Cordless hair dryers aren’t really a thing but Volo wants to change that
The Volo Go is a cordless hair dryer on display at CES 2019. It uses infrared heat to dry hair and is battery powered instead of needing to be plugged into an outlet. The battery drains fairly quickly, but Volo claims the hair dryer's results are fast and can finish the job in as little as five minutes.
How long does it take for eggnog to go bad? It’s all about the booze
Eggnog is a beloved holiday beverage for some and reviled one for others, but it might actually be safer to drink a few weeks after you make it. If you find yourself with leftovers this holiday season, when should you throw it out? The answer is all in the booze content (hint: the boozier the better!).
Don’t kick it to the curb: 13 ways to recycle your Christmas tree
The holidays are over, and now you've got a sad looking Christmas tree sitting in your living room. Think all you can do with your spruce or pine is wait for the garbage truck? From making mulch to replanting (yes, actually replanting!), here are some creative ways to recycle the evergreen.
How Alexa and Google Home can lend a hand over the holidays
Smart speakers with voice assistants, such as Alexa and Google Home, can be especially helpful during the holiday with these tips and tricks. From setting timers to shopping for deals to playing your favorite festive music and movies, let your Alexa or Google Home device give you a helping hand in life.
Here’s how to keep Thanksgiving leftovers edible for longer
Thanksgiving leftovers can feed you for days, but how long before bacteria and mold make the turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce no longer safe to eat? We asked some experts to get answers and also got tips on when, where, and how to store food.
With Personal Food Computers, nerd farmers are finding the best way to grow
Caleb Harper is an MIT research scientist and head of the OpenAg Initiative. He builds personal food computers that have tons of sensors, cameras, and circuit boards. He thinks they’re the key to growing food designed to combat specific diseases and targeted for each person’s DNA.
The future of food could make kitchens and grocery stores obsolete
Will kitchens eventually be replaced with vending machines? Will we be 3D printing our food in 20 years? The 2018 Smart Kitchen Summit included a lot of wild predictions about the future of cooking, but the most likely scenario seems to be that people will cook and use technology in different ways.
Sensor-studded Kansas City is like a giant smartphone. Now it just needs apps
Though Kansas City didn't win the Smart Cities Challenge, it's using sensors to gather data and make decisions.
Tech is making life in Barcelona better, even if you don’t know it’s there
Barcelona doesn’t just want to dazzle techies with its smart-city technology; it wants to help every citizen, young and old, live better.
Restaurants may soon have chefs who know all about you before you walk in the door
Chef Eric Rivera started serving multi-course meals to two people at a time inside his home. He recently expanded with Addo, a combination of restaurant and incubator for unestablished chefs and bakers. Using Instagram, a ticketing system, and questionnaires, Rivera thinks he has some ideas on how young chefs can attract new customers.
Companies want to sell you conflict-free phones, but certification isn’t foolproof
Conflict minerals like tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold, sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo often end up in our cell phones and other electronics. Companies have worked on the problem for years but still have trouble seeing down their supply chains to the mines in isolated regions of the DRC.
Smart security cameras are creepy, but the Nest Cam gave me some peace of mind
Security cameras are a big part of home security and a natural choice for a smart apartment, since they’re so portable. But you don’t want to feel like you’re living in a police state, so control is paramount.
Electrolux, SideChef to bring customized recipes app to Asia-Pacific market
Electrolux has a diverse market, especially when it comes to the Asia-Pacific region. To meet the needs of Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, and other countries, it partnered with SideChef to make a cooking app that offers local as well as international cuisine, with language and techniques that are country specific.
Best products of 2016: Smart Home
Full of facts and tips, the Google Home is an amazing kitchen assistant that can set timers, convert measurements, and tell you how to roast a chicken. Give it time, and it’s bound to do so much more.
Cool, clear, and connected: IFA 2015 had some amazing fridges
From cameras inside to doors that turn translucent when you approach, these are some of the coolest fridges we've seen at IFA 2015 in Berlin.
