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Kegbot makes creating an Android-controlled kegerator easy
The idea of a connected kegerator isn't anything new. We've seen quite a few startups build high-tech kegs -- even Google has gotten in on the action. Those projects, however, require quite a bit of technical know-how. Now there's an easier solution for the beer enthusiasts: Kegbot. Kegbot is a bit different simply because it handles most of the geeky stuff for you. To get the device up and running, you just have to connect a flow sensor to your keg's line, and connect the pre-made board to your favorite Android tablet. With a minimal amount of effort, the device can track how much beer is left in your keg, who's drinking it and what days of the week you're consuming the most booze. Creators Mike Wakerly and Eric Webb have been at the smart keg game for a while. The two originally sold Kegbot as a do-it-yourself open-source project. They realized there was a market for a little easier option, and developed the plug-and-play version they're currently raising money for on Kickstarter. We recently met up with the team to see the device in action.
Daily Update for November 22, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
iKeg makes sure the local bar has beer on hand for your Friday Afternoon Club
For beer drinkers, there's nothing worse than going to your usual watering hole on Friday afternoon (or any other time) only to find out that your favorite brew isn't available. Statistics show that bar patrons will actually drink one-third less during a visit if they're "forced" to consume a beer that's not their "usual." So for bar owners and beer distributors alike, it's critical to know when a keg is getting low in order to keep the suds flowing. That's where iKeg, from SteadyServ Technology, comes in handy. It's a multi-part solution to a problem that's plagued bartenders and beer drinkers for hundreds of years; knowing when a keg is going to run dry. To start off with, each keg of frosty brew is equipped with a SteadyServ sensor that sends out a constant stream of information to the cloud over a wireless (WiFi and cellular) connection: how much beer is in the keg, the type and style of the beer, when it was delivered to the bar, when it was tapped, its age and an estimate of when the keg might run dry. The horror... the horror... Steady Serv's cloud service then combines that data with other information like the next scheduled delivery date and previous orders, consumption trends (both at the bar and other bars nearby), event information (patrons might drink more during a local sporting event) and local weather forecasts. That info can generate alerts to order another keg just in time for it to arrive as the last draw is pulled from the tap. Of course, there's an app for all this. The SteadyServ iKeg App (free) is targeted to those brewers, distributors and bartenders who keep the important stuff flowing toward our thirsty mouths. I won't go into detail about it; for that, there's a video embedded below showing you everything you need to know. Just sit back, sip a pint of that lovely ale as you watch and try not to get too bored with the narrator. On behalf of all the beer drinkers who read TUAW, I want to thank SteadyServ for helping keep the world a happier place. Now, be sure to point your local barkeep to this post, OK?
Peripheral Vision 007: Tyler DeAngelo - 'wasting time is an important piece of innovation'
"There's something we miss when everything becomes virtual and goes online," says Tyler DeAngelo. "Tactile-ness gives it something that is more interesting and a deeper connection and makes it more meaningful." The ad executive invited us to Havas Worldwide's Chicago offices to show off his latest creation, and with Fifth Avenue Frogger, the Check 'N Chew Foursquare gumball machine and the Buzzed Buzzer under his belt, we took him up on the offer. His latest creation was born of the same desire to bridge the physical and the virtual. Created for a beer client, the bottle opener has Arduino Nano-based circuitry built-in, which connects with an Android handset via Bluetooth, sending texts to friends when you crack open a bottle. "I'm definitely not the first person to say this, but creativity comes from finding meaningful relationships between things that already exist," explains DeAngelo. "Nothing I'm doing is going to change the world. A lot of the stuff I do is wasting people's time, but I still think that making someone think differently or making someone laugh or have fun -- wasting time is an important piece of innovation." It's also, naturally, an important part of engaging a public increasingly immune to sales pitches. Getting people's attention in an ad-saturated world requires a lot more than clever jingles. "i think the most innovative things in the media field should be happening inside ad agencies right now," DeAngelo adds. "If they're not, those who aren't innovating are going to be dead."
