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Melitta ME1MSB Smart Brew Coffeemaker Shows You Weather Reports

Okay, all you wonks who complained that we had a coffeemaker on the Giz the other day, keep scrolling. Now that the whiny geek is gone, let me tell you about the Melitta ME1MSB Smart Brew Coffeemaker, a 10-cup pot that uses Microsoft SPOT (Smart Personal Objects Technology) to give you almost-live weather data from MSN Direct right there above its button pad.

There's no setup, subscription or Internet connection required—it's all broadcast to you via the FM band. Plus, the coffeemaker automatically grinds and brews that java for you, so you can load it up with beans and water the night before and be greeted with a steamy carafe of that jitter-inducing manna from heaven.

What a great idea, to have a live weather display on a coffeemaker. That's exactly the place you're standing when you're wondering what kind of day it's going to be outside. Spot-on use of SPOT, but you'll pay dearly at $199 when it's available November 15. – Charlie White

Melitta ME1MSB Smart Brew Coffeemaker With MSN Direct [SpotStop]

11:29 AM on Fri Sep 15 2006
By Charlie White
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16 comments

Comments

jfrost2 at 10:43 AM on 09/15/06
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WHY?! People will drink coffee no matter what, rain or shine. Thats so useless.
CalvanchezX. at 10:58 AM on 09/15/06
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WHY?! People like to know what the weather is like when they wake up in the morning or if they have one of these at work and do not know what it is like outside. Thats so useful.
werk at 11:03 AM on 09/15/06
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Actually, I think this is great (for me).

I get up every morning and set up the coffee maker before heading out for my run. It's usually still dark out, so I can't really see if it's raining hard or just drizzling. Plus, I don't want to turn on the TV and wake up my gf or boot up my computer and probably never leave to see what the temp is.

If I can score one for under a bill on sale or something, I will buy one.
huntrm at 11:20 AM on 09/15/06
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Amazing! Westinghouse was making the same exact coffee maker (absent of Spot) and it was available from for $59.95 9 months ago! Funny how one can charge an additional $140+ for Spot technology and unload these coffee makers

http://www.woot.com/Forums/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=293164
Jon R. at 11:20 AM on 09/15/06
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How useless. You can buy a wireless weather station for about $25 and up. I keep one in my bedroom. To put something like this into a coffee maker is a waste of technology. Melitta would be better off applying technology giving us a really outstanding cup of coffee rather than an expensive, mediocre coffeee maker that has completely superfluous technology.
heh3d at 11:22 AM on 09/15/06
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This seems like a perfect candidate for Woot come 6 months from now.
huntrm at 11:35 AM on 09/15/06
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It was a WOOT items 9 months ago; but branded as Westinghouse for $59.95 (sans Spot Technology) - too funny!
The Brain at 12:15 PM on 09/15/06
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I bought the previous version of this from woot because it was insanely cheap and had a blue LCD.

It's a great coffee machine. You pour in beans, it pours out coffee. No filters or anything.

When it goes I'll probably replace it with this one. I'm not sure why they didn't include a FM radio since they already have the receiver though.
jmchez at 12:29 PM on 09/15/06
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Some people want their weather station in the bedroom , some may like theirs in the kitchen. Why would anyone be against choice? If drank regular coffee, I would consider this. It's just that I like a double shot of esspresso or a cup of cafe americano (esppresso diluted in a cup of hot water; it's better tasting than regular).
Brad at 01:35 PM on 09/15/06
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Funny you should mention woot: about a year ago, they offered a unit almost identical to this for sale. The Beyond Smart Mill & Brew Coffee Maker. It required a proprietary WIFI-esque adapter. It bombed in the open market.

This seems only a firmware update: the thing even looks the same.

http://www.woot.com/blog/blogentry.aspx?blogentryid=343
ndokiman at 01:55 PM on 09/15/06
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Wonder if it works in Europe...
dgutes at 03:14 PM on 09/15/06
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I think this thing is frickin' awesome. Would make a great xmas present too. Maybe I'll get one for my folks...since by the time I wake up it's usually mid-afternoon anyway.
Lorne at 03:16 PM on 09/15/06
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Meh... I'd rather pour myself a cup and sit down in front of the computer to check the weather. Who wants to stand in the kitchen and read their coffee-maker?
Besides, the people most likely to buy one of these already have a $5,000 fridge with an on-board TV tuned to the weather channel.
Saboteur at 05:50 PM on 09/15/06
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How long do you think SPOT transmissions will be around? Do you think there will be some SPOT info on the Zune?
TheWeatherMan at 07:33 PM on 10/02/06
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Re: Jon R's comment about it being useless because you can purchase a weather station for less $, he's comparing apple to oranges. Normal weather stations don't provide multi-day weather forecasts, weather alerts, sunrise/set time, air quality, automatic local time, etc. They simply have an outdoor sensor to tell you the current temperature and an internal baramoter to roughly predict the weather over the next several hours. These are really different products.
Jono at 11:07 AM on 01/01/08
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I love mine, don't hate.