December 8, 2009

YouTube is seriously cookin’ on a new age microwave oven

by Shayne Rana

The Japanese love their food and from the looks of it they’re also in love with YouTube. It seems like the love for both has persuaded (for lack of a stronger term) Keio University researchers to merge an everyday old appliance that deals with food, in this case a microwave oven, with streaming connectivity for the YouTube lovers. The device is being called the Castoven. The otherwise very conventional looking microwave comes equipped with used to be the transparent door that’s been re-fitted with an LCD panel. The researchers have also incorporated speakers into the unit. What makes this a seriously genius concept is that it’s connected to a Mac and depending on the amount of time selected on the microwave, a video with the same length will automatically be selected for playback. This way you won’t have to stop watching if you’re meal’s done a little earlier or select another if there’s time to spare.

It’s brilliant! Users will now be able to watch YouTube while waiting for their TV dinners or popcorn to pop. Gone will be the days of just standing around waiting for your food and being too lazy to go back to your movie in the den because you’re too bored to be staring at a revolving plate or bouncing bag and then returning to the kitchen when the buzzer goes off. I wonder if they’ll be able to do this with the front loading washing machines at the laundromat?


[CrunchGear]