Coming Soon: Microsoft Kitchen
Duncan Riley
45 comments »
Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet has the scoop on Microsoft’s next best thing since sliced bread: Microsoft Kitchen.
According to Foley, Microsoft Kitchen will extend Windows to the kitchen with a tailored product that will include family calendar, recipe center, entertainment features and a shared bulletin board.
No, it’s not April 1 and as far as Foley is concerned this is actually being developed. Given Microsoft’s move into Surface Computing it’s not improbable that the kitchen may follow the coffee table as Microsoft’s next target.
There is some history of kitchen based internet appliances. The LG Internet fridge was launched several years ago and although wildly derided at the time, others saw it as a sign of things to come. The cost of computers in general is far more affordable today; a kitchen focused Tablet PC or similar device running Microsoft Vista Kitchen Edition may sound indulgent, but the economics make the path to success far easier than it was for the LG Internet Fridge.
Where do you want to go today with Microsoft Kitchen? Will it mix drinks? Share your thoughts in the comments. More at CrunchGear.
Update: Microsoft has just announced a new patent licensing agreement with LG. Could it be a case of Life’s Good with Microsoft Kitchen in the future?
Will a BSOD lead to burnt toast? Will I have to upgrade the microwave weekly?
Will depend on the price, none of these features are actualmust haves.
A feature that would be useful, is one that will remotely allow you to preheat the oven. That way people can turn it on remotely from work, then by the time they get back from work the oven is ready for cooking.
the bulletin board should also be remotely accessible, to allow someone to get a shopping list from work, that way they can stop by on the way home.
Maybe remote dishwasher too
Wow. So we can have a daily menu on microsoft kitchen. Scroll and select recipes for cooking. You can have a social kitchen networking where people post and vote for the best recipies. Who knows, a Wi-Fi or bluetooth enabled kitchen will even have your kitchen equipments talking to this tablet and get things done.
Then you can keep a daily calorie chart and track how you progress towards your fitness goal.
At the end of the day, how many of those grossly overpriced fridges did LG sell?
The usability sucked. Typical of an “engineered” product – designed my engineers, marketed by engineers, but not crafted by designers. The LG “fridge TV” has a small screen. It can’t be viewed easily off-axis. Most fridges are a pain in the arse to connect to a water pipe; now imagine the added pleasure of a coax or Ethernet cable. If, like me, your fridge is opposite the sink, it’s impossible to view at any level of comfort.
I can’t find the source, but I did read at the time that the LG fridge with TV was a microscopic percentage of overall sales. How can it be viewed as a success?
Most people have crammed counter tops where space is a premium. At the end of the day, surface computing in the kitchen will be a huge fad.
Just because a browser can be put on the side of a toaster does not mean there will be any quantifiable interest. From time to time, I bring my laptop into the kitchen, and cook from a recipe that I’ve forgotten to print out and put in a protective plastic sleeve. It’s nice to have the laptop once or twice a year to do this. I don’t need a browser on a crappy toaster.
I also wonder what connectivity will add to the price.
Yes, that $20 Black & Decker with Web browser is now only $219.99 – at the Home Depot.
I’ll take two.
Darcy - I was also thinking of the LG fridge. I can see a recipe device that is wifi from the kitchen. But checking out cnn on the side of the fridge, no.
I noticed the blue screen of death on the appliance.
I think Apple would have a better chance with an AppleKitchen or iKitchen. Something similar to the AppleTV with less power, touchscreen LCD and wi-fi.
Plus it would fit on the counter.
It won’t preheat your oven, but (we hope that) Cookthink, which will quietly launch in the next couple of weeks, will at least make figuring out what to cook a little easier, a little more fun.
I think this underscores that not all technology developments are good.
You know, they never did get the operating system quite right…. Let alone toast.
Well, the idea behind the internet fridge wasn’t so terrible. (I’m not defending LG here BTW.) The idea was, sooner or later the containers of food or other items to be in the fridge will have RFID tags. Imagine something like this: at work, you suddenly want to cook some recipe when you go home. You want to know what items you already have in your fridge, so you can know what additional ingredients you have to buy on your way home. Or in the case of nursing home, where keeping food and medicine in the refridgerator has to be taken care of by someone residing outside, this combination of “RFID tags + internet fridge” can come in handy. Or in the case of vending machines too - vending machines could be hooked up to the net and send signals to the manager (who has to manage maybe hundreds of vending machines) regarding the items to be filled, etc. But then, we still have years before we see RFID tags used universally.
