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Surprise: The Instant Pot is discounted for Black Friday (again)
Instant Pot deals happen fairly often, but as we'd expect, Instant Pot is offering some of its steepest discounts just in time for Black Friday. Its best offer is $85 off the Instant Pot Ultra 8-quart model. Regularly priced at $180, it's on sale for $95, which according to Camelcamelcamel, is the lowest price yet.
Cows wearing VR headsets might produce better milk
It's not just humans who can benefit from VR. Moscow-area farmers strapped modified VR headsets to cows to see if it improved their mood -- and, of course, their milk production. The project subjected cattle to a simulated summer field with colors tuned for the animals' eyes, giving them a decidedly more pleasing landscape than a plain, confining farm. And yes, the headsets were adapted to the "structural features" of cows' heads so that they could see properly.
Pringles built a ridiculous gaming headset that feeds you chips
When one is deep in the throes of a game, human needs fade into the background until absolutely necessary. So how, then, does a person in that precise moment balance their dual priorities of making in-game progress and managing their hunger? Well, Pringles' answer was to 3D print a slew of components and rig them onto a Razer gaming headset so that a motorized arm swivels into position in front of a player's mouth with a delicate potato crisp perched enticingly upon it.
BioLite’s HeadLamp 330 is listed at its lowest price yet, $40
It isn't just laptops and phones that are getting marked down for Black Friday. Some of our favorite outdoor gear will be discounted, too.
Anova's Nano sous vide bundle is $70 off at Amazon
When it comes to culinary adventures from the comforts of home, sous vide is still very popular. If you haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet, we won't judge, but there are some great deals available at Amazon this week that might tempt you to do so. You could also provide the tool necessary for that aspiring chef on your list to try the cooking method. First, the Anova Precision Cooker Nano is bundled with the company's vacuum sealer for $99. That's typically the price just for the Nano alone, so you're getting the sealer for free. Regularly, the pair would cost you $169. You don't need a vacuum sealer for sous vide, but it does make things easier. Plus, you can use it to package food for freezing and storage.
Jet.com is leaving the fresh grocery delivery game
In 2016, Walmart bought the e-commerce retailer Jet.com for $3 billion. Many saw the move as an attempt to compete with Amazon, and around this time last year, Walmart began offering grocery deliveries through Jet.com to customers in NYC. It planned to expand the service into Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. But just one year later, it's pulling the plug.
Alexa can reorder your go-to Chipotle meal
It just became disconcertingly easy to have Mexican food show up at your door. Chipotle has introduced an Alexa skill that lets you reorder your favorite meals for delivery. If you're fond of a particular burrito bowl, you can have it sent without lifting a finger. You can't start an order from scratch, unfortunately, but it beats having to wade through the mobile app when you're already starving.
Lyft expands Grocery Access Program to Baltimore, Chicago and NYC
This spring, Lyft announced its Grocery Access Program, which provided low-income families in select cities a flat-rate ride to the grocery store. The company's goal is to make healthy food more widely available, charging an average of $2.50 per ride to partnered stores. (Lyft absorbs additional costs up to $16, so drivers have an incentive to participate.) Today, the company announced that the program will expand to serve residents in Baltimore, Chicago and the New York City area.
7-Eleven now offers voice ordering through Alexa and Google Home
For the days that leaving your house to get snacks and supplies is just too unfathomable, there's 7-Eleven delivery. Now, for the days when looking at a screen is equally as taxing, there's 7-Eleven voice ordering.
Weber embraces modern grilling with a WiFi-enabled pellet model
WiFi-enabled pellet grills are having a moment, and rightfully so. They allow you to control and monitor your grill from afar, which is very convenient, especially you're smoking a piece of meat for eight hours or more. Several companies have already jumped on the bandwagon, with Traeger, Rec-Tec, Green Mountain Grills and others all offering models with built-in connectivity. Until now, one of the biggest names in backyard grilling had yet to do the same: Weber. Today, the company is changing that with the introduction of its SmokeFire grills.
Google Maps will help you discover cities by following Local Guides
Google has a new strategy for helping you discover new restaurants: it's getting some of its most active contributors to show you around. The search firm has unveiled a test feature that will let you follow top Local Guides to see where they're going and what they recommend. Tap "follow" and you'll see their recommendations both in the For You tab as well as in the map view. If all goes well, you could find the best place to eat in an unfamiliar city by following a local who knows all the out-of-the-way eateries.
How to hack your holiday meal
I don't think of cooking as a production or a nuisance so much as a sporting event, and holiday meals take the place of the Super Bowl. In our house, my husband Marcus and I train for months, testing out different recipes, techniques and timings so that on the big day no one runs out of steam at 2PM when it's clearly going to take another 10 hours to serve dinner. "Who are you competing against?" a possibly saner person might ask. If it's a potluck, the answer is apparent (everyone). When you're hosting, it becomes an internal sort of competition. In the perfectionist's case you can never really win, even if everyone says they love your slightly burnt pie crust and don't at all mind eating Christmas lamb at midnight.
