The Worst Products of CES 2010 214
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.
Synthetic Snot (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Advertising? (Score:2, Insightful)
I have one. (Score:2, Insightful)
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
Re:Synthetic Snot (Score:1, Insightful)
agreed, I thought that product actually looked like a good idea (assuming it actually worked)
A matter of opinion (Score:5, Insightful)
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. (Score:3, Insightful)
The cigarette isn't for tobacco. "Vaporizer". hint. hint.
Stupid article overall (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Re:I have one. (Score:3, Insightful)
It would, of course, have to have a built in grinder, a way to keep the unground beans reasonably fresh, and a way of drawing and possibly filtering the water (so you don't get stale, flat water). Most importantly, it would have to be easy to keep clean. And, of course, the coffee should finish brewing as you walk in the door, regardless of whether your commute was expeditious, or unreasonably delayed.
Re:Sick of the 'culture of fail.' (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
OT: Worst website (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
Re:Sick of the 'culture of fail.' (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
Re:Stupid article overall (Score:4, Insightful)
Hmm, you must be new to the Huffington Post. I don't even need to read the article to come to that conclusion, only the URL. :)
Way off the mark on e-cigarettes (Score:5, Insightful)
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 +.
Phubby (Score:3, Insightful)
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...
Re:Krave (Score:4, Insightful)
They're only real purpose is to provide a way to "smoke" when you can't light up a cigarette.
That's exactly their purpose - so, for example, nicotine addicts can get a hit of their legal drug in an airplane's washroom. (I'm a nonsmoker.)
Fuck e-cigs
No one has religion like a convert :)
Re:Synthetic Snot (Score:2, Insightful)
Maybe the description didn't cover all it's features, but what i read said it played womblike sounds like a mother's heartbeat.
WTF? why does someone in the womb need a womb simulator? There's already a heartbeat in there.
Maybe it's for undead mothers or something.
Cyber Clean (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
Re:Stupid article overall (Score:2, Insightful)
Although I mostly agree with you, there's one product that makes NO sense and simply exists to make money off of gullible parents: the Prenatal education system.
The makers of the BabyPlus Prenatal Education System claim that their device, which emits a sounds similar to the mom's heartbeat [...]
So here we have a device that emits a sound similar to the mom's heartbeat for a baby which is in the womb... in the mom... close to her actual heart.
That's like listening to a song on a radio while wearing headphones which belt out the same song but not synched to the one on the radio.
The only way this makes sense is if the mom is dead or a zombie. Either way, you have bigger issues to worry about than "educating" your unborn child.