Love the bsod toaster.
Vote for Fred Thompson. He guy who supports WEB 2.0 - 3.0
http://www.fred08.com/
mobile computing
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Oh hallelujah our problems are solved, Microsoft is making toasters. Man, and here Google is wasting their time on search, advertising and software, those losers.
Would I want Microsoft to be able to preheat my oven? That’s not just a no, that’s a oh hell no. Why don’t I toss a match into my living room before I go to work and save the oven the time of burning my house down.
Do they think they will make a lot of money on this? People aren’t going to pay $500 or more for a computer in their kitchen that will organize events when they already have those magnetic wipe calendars on their fridge they get for free at the grocery store. There is a thing called market research, Ballmer, you may want to give it a shot.
I think it’s great that Microsoft is doing this. Will they have a return the first few years? Probably not, but neither did the original Xbox when it was first introduced.
Look at the advantages:
- Targeting a demographic that is not heavily focused on by the tech industry (female)
- Breaking into a new segment where few tech companies venture. In the long run, if Microsoft sticks with the program, they could have some very loyal customers here
I was impressed when I saw the Microsoft home of the future, and I do think they can emulate the experience in the consumer market. One step at a time of course.
The question is how ready the kitchen users for this. So far the most people who are active in kitchen are not tech-savvy, while most of the technology-friendly people are too busy to cook their own meal. Well, there are off course office ladies who enjoys time in kitchen, but how big is the market share?
And I hope it’s waterproof.
This could turn out to be a very interesting development. But the question remains whether there is demand for it or maybe Microsoft knows better.
I hope the Microsoft Stove doesn’t use a surface computing control panel.
Aren’t Microsoft just pinching an idea that HP are already using with the TouchSmart IQ770 PC by way of their HP SmartCenter software?
Personally I love a lot of the lifestyle or non-OS stuff Microsoft is doing. Their keyboards and mice have always been nice, I absolutely love my 360, and I’d at least look at their stuff. I have my doubts about kitchen help from anyone, but who knows.
And while BSOD fire and burnt toast jokes truly never grow old, the only machine out of about 7 in my home that is apparently irreparable right now is my iMac with OSX. Left a webcam recording too long, file got too big, now I get a true BSOD– just blank blue forever. DiskWarrior can’t do squat with it. It just works.
I happened to be working in Microsoft’s Workplace Advantage suite today, sort of a demo office for stuff like the Surface and different office designs, and I’m trying to leave enough bugs in my work that I have to return once it’s in place. It’s a cool space with a lot of their ongoing work on convenience products and usuability, I think you can tour it freely if you’re on campus and schedule, it’s in Building 27.
mmm. microsoft telling me what to put in my food. I think not.
Potential Recipe:
5 cups flower
3/4 Sugar
1tsp Vanilla
1tsp Cinnamon
3 cups Drano
error
On a serious note, the whole movement towards computer based appliances in the home is a great thing to me. If Microsoft can do a suitable job with integration I say more power to them.
Dark kitchen, 2 a.m.
Man enters, stage left. He wobbles slightly, a wild look in his reddened eyes as the kitchen powers up (over several minutes)
“What are you doing, Dave? Your calorific input for the day has already passed 5,000 kcal”
“…must have munchies..”
“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that, Dave”
“…toasted sandwiches, fried mars bars, cheese…must eat…”
“I’m sorry Dave, I’m going to have to turn off the sandwich toaster”
Crash, clunk, blue screen as fork is forced into motherboard. The End.
X-box aside (and the success of that is highly questionable given that fact that they’re burning through money with no signs of profit), Microsoft just doesn’t do consumer platforms well. I can’t wait until your toaster gets compromised and becomes part of a local bot net that’s running a DOS attack on your fridge.