The popular 8-quart Instant Pot Lux is at its lowest price ever
Instant Pot deals are becoming almost a daily occurrence. But since we're heading into the heart of holiday shopping season, all of them are worth considering for the culinary wizard on your list. Today, Amazon has the Instant Pot Lux 80 8-quart 6-in-1 model for just $55. What's more, that's the best price we've seen on this particular model, which typically costs $80. In fact, it's the lowest price ever on the Lux 80, according to Camelcamelcamel.
Traeger adds Alexa voice control to its line of WiFi-enabled grills
Traeger's WiFi-enabled grills have a lot of handy features that are made possible through wireless connectivity. You can control or monitor the temperature and more remotely, so you don't have to venture outside unless you want to visually inspect your progress. Today, Traeger is taking the connectivity tools a step further by adding voice control through Alexa to its WiFire-equipped grills.
Siri can add items to your Walmart grocery order
Apple users who do their shopping at Walmart might be able to ditch their pen-and-paper grocery lists. Walmart Voice Order is now available in the company's Grocery App for iOS, meaning users can tell Siri to add an item to their cart, building their list until they're ready to pick up the order or have it delivered. The process seems straightforward -- say, "hey Siri, add to Walmart," and list out the items you want. This feature is only in Walmart Grocery app, as opposed the company's more general Walmart Mobile App.
The best gifts for coffee geeks
There are two types of coffee drinkers: people who drink coffee and people who are obsessed with coffee. I fall into the latter category. A few years ago I became friends with a couple roasters while living in Savannah, Georgia, and I've never looked back. I currently have five different methods for brewing coffee in my house (more if you count the multiple pour-over contraptions). It's a serious habit. And I'm not alone. Coffee culture is thriving all over the globe. It's easy to find roasters akin to your favorite local small-batch outfit anywhere in the world. However, there might not always be time to go exploring while traveling, or the people on your list could maybe use an upgrade to their at-home setup. No matter what you're looking for, we have a range options that make great coffee gifts for everyone, including travelers and aspiring coffee pros.
Traeger WiFi grills monitor your wood pellet supply with an $80 sensor
When Traeger debuted its 2019 lineup of grills, one feature reserved for most expensive models is a sensor that will help you avoid "pellet panic." It's a tool that monitors the amount of pellets in the grill's hopper and alerts you when you're running low. Or if you happen to have the grill on while you're at the store, you can check to see if you need to pick up a refill. It can be a handy thing if you're doing longer cooks where you might not be near the grill the entire time. Starting today, Traeger is offering the same feature on the more affordable Pro and Ironwood Series models with an $80 upgrade.
Instacart cuts quality bonuses for couriers
Instacart is still embroiled in pay disputes despite past dramas. Motherboard has learned that Instacart is scrapping a $3 quality bonus it provides to shoppers who receive five-star ratings. The incentive "did not meaningfully improve quality," according to email sent to workers, and will disappear on November 11th. There's no mention of a replacement. The timing is definitely raising concerns among workers, however.
Trump plans to raise the minimum vaping age to '21 or so'
Donald Trump says his administration plans to raise the minimum vaping age to combat the issue of teens using e-cigarettes. "We have to take care of our kids, most importantly, so we're going to have an age limit of 21 or so, but we'll be coming out with something next week very important on vaping," he told reporters.
Juul stops selling mint-flavored vapes
Juul will stop selling mint-flavored vape products in the US. The company says it's pulling mint pods from its website, as well as no longer taking new orders from retailers. As of this article, the company only sells three flavors: Classic tobacco, Virginia tobacco and menthol. Juul says it made the decision based on a study that came out this week that found mint-flavored vapes are popular among middle and high school students in the US. However, the company declined to comment on why it plans to continue selling menthol-flavored vapes when Bloomberg pointed out that the same study found both mint and menthol flavors were popular among youth. The move comes after Juul stopped selling fruit-flavored vapes on its website last month. Echoing a statement he'd made at that time, new Juul CEO (and former tobacco exec) K.C. Crosthwaite said today that "These results are unacceptable and that is why we must reset the vapor category in the U.S. and earn the trust of society by working cooperatively with regulators, Attorneys General, public health officials, and other stakeholders to combat underage use. We will support the upcoming FDA flavor policy and will follow the PMTA process." Earlier today, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) said that the number of vaping-related lung injuries in US is up to 2,051. Cases of vaping-related lung illnesses have come up in 49 states, which, combined with rising use among youths has lead a variety of regulators to look into a ban of vapes -- the Trump Administration is expected to announce a temporary ban on flavored e-cigarettes as soon as this week.