Well Fed Buff: Way of the Brew
Editor's Note: Please consume responsibly; these beer recipes are for Way of the Brew fans age 21 and above. Who knew that there was such a widespread culture and fandom for homebrewing? It took me until last year to discover that brewing your own beer, ale or mead isn't difficult at all, and you can get started without a burdensome investment of time or equipment. Equally delightful has been the discovery that I already know quite a few homebrewers; the hobby seems to be a natural fit among those of us who enjoy fantasy, gaming, roleplaying, and related revelry. I knew all things ale would be a natural fit for Well Fed Buff, but I also knew I wouldn't have room here for a homebrewing play-by-play. Instead, we can cover how to get started with homebrewing, review some seasonal craft brews, and talk about cooking with beer -- amusingly enough, an accurate reflection of the reasons you might want to pursue the Way of the Brew in Azeroth. "Note that unlike the other ways, this one doesn't provide a specific stat and the only thing that gives stats are the banquets," writes Wowhead commenter Bardiches. "It's honestly for anyone who loves being drunk or wants to make some cheap banquets." ... Umm, we're all a bunch of WoW: Mists of Pandaria fans who love to cook, eat, enjoy a brew, and game around here. Perfect! What I've got for you this week, then, is a basic roadmap for anyone interested in learning more about homebrewing. Once we get that ball rolling, I'll share a few seasonal brews worth investigating this fall and divulge my not-so-secret secret of savory slow cooking. Join us in the comments afterwards to discuss your own favorite homebrew advice and share your favorite ale-augmented recipes.
iPad 101: No bottle opener? No problem
This handy tip first made the rounds in May of 2012, but it's worth reviving for a holiday weekend filled with barbecues, beer -- and probably a few missing bottle openers. According to Twitter's @EvaGiselle (and technique confirmed/photo thanks to TechHive's Susie Ochs), you can indeed pop the top on a frosty bottle of suds using nothing more than your bare hands and an iPad charger. Although CNET originally ran into some troubles (cracked adapters) with this approach, the Huffington Post was able to use it with ease given a little bit of care and finesse. Needless to say, if you break your adapter using it in a manner for which it was not designed, good luck getting it replaced at the Apple Store on Tuesday. (That's why the more expensive MagSafe laptop adapters are completely off-limits.) Even though Mophie's original Bevy bottle opener/iPod shuffle case is no longer sold, there are plenty of modern-day options to choose from, including the Opena case for both iPhone 4 and 5 models. Enjoy the weekend, and remember to charge responsibly -- always designate a sober friend to keep track of the iPads.
BrewBit: the remote temperature monitor for homemade barley pop
Temperature is everything when it comes to fermenting beer. Thanks to a surprise heatwave, our last batch of homebrew went from lager to ale to horrible once we could finally taste it. If the BrewBit Model-T reaches its $80,000 Kickstarter goal, Inebriated Innovations could have the solution to hobby brewers' wort woes come next March. Each black box has dual power outlets as well as two temperature probes, allowing for independent control of heating and cooling. If you're so inclined, the open-source software and hardware means that you'll have an easier time hacking it to suit your needs. As of now, the company is just over halfway to its funding target, with 15 days to go. The early backer donations have already been claimed, but you still have a couple of weeks to snag either the single probe ($160) or dual probe ($175) model. We recommend you save the waiting for your suds' aging period.
Untappd comes to Windows Phone 8, forgoes Metro
The social beer tracking service Untappd is finally available on Windows Phone 8 as a "native" app. The popular check-in platform has long been available on iOS and Android, and it was one of the few must-have titles available on BlackBerry 10 at launch. Finally those whose loyalties lie in Redmond can take advantage of all that Untappd has to offer, and remove the bookmark to the spartan mobile site from their home screen. While the free download is definitely a vast upgrade over using the browser, there is room for improvement on this 1.0 release. Most notably is its non-native appearance and lack of live tile support. In fact, we're pretty sure the Windows Phone version is simply a port of the Android app. Still, if you enjoy a fine craft brew and like sharing that experience with friends, this should be an indispensable part of your arsenal. Plus, if you look hard enough, you might just find an Engadget editor or two frequenting the virtual stools at the Untappd pub. Update: It's been brought to our attention that Untappd was built using the cross-platform development tool PhoneGap. That means that the various versions of the app share much of the same code (primarily HTML5 and JavaScript) which would explain the similarities in appearance.
Dr. Greg Zeschuk matches genre to gravity with video game beer pairings
For those of us older than our local legal drinking age, playing the right game with the right beer is a pretty difficult combination to beat. Finding the most correct pairing of game and brew, however, can be more difficult than it might seem at first blush.That's why we've asked BioWare co-founder and artisan beer aficionado Dr. Greg Zeschuk for his advice on the most appropriate beer/genre pairings. Having left the video gaming industry last September after 20 years at the helm of such games as Mass Effect and Dragon Age: Origins, Zeschuk has since dedicated his time to telling the story of America's flourishing craft beer scene, and the passionate people that make it what it is.The result of his efforts, a documentary webseries called The Beer Diaries, premiered its first episode at Austin's Alamo Drafthouse earlier this week. We caught up with Dr. Zeschuk that morning to talk about, among other things, pairing beer with games.
