<nettime> Java Toaster prints weather forecast

["nettime's_roving_reporter" <nettime@bbs.thing.net>]

     [via felix stalder <stalder@fis.utoronto.ca>]

Java Toaster prints weather forecast
By: Andrew Orlowski in San Francisco
Posted: 30/03/2001 at 18:02 GMT
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/archive/18016.html

An ingenious British student may have prevented the oft-cited Internet
Toaster going the same way as the Flying Car.

Robin Southgate, a final year Industrial Design student at Brunel
University has designed a unit that grabs the weather forecast, and burns
it onto a piece of bread. Mark One doesn't reproduce the full glory of
weather maps - such as isobars and cold fronts - on your toast just yet,
and instead displays an appropriate symbol: a cloud, sun or raindrop. But
it's seamless and doesn't take any longer than a regular, or dare we say
'legacy' toaster.

The unit makes use of an embedded Java device from Dallas Semiconductors
called TINI, Robin tell us, with the imaging being performed by dropping a
heat resistant PTFE mask in front of the heating elements about 30 seconds
before it's due to pop up. He taught himself Java to produce the device,
which contributes to his final year project.

A high resolution version using an element matrix version was ruled out
only because it would draw more than 13 amps, more than a domestic plug can
handle. However a different choice of parts could make this feasible.

"Using a matrix we can get a display resolution of 11 by 11, which would
give us a few isobars, or the temperature - there's enough room for four
readable characters," says Robin. The toaster dials a freephone number,
which uses a cached weather forecast. Any bread* will do he says.

<....>

It also alas, probably closes the door on the last advertising free zone we
know. If bread is the new display device, it won't be too long before it
becomes the latest billboard.�

For pictures: http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/2/19442.html

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