge. It will not work. There is no reason it will not work besides the companies want you to only buy their razors.
This isn't DRM it is just an update on an old business model that happens to use a small circuit to achieve the same result.
Probably tastes better, too.
"To those who are overly cautious, everything is impossible. "
...just supply a better quality, more desirable coffee? Oh no, that would be too hard!
DRM technology to the rescue,forcing users to buy crappy or overpriced coffee.
The real question is - after the "Keurig 2.0" hits the shelves, will I be able to use the "Keurig 2.0" pods with my "Keurig 1.0?"
Or are they going to screw themselves out of my money by trying to force me to "update" to the new model (probably by altering the design of the K-Cup ever-so-slightly), thereby ensuring that the only products I buy for my existing $160 coffee maker are non-Green Mountain brand?
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Sorry Dave, I can't let you brew that.
I'd damn sure reprogram his memory banks with an very large axe for that kind of insubordination.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Insert pod, push button. How much interactivity does making coffee *need*?
I'm guessing that the chip in the pod tailors the brewing cycle for the coffee (or tea) in the pod for the best possible quality. Well, as "best" as you can get with pre-ground beans that have sat on the shelf in a pod for a few months.
i'm wondering where exactly are we going to have to put the piece of black tape or sharpie scribble to disable it...
lol DRM...will they ever learn?
knock knock: "OMFG it's the coffee police.,..AGAIN!!"
"damn, so who forgot the firewall the damn thing this time??"
"well...shit i was surfing for porn and disabled the FW for freakydeaks,com.."
pound pound "OPEN UP...WE CAN SMELL THE CRIME BREWING HERE DO NOT RUN"
never bring a twinkie to a food fight.
Wow. I did not think anyone in the world that would quit their job because the coffee machine was bad. Have you considered asking to be allowed to bring you own machine into the office?
excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
My guess RFID. By one regular pod, cut RFID chip out of it, tape to the bottom of subsequent generic pods.
SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
I couldn't believe this whole "Keurig" thing when I saw it, it creates all sorts of plastic waste and is expensive per cup, plus having to have an expensive and complex machine to use it and not as much control over what ends up in your coffee cup. If they want to shoot themselves in the foot by locking everyone else out of the process rather than allowing laziness to help proliferate their coffeemaking process, then I guess that's their decision and good riddance to them when they kill off their own market. Meanwhile, get a French Press, people, they even make little ones for single-cup coffee, and it's really not that difficult to use.
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
It always makes me chuckle when one of my self-anointed "green" friends whips up a cup of Keurig and then chucks the plastic container in the trash.
Pot meet...
I've found only one suitable pre-made Keurig pod for me, Dark Magic Decaf.
Meanwhile, I still have opposable thumbs and can operate a french press or a Chemex or a porcelain cone or a Bialetti.
Choose your level of messiness (none horrible), but get much better coffee at at least half the price.
Yes, it can take up to ten minutes to get it, but there's something to be said for not making everything in life about pushing one button.
I can do them all with any heat source, from electric main to the trusty SnowPeak.
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
Jesus. My coffee needs neither "interactive reability" nor "game-changing functionality." All the interactive readability I need is, I pour clear water in, and it comes out dark, dark brown. My coffee pot's functionality is not a game that needs to be changed; I shovel some ground beans in, and press a button. My coffee needs to force my sleeping ass awake for the drive to work, not save the world, the whales, or the children. As if I needed another, this is one more reason why a Keurig will never clutter my countertop.
I have a french press, but I prefer a small moka pot -- aka a stovetop "espresso" pot. While it doesn't use enough pressure to qualify as true "espresso", with a little experimentation you can do a very nice extraction with one. They're also available in single serving and even backpack versions.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
They already do. I purchased a Mr. Coffee unit that takes K cups and also comes with a single-serving sized filter.
--
I've seen 'off brand' K-Cup brewers around, so I think this move is pretty much designed to sucker people into buying something that they recently patented, and can control for a few more years.
I've decided to Diversify my Holdings. I've divided my cash between my left and right pockets, instead of all in one.
K-Cup compatible brewers and cups have been on the market for a while now. This is precisely the reason that Keurig are adding these DRM-like controls to their new machines. I guess that was easier than coming up with a new invention as innovative as the K-Cup, or simply competing based on quality and price.
When the K-cup patent expired Keurig tried to promote their "Vue" cups, some of which actually carried RFID chips that interacted with the brewer. Vue cups were bigger, didn't fit in the K-cup style brewer, and cost around twice as much as K-cups. You could get an adapter to use K-cups in a Vue brewer, which was great when those machines were cleared out super cheap because no one bought them.
That's how the Greeks do it. I think the Turks too.
I also think they argue a lot over who came up with the idea first.
Proverbs 21:19
I'm really surprised to have gotten this far down the thread without anyone mentioning the parallels to ink jet cartridges with DRM. I'm looking at you Epson.
Sara
Designer, Gamer, Macgrrl in an XP World
> It is spelled *expresso* not *espresso*. I am from Italy. I would know.
The letter X isn't used in Italian. Seems like the kind of thing you would know.
--I'm so big, my sig has its own sig.
-- See?
It brews a cup of coffee. Exactly what functionality can they offer that changes that dramatically? The only thing I can think of is the ability to load several kinds of cups and have it programmatically select one. Remotely programming it... kind of pointless if I still have to walk down to get the mug, and if I've got the machine within reach to get the mug why do I need to program it remotely when I can just punch the Brew button? The only functionality I can think of they can add only benefits Keurig, and I'm not buying a brewer just for that.
Warning, Keurig: I'm attached to coffee, not your particular brand of machine.
Firstly, so many people drink shit coffee that how you make it is irrelevant
Yep, I'm cringing reading through this discussion of Americans debating which coffee is best.
What's next, Canadians arguing over whether the most offensive word is "damn" or "bum"?
Karma-burning out of the way, what you describe sounds like it would be very mild coffee, poured quickly over the grounds rather than steeped? Typically coffee snobs go for Italian espresso which is far stronger. The principles are;
1. Beans must be fresh. One week after roasting is the optimal time (the beans de-gas), and they should be ground on demand. Supermarket beans are often sitting there for months.
2. The grinder is more important than the machine. You want a very consistent grind that doesn't raise the heat of the beans. So saying I've A/B-ed an expensive burr grinder with a cheap one and couldn't notice the difference in the end cup.
Another interesting style is Toddy's cold-brewed. You simply place a lot of grounds in a large plunger, fill it with cold water and leave it in the fridge for 12 hours. Plunge and pour into another container, keeping the coffee in the fridge (stays fresh for a week) to use as a base. Pour some into your cup, heat in the microwave and add milk and sugar as desired. Because it was extracted with cold water the taste is incredibly smooth with very little bitterness.