WoW Brewmaster: Dumping Ziebart into a glass bottle
Work Warning: No cursing or nudity or sex or anything like that. But this is a column about beer and brewing, so that's somewhat an adult theme. When last we left our noble brew, I'd just talked a bit off the top about how I was making Ziebart Stout. Long story made short: I was brewing a relatively basic oatmeal stout but putting some Scotch in it. The Basics Let's talk first to the totally new folks. The ones who know WoW Insider is writing about brewing beer, and wants to get involved in their own Pandaren hijinks. After all, if we can do it... so can you! (I'm not being snarky. Seriously, trusting me around open flame is a little like trusting your lasagna to Garfield.) How tough is extract brewing? It's not. If you can navigate a canned soup recipe, you can handle extract brewing. Assuming you arm up with the basic supplies, all of which can be had relatively inexpensively, the entire process is mostly about thoroughly cleaning and watching a timer. The step-by-step works something like this.
Arduino Kegerator hack checks in your homebrews on Untappd
Quite possibly the two greatest things in the world -- beer and Arduino -- have been married once again in a hack does them both justice. Accomplished maker and alcohol enthusiast Jeff Karpinski turned a spare Uno and an Ethernet shield into a gadget that automatically checks him in on Untappd. The build is connected to his kegerator through a hall-effect flow sensor that sits in his tap lines. Every time he pulls himself a pint of homebrew, the Aruino makes an API call to the so-called Foursquare for beer nerds, and updates his profile. Obviously, publishing to the site every time the keg is tapped could get messy, so there's an automatic five minute time out to avoid getting repeat hits just for topping off. There's also a button that manually engages the five minute lock out, allowing Jeff to pour his buddies a cold one without claiming the drink for himself on Untappd. And updating is a snap thanks to the simple web server that's integrated. Changing what beer is on tap in the API call is as simple as opening a web browser. Interested in upgrading your own kegerator? Check out the source link for complete instructions and a parts list.
The MMO Report: Shut up and take my money
This week on The MMO Report, Casey cheers for the Double Fine Kickstarter effort, MechWarrior Online's first gameplay footage, and Guild Wars 2's preorder bonuses. "Shut up and take my money," he commands ArenaNet. He also heckles TERA for its new level cap and discusses Star Wars: The Old Republic's free play weekend before getting a bit confused about just how World of Warcraft's revamped scroll of resurrection works (it does not, in fact, work on fresh accounts). The Beard ends with a dip into the mailbag and a geeky commercial that involves "8bit animation, puppets, and beer" and must be seen to be believed. And you can do so after the break!
Runner2 development fueled by 744 beers (so far)
How do I know? I consulted the "beer count" note on the title screen of the in-progress build I played. Gaijin Games has implemented a counter to track the number of beers drank by the team during development of Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien. Eventually, it'll be automated -- and keeping track live even after the game is released -- but for now it's a manually updated spreadsheet."We have a whole system," co-director Alex Neuse told me. "We have a spreadsheet; we're thinking of developing an iPhone app just to use internally. Then if you drink wine or something, we have a conversion, so it converts it to beers for the beer count." There was talk of a bottle opener that automatically logs every cap it opens.At this point I began to think that I was being told a very fanciful tale about programmers drinking programmatically, but Neuse assured me otherwise. "We are completely serious about this. This is a real thing."
Ring in the new year with Warhammer Online's Keg End
Amidst the news of server merges, Warhammer Online fans could probably use something to celebrate, something to lift the spirits a bit. So it's fortunate that the annual Keg End celebration is just around the corner, giving everyone a chance to get drunk and rowdy even by the already aggressive status of the world's inhabitants. Running from December 14th until January 4th, Keg End is a chance to celebrate in style in the Dwarven tradition. The rewards for the event haven't changed much this year, with the usual assortment of Party Kegs, Keg Taps, and Battlebrew Backpacks. There are giants roaming the field looking for their own ale and a handful of sporting battles, and there are plenty of special drinks to be sampled just for the event. So get yourself ready to log in tomorrow and take a nice roll through fields filled with blood, beer, and battle. Especially beer.
The Road to Mordor: Party planning committee, assemble!