Ready to grill? Here are alternatives to cleaning it with a wire-bristle brush
Wire-bristle grill brushes have fallen out of favor because of safety concerns. Luckily, there are alternative ways to clean your grill.
HomLuv.com tries to match homebuyers with builders using a Pinterest-like board
If an interior decorator looked at your Pinterest board, they might be able to nail down your taste as modern or rustic. That's sort of the idea behind HomLuv, which uses artificial intelligence and crowdsourcing to match homebuyers and homebuilders, based on photos of kitchens, bathrooms, and so on.
Anthony Bourdain’s best cooking tips, seasoned with travel wisdom
Anthony Bourdain, chef, author, and host of Parts Unknown, died June 6 at age 61. The food-lover and world-traveler leaves a legacy of embracing the unfamiliar, eating what's put in front of you, and great travel advice.
A.I. will make smart homes autonomous, but don’t expect perfection or privacy
At the 2018 Connections Conference, artificial intelligence and how it can improve the smart home was one topic of conversation. But before it can run your home, it has to learn to crawl through basic connectivity issues.
Recyc-ale: Ways to reuse old kegs around the house
Kegs aren't something people normally have lying around the house, but we found a bunch of really cool DIY projects for upcycling them.
Induction is the best cooking tech you’re not using. $1K range is a game-changer
The Frigidaire Gallery FGIF3036TF Induction Range is the first of its kind for under $1,000. Induction cooking is fast, efficient, safer, and cleaner than radiant and gas stoves. We did a little cooking on the range and watched it boil water in 90 seconds.
Wireless charging will replace your fridge with self-cooling Tupperware
With wireless charging, everything in your house — from your spoon to your slippers — can be smart. Ossia hopes to make it happen, though there are some drawbacks that could prevent widespread adoption.
Peek inside the outlandish mansions of tech titans, from Musk to Zuckerberg
It pays to be CEO of giant tech companies, and these mansions are proof. Jeff Bezos, Michael Dell, and other tech execs have huge homes all over the country. Check out our gallery of some of the biggest, most expensive homes on the planet owned by the tech giants of Silicon Valley and beyond.
What the 1950s ‘kitchen of the future’ got right (and what was just plain crazy)
We may not have flying cars and jetpacks, but some more realistic 1950s dreamers came shockingly close to predicting our culinary future. Then again, we’re still waiting for some of it.
Flavor Matrix cookbook proves peanut butter avocado toast is the neo brunch
The Food Matrix is a new cookbook from James Briscione. While it has some recipes, its main focus is aroma wheels that make it easy to pair new and unusual foods together based on shared compounds.
Facebook waits to release smart speaker amid data privacy concerns
With news still trickling out about the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook is reportedly scrapping plans to release Portal and another smart speaker at its F8 developer conference. We know now that the delay is quite significant -- we won't see the speakers until October 2018, five months later than scheduled.
iRobot wants its Roombas to be the eyes and roving sensors of your smart home
Because of the way iRobot's Roombas map users homes, it has the potential to make smart homes much more connected.
Kenwood’s kCook is a multicooker that works with a Drop-style scale
A multicooker is a food processor that cooks, and the Kenwood kCook is a smart appliance that uses an app and Drop kitchen scale for more precision.
In a bake-off between Alexa and Google Assistant, the real winner is flavor
If you're going to bake chocolate chip cookies from scratch, you need to find a recipe. Both Amazon's Alexa and Google Home can help, but which is better?
The Bellini Kitchen Master vs. the Thermomix vs. the All-Clad Prep and Cook
We compare three multi-cookers, the Thermomix, All-Clad Prep & Cook, and Bellini Kitchen Master, to see which deserves a spot on your kitchen counter.
Nugeni Steva+ review
The Nugeni Steva+ is both an upright and handheld vacuum and steamer, so it can clean in tons of different ways around the house.
Lighthouse home camera is smart enough to tell your cat from a cat burglar
The Lighthouse is a home camera that uses facial recognition and 3D sensing to tell people from pets and give relevant notifications. It's now available for purchase.