dinner

In our day, most dorm rooms got by with makeshift "kitchens" that consisted of a hot plate and maybe a toaster oven. But that was back in the days when space was at a premium because the stereo--and stacks of vinyl LPs--took up half the room.

Now we have "personal" microwave ovens to do the job, some of them barely bigger than a breadbox. The "iWavecube," for example, will heat up frozen pizzas like the best of 'em while occupying under a cubic foot of space and weighing just 12 pounds.

It may not … Read more

We've long had a love-hate relationship with universal remotes (mostly hate), so we're conflicted over how to view this model being developed in Australia. On one hand, we hold the general view that most universal remotes are evil, as they rarely work as promised; on the other, a version like the "Telemax III" would come in mighty handy because it has a built-in hands-free phone--which, in fact, might be the only way we'd ever answer a call while watching TV.

The Telemax is still only in prototype stage, though designer Tiller + Tiller hopes to have … Read more

If speaker systems can be designed to fit in with the bathroom decor, then surely a set for the dining room table is eminently reasonable. The "Supper Sound System" delivers on the promise of its name, blending in seamlessly next to the salt and pepper shakers in ceramic cases molded to look like bottles, tumblers and other dinnerware. Technabob notes that the base station even resembles a serving dish.

The system, made by Japan-based Taguchi Craft, is apparently taking the opposite approach from other home stereo designers in believing that sound equipment should be seen as well as … Read more

We hate to say this, but we fear that this whole multimedia-kitchen thing may be getting out of hand. As much as we appreciated the built-in LCDs, espresso makers and, of course, beer on tap (we're human, after all), those conveniences were restricted mostly to the refrigerator--where we spend most of hour waking hours anyway. But a range hood? That's a little sick, even for us.

Nevertheless, Siemens plans to introduce its "Media Range Hood" to North American markets sometime next year, Appliancist says. Based on the "AvantGarde MultiMedia Hood" that has been selling … Read more

The subject of Sony remotes is a painful experience for some of us at Crave. Ever since we purchased what was touted as an uber-remote nearly a decade ago (the "Commander"), we've been scarred ever since. In addition to finding it virtually impossible to program, it has an exceedingly uncomfortable box-like form--it's like carrying around a small answering machine instead of a remote.

So it is with some trepidation that we view this new model on the Japanese market, a table remote that takes another squarish form at 3.8 by 5 inches. Unlike the Commander, … Read more