Considering that Fellowship of the Ring begins with a huge party -- thrown in honor of Bilbo Baggins' eleventy-first birthday -- I think it's appropriate that Lord of the Rings Online is conducive to parties. I'm not just talking about dev-designed festivals, although those are great; I'm referring to parties that the community whips up from time to time. Part of the appeal of LotRO to me is that it isn't just all about killing and leveling; it's also about exploring and living in this virtual Middle-earth. Life for the Free Peoples means celebrating even in the midst of oppressive evil, and it's in keeping with the spirit of the enterprise to throw a shindig now and then. Turbine's given us quite a few tools and resources to use when assembling a party, and I thought that today we'd take an unusual detour from the Road to Mordor and go through the steps of throwing a memorable and enjoyable soirée. Ready to cut loose? Footloose? Good! Let's tear up the dance floor!
Untappd releases iOS app, out now
As you may already know, I am a big fan of the hops, barley and yeast drink that's the world's oldest alcoholic beverage -- that's right, beer. And I've always been intrigued by the idea of Untappd, a social network built around sharing and discussing all of the various varieties and microbrews of beer out there. But of course no social network is complete without a mobile app that allows users to update while out and about, and that's exactly what Untappd's new iOS app does. You can of course track and rate the various beers you're drinking and buying, and because it's all social, friends can see what you're tasting and share what they're tasting as well. Everything is of course geotagged (so you and a group can conquer the same bar's draughts, even if you're not there all together), and there are even badges to earn in the app itself. I'm sure a lot of badges were earned this weekend at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. I really like the look and feel of the app, and while we've seen this kind of thing tried before, Untappd seems to have another thing all strong social networks need: an actual network of people to follow. If you're also a fan of the pint and the brew, definitely check it out.
No comment: WWDC wristbands
We're pretty sure that these are for WWDC attendees who will be at the annual beer bash tonight, and not meant to be attached to devices that are loaded with REDACTED (iOS 5)... Somebody at Apple has a very good sense of humor. Overheard at WWDC: "How do I know if I'm drunk enough to wear it?" "As long as you can still redactulate, you're fine..." Thanks to everyone who sent in a photo, especially @shnhrrsn who volunteered his arm for this photo shoot.
London Apple fans can watch the WWDC keynote and drink beer
That's it. I'm moving to London. The London Mac User Group is meeting up at the Wood Marylebone NW1 Pub at 17:45 BST on Monday to watch the WWDC keynote, which sounds like a wonderful idea to me. What could be better than quaffing a pint or two, listening to "one more thing" from Steve Jobs, playing Keynote Rumor Bingo, and sitting down to a plate of curry? To find out more about the festivities, visit the London Mac User Group Facebook page or go directly to the event listing here to RSVP. If anyone else is planning on a keynote watching party, use our handy new "Tip Us" button to let us know about it. And if you need a place to watch the keynote all by your lonesome, don't worry -- we at TUAW will be covering it and all of the news from it as usual, so you can come join us. A tip of the TUAW bowler hat to Steve N.
Lord of the Rings Online anniversary bringing double XP, beer
The 2011 version of Lord of the Rings Online's Spring Festival may have passed into legend, but hope remains for Hobbits, Men, and fair folk when it comes to having a good time in the month of April (OK, Dwarves are invited too). Beginning this weekend, Turbine is offering double XP on monster kills to celebrate LotRO's four-year anniversary (yes it has been that long) as well as a number of events designed to put even the grumpiest denizens of Middle-earth in a festive mood. In addition to featuring horse races, new cosmetic items, and anniversary tokens galore, the event marks the return of the much-loved beer fight -- sorry, the Battle for Glorious Beer -- wherein players are tasked with clubbing their fellows around an ale-soaked arena in Thorin's Hall. The official LotRO website has a few details, as do the folks at A Casual Stroll to Mordor. The celebration runs from April 19th through May 2nd, while the double XP event runs from April 21st to the 24th. You can check out some new anniversary shots in our gallery below. %Gallery-9579%
The Gamerator: An arcade cabinet with a built-in tap and refrigerator
What's better than having absolute, unrestricted access to two of life's greatest pleasures? We'll tell you: When both of those pleasures are combined into a single, brilliant machine. The Custom Bar Guys have created just such a mash-up with The Gamerator: An arcade cabinet that contains a refrigerated chamber, in which you can store a pony keg of your favorite beer. You can hook said keg up to a built-in tap, and enjoy a frosty beverage while playing one of the machine's 100 emulated arcade classics. We guess you could enjoy several beverages, though after a while, that's going to throw off your Sinistar game. It will run you $3,500, which is a substantial sum of money. However, we're talking about an arcade cabinet with cupholders and a built-in tap, upon which you can actually play Root Beer Tapper. We dare you to find a better way to spend three-and-a-half Gs.