DailyDirt: Smarter Soda Machines

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Water fountains have improved somewhat over the years, but soda machines are really getting quite advanced. Not just limited to refrigerating sugary beverages, these vending machines are going to start tracking consumer behavior and offering some entertainment along with a frosty refreshment. Here are just a few examples of high-tech vending machines trying to connect with customers to sell more soft drinks.

• A Coca-Cola vending machine in South Korea will dispense free Cokes if you dance for your drink. The machine uses a Kinect controller and promises not to make fun of your Gangnam-style moves. [url]
• Intel has demoed a Coke machine that uses one of its Core i7 processors so that it can handle a giant touchscreen interface with interactive videos. Hopefully, the blue screen of death won't inconvenience too many thirsty patrons. [url]
• Vending machines are going to start telling you how many calories are in the beverages they sell. Pretty soon, these machines will also start guessing your BMI and suggesting diet sodas... [url]
• The Coca-Cola Hug Machine was dispensing free drinks to people who hugged the vending machine. Getting to first base with the soda machine didn't offer any additional benefits. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

Filed Under: beverages, kinect, pop, soda, vending machines
Companies: coca cola, intel

DailyDirt: I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing...

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

The Cola Wars have been over for a long time. As usual in war, there are no real winners -- just a lot of wasted spending. Now that we're giving peace a chance, here are just a few lingering concerns over these dark-colored soft drinks.

• Coca-Cola and Pepsi are going to modify their recipes a little bit to reduce the amount of caramel coloring and 4-methylimidazole in their colas. Otherwise, a California law would require a cancer warning label since the 4-methylimidazole in the coloring is a known carcinogen. [url]
• There was a fairly complex conspiracy theory behind the introduction of New Coke which suggested that Coca-Cola knew how badly the new formulation would taste to consumers, but that the company made it in order to replace sugar with HFCS. Bonus points for definitively debunking this conspiracy theory... [url]
• If you've ever seen a demonstration of a can of cola dissolving teeth, you might be a bit freaked out by the phosphoric acid listed in the ingredients of many sodas. But the dose makes the poison, and the concentration of phosphoric acid in soft drinks shouldn't worry anyone. [url]
• To discover more food-related links, check out what's floating around in StumbleUpon. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

Filed Under: cancer, caramel, coke, cola wars, formulation, phosphoric acid, poison, soda, teeth
Companies: coca-cola, pepsi

DailyDirt: Some People Drink Pepsi, Some People Drink Coke...

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

There are a lot of different soft drinks targeting nearly every conceivable market. It's almost amazing that potable water is generally free, and there's still a multi-billion dollar industry for non-alcoholic beverages. What are they putting in water that people just can't get enough of? Here are just a few examples.

• If you want to make your own do-it-yourself sodas, there are a bunch of home carbonation systems that'll add some CO2 to whatever kind of water you like. Maybe OpenCola will get popular with the kids again. [url]
• A new type of soft drink comes in an aerosol-powered bottle and sprays an orange-flavored foam. If only this were a more popular beverage, there might be a pepper-spraying cop remix for it... [url]
• Ever wonder why people use Kool-Aid as a mixer for all kinds of drugs? Spoilers: It's cheap. It's an easily mixed powder that can be adjusted for taste. It's brightly colored to mask other ingredients. It has no known interactions with medicines. And there's one more reason... [url]
• To discover more food-related links, check out what's floating around in StumbleUpon. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

Filed Under: carbonation, drinks, foam, mixer, soda
Companies: coke, kool-aid, pepsi

DailyDirt: Do You Want To Sell Sugar Water For The Rest Of Your Life?

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

The famous Pepsi Challenge was reportedly introduced by John Sculley, but despite the conclusion that more people prefer Pepsi, Coke still seems to outsell Pepsi in most (not all!) parts of the world. The original formulas for both colas seem to be in the public domain, but copycat colas haven't exactly caught on. Here are a few other drinks that have a long way to go before getting into a cola war.

• A moonlighting chemist makes some unique soda flavors when he's not developing prescription drugs. Sounds more legit than developing recreational drugs in his spare time... [url]
• Dr. Pepper doesn't want you to drink Dr. Pepper with real sugar in it. No more Dublin Dr Pepper if it wins its lawsuit. [url]
• There may be a new category of beverage that is not quite hard or soft -- containing synthetic alcohol. And it won't be reserved just for Starfleet officers anymore. [url]
• To discover more food-related links, check out what's floating around in StumbleUpon. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

Filed Under: alcohol, drinks, soda, synthale, synthehol
Companies: coca-cola, dr pepper, kickstarter, pepsi