This post is really asking for it…
The microsoft kitchen is just the tip of the iceberg, I have seen secret plans of the Microsoft Digital House Initiative, and it blowed my mind
They have there a Microsoft Bed 2.0 that let you share everything with your friends, but usually crashes just before you climax…
It comes in a package deal with the Microsoft Shower Express, that streams your water like real broadband, but still can’t stop spam from coming out of the tap…
I can go like this all day, but i better get back to writing simple,Not-so-advanced web sites that people actually use…
Benny.
The idea that we need room specific OS is crazy, yes the computer is becoming an indespensable part of our lives but can we stay a bit real about this Duncan, Microsoft Kitchen? Were you up drinking last night?
Looking forward to your post on Microsoft Toilet….
Whether this is misguided or not remains to be seen, but the fact is, ubiquitous computing is going to be a major play over the next decade. Surface computing is just one aspect of this. We’ve got the network; whoever manages to leverage it into major but as-yet-untouched parts of our lives in a *useful* way is going to walk away with a ton of cash and a market pretty much to themselves. Think Apple and the iPod.
Device singularity has a part to play in this. You may scoff at the idea of an Internet fridge, but how many of you have a radio in your kitchen?
You have inserted: BREAD. Cancel or Allow?
3Com did this years ago with the Audry. Web browsing, shared notes and calendar (sync w/ multiple Palm devices), recipes, etc.
the interface was great, the form factor was terrific for a kitchen. the large, touchscreen was a perfect interface. but they charged too much for it, esp for their ambivalent target audience (who didn’t know they needed such a device).
this is definitely a hardware / software play: a slick os isn’t going to do it without equal hardware.
and the target demographic may not yet be much less ambivalent about needing this …
One of these days we’ll be saying “I wish I could take this damn coffee table, toaster, TV box, game console, and all those other gadgets and compact them all into one 5lb., fliptop unit that I can take to the starbucks with me… like back in the old days.”
Microsoft has missed their chance here. They should have pushed an Outlook Express-simple version of hosted Exchange 5 years ago for very small businesses. Families would have used it to coordinate schedules and task lists, share information, etc.
Now the company is just too confused to pull it off (renaming Hotmail Windows Live Mail, then calling their Outlook Express client the same thing…), and people are confident enough in search engines that they probably aren’t looking for an integrated home solution.
I remember when Microsoft Wine and Microsoft Dogs came out as multimedia CD’s. The company lost a lot on those, and looks ready to repeat the exercise with a kitchen effort.
I wonder if they would be interested in buying the different components or developing on their own. One site that is perfect for what they plan on doing (computerizing the kitchen) is RecipeMatcher (www.recipematcher.com)
Great post on this the other day at Digital Daily which references the old Honeywell Kitchen Computer from 1969.
http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.....t-kitchen/
Scenario: Botnets start turning thousands of American ovens to 500 while their owners are out, Gazprom stock goes through the roof.
i feel like we’ve been transported back to pre-first-bubble times. boo.com is going to be huge.
HP already has a product like this. It’s called the HP Touchsmart PC. It was released at CES this year and already has much of the functionality Microsoft is talking about introducing….
I want to call your attention to Cozi Central, which is already delivering on what MSFT says it wants to do! Cozi.com already has thousands of happy families using Cozi Central to organize their family’s schedule through a color-coded-by-person calendar that syncs with Outlook, a shopping list feature that can be text’d to your cell phone or read to you on cell while you’re standing in the freezer section at the grocery store, and enables you to send notes and reminders via SMS to tell your spouse that Johnny is at baseball practice and needs to be picked up.
Cozi is nice, but it doesn’t presently have any access to recipes or way to plan meals or analyze nutritional content.
BigOven.com (http://www.bigoven.com) is a social network about food, with 160,000+ recipes that you can search in a variety of ways. Enter a few ingredients from your fridge and find out what to make tonight. Or drag and drop recipes onto a shopping list to create a grocery list, ordered by aisle. Or, drop them onto a calendar to create a meal plan for the next week or month. When you’re ready, generate a grocery list from that plan. You can also post recipes in a single click to the shared recipe archive, create a “Try Soon” list online, get RSS feeds from your favorite online cooks, and much more. Check it out at http://www.bigoven.com.
good site.