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r00t writes:
"Taking a page out of Lexmark playbook, the Keurig company, famous for it's one-cup coffee making system, now comes with new and improved 100% DRM. Apparently, Keurig is upset over re-usable third-party 'coffee pods' which allow the consumer to escape the Keurig throw-away models which carry a retail price 5% to 25% more. Keurig's CEO, Brian Kelly referred to the move as 'game-changing performance.' Perhaps this will finally be the year of Linux on the Coffe Maker?"
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DRM: Coming to a Coffee Maker Near You
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The cost of feathers has risen, even down is up!
(Score: 5, Insightful) by GungnirSniper on Monday March 03 2014, @11:18PM
So a product that is arguably bad for the environment, by creating thousands of single-use plastic cups, is going to get even worse by making the machines that process them obsolete? The benefits are missing from this management-speak:
What does that even mean? Interactive technology meaning more user input? Or some sort of sensor in the K-cup to tell temperature?
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(Score: 5, Interesting) by EvilSS on Monday March 03 2014, @11:24PM
The new pods are recyclable (they pull apart so the paper and plastic are separated). And yea, actually that was what they were advertising: custom brew temps and add-on pods like foam and whatnot.
Personally, I'll stick with my keurig 1.0. I bought it BECAUSE the patents were expiring and 3rd party K-Cups were coming on the market.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by hemocyanin on Tuesday March 04 2014, @07:46AM
You know what is better than recyclable? Not making the waste in the first place.
Recycling is great, but remember that there is lost energy at every step: making the cups and paper (let's just skip the whole extraction process required to get logs and long chain hydrocarbons) takes energy, moving the cups wastes energy that could be spent on moving actual coffee, then X% of cups get thrown away, which take energy to get to the dump and process, and 100-X% get recycled, which more energy is spent transporting them to a recycling facility, more energy spent on the recycling process, more energy spent on moving the recycled raw materials to a cup manufacturer, which spends more energy making cups, which are then transported to to a coffee filling plant, where they are then moved to a store, then purchased and moved home.
That's a lot of diesel, gasoline, and electricity that gets greenwashed under the label "recyclable". Wasted energy that basically benefits nobody but Keurig.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Tuesday March 04 2014, @01:35PM
Indeed, I'll stick with my Bunn that Ralph left Linda when he died that Linda left me when she died. When it craps out I'll buy a new one, they come with a lifetime warrantee and make great coffee. And the only waste is the coffee can and filter.
And it works with any brand of coffee.
"Nobody knows everything about anything." — Dr Jerry Morton, Journey to Madness
(Score: 2) by VLM on Tuesday March 04 2014, @02:01PM
"Not making the waste in the first place."
The problem is I got mine because its way cheaper and also more environmentally friendly than my wife driving to Starbucks for each $7 coffee. The Keurig has completely broken her of her starbucks habit. It doesn't take very long to pay for itself compared to starbucks and although I don't drink coffee I'm told the Keurig has bean varieties other than burned and extra-burned.
People are going to want a "premium" cup of coffee. Trying to talk them into not wanting a premium cup of coffee isn't happening, caffeine is an addictive drug. You'd have better luck trying to talk smokers into quitting.
(Score: 1) by cykros on Tuesday March 04 2014, @05:37PM
Keurig coffee is only "premium" if you're comparing it to garbage like DD or Starbucks. You have to pretty seriously go out of your way to try to get any worse...even 7-11 has drinkable enough coffee, something I can't say for the first two.
French press or espresso machine is the way to go for making coffee at home if convenience is what you're after. Drip pots aren't exactly rocket science either...
(Score: 3, Insightful) by VLM on Tuesday March 04 2014, @06:40PM
Yes and even 7-11 is more expensive than a Kcup, especially when you factor in a quarter gallon of gasoline or so.
And none of your suggestions make precisely one serving as far as I know (although I'm not a coffee drinker, which is why my wife only needs one serving...)
I don't know of any fundamental reason single serving coffee couldn't be brewed at home using the technology I use for looseleaf tea brewing.
Another interesting discussion point is she claims that the kcups taste vastly better than generic instant, which is what the kcups replaced. This makes sense to me, in that each serving is sealed, but it takes her weeks/months to use up a big instant coffee container so I imagine being an oil containing product it tastes pretty stale after a couple months exposure to air.
Again I'm no coffee drinker but I believe the problem with the espresso maker is capital cost, aside from my wife not liking espresso. Aren't they like $1K, whereas the k brewer was about $100 and both last about 5 years?
(Score: 1) by EvilSS on Tuesday March 04 2014, @05:20PM
You've made the fatal assumption that I actually care about recycling them to begin with. I don't. Just pointing out that they CAN be recycled.
(Score: 1) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday March 04 2014, @06:57PM
You know what is better than recyclable? Not making the waste in the first place.
Indeed,
Reduce -- Reuse -- Recycle
It's in that order on purpose.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by sjames on Tuesday March 04 2014, @03:57PM
So what poor schlep sits there in a mound of garbage all day pulling the paper and plastic apart?
In other words, are any of them actually recycled in practice?
(Score: 2, Interesting) by EvilSS on Tuesday March 04 2014, @05:17PM
The same poor schlep that hauls your garbage out to the curb. You pull them apart as you discard them into your recycling. The Vue pods (Kuerig's new system) have a tab you pull.
(Score: 1) by sjames on Tuesday March 04 2014, @05:27PM
So not a lot of recycling going on?
Some individuals probably do, especially if they happen to live somewhere that actually picks up recycling, but I'm guessing that percentage is low in office environments.
(Score: 1) by sjames on Tuesday March 04 2014, @03:54PM
Your bank balance gets a bit more interactive with their bottom line.