Trick Or Treat Or Treetr? New App Handles Your Halloween

Can a classic holiday tradition be improved with a little bit of futurism?  That may be the case tonight when a new candy-canvassing app, Treetr, gives you a battle plan to NOT hit the streets.  That's right, all the fun and freakiness of Halloween night ramblings can now be outsourced, via an app.

It's like having your own personal candy concierge.
(Image courtesy twitter.com.)

As parodied by vice.com, the Treetr app (available for iPhone and Android) is "Halloween, simplified."  A network of costumed Treetr delivery men will tour the town in your place, gathering goodies and delivering them back to you for a fee.

According to Treetr's Twitter (@TreetrApp),  over 10,000 delivery-ghouls nationwide will suit up to snag you sweets.  No word on whether they'll make sure there's no razor blades or poison in the stash, and no, you cannot tip them by pawning off all your unwanted Whoppers and Raisinets.

So if you want to stay extremely, boringly, lazily safe this Halloween, hire out the haunting via Tweetr.  For every other spooky celebrant on the streets, best of luck and enjoy your sugary stroll!

Just remember what happens to people who get too greedy for candy, Treetr users!
(Image courtesy pinterest.com.)

New App Scores You Great Restaurant Reservations (But Finding A Dinner Date Is Still Up To You)

There are a host of concierge-esque apps out there already, but sometimes you just want the one that's the butler with the black tie.  Now, a new app that has launched in New York, Boston, and L.A. is able to score you seats at the hottest eateries...all you have to do is be a little flexible.

According to travelandleisure.com, the new Reserve app was created by the inventors of Uber, to revolutionize your dining experience in much the same way they have turned random drivers into your personal chauffeurs.  Simply enter the desired reservation time, date, and party size, and Reserve scans for spots that'll satisfy.  Results that interest you will be updated in availability by text.

Reserve's ability to infiltrate the upper echelon of excellent eateries is aided by their request that your timeframe be somewhat flexible.  If you enter the option that you'd like to dine between 8 and 9:30 PM, the restaurants can better plan how to seat and serve all of their patrons, and can anticipate how to react most efficiently when they can assemble the best possible schedule.  This allows you to get into top-shelf spots without worrying that you're not cool enough to dine at the "right" time...they've got your info, and they'll let you know.

Helpful photos let you decide by decor, if that's more your style.
(Image courtesy reserve.com.)

You can even use Reserve to handle your bill beforehand, if you don't want there to be a fight over the check.  Credit card and tipping info can all be entered during the booking process, and a summary (along with a $5 booking fee) will simply be sent to your smartphone after the meal.  Things like your profile picture can help elevate service immediately onsite (you could feel like a pseudo-celebrity when you're recognized on arrival.)

Reserve is available for download here.  Other cities including San Francisco, Chicago, Washington D.C., and London are soon to be added to their well-curated culinary list.  Let technology worry about handling your reservations.  You just go handle the decoding of what you're going to wear.  And talk about.  And drink.  And food items to pronounce correctly in French...

You only want the best seats at the finest restaurant if you're going to indulge in serious culinary craziness, like fugu sushi.
(Image courtesy radiotimes.com.)

McRobots: Fast Food To Become Automated?

Some people worry about immigrants taking jobs from citizens.  Others know that the next big threat to employment might not be found in different humans, but similar robots.  That's right, automated androids might be serving you Big Macs in the near future.

This is already a thing in Japan (of course.)

As reported by aei-ideas.org, the time has come for robots to replace humans for repetitive, easily-customizable customer service work.  Ordering by touchscreen isn't just for internet goodies anymore - it'll soon be a fast-food feature.  Can full automation be far behind?  With food service workers currently campaigning for an unlikely $15/hour (when Obama can't even cajole the minimum wage up to $10.10), a company like McDonalds may be inclined to roll with robots from a cost perspective alone.  Robots don't need smoke breaks, bathroom breaks, meals or vacation (to say nothing of lawsuits and strikes.)

They ARE good at organizing...their messages are tough to follow, though.

The Wall Street journal confirmed this, saying, "By the third quarter of next year, McDonald’s also plans to fully roll out new technology in some markets to make it easier for customers to order and pay digitally and to give people the ability to customize their orders, part of what the company terms the “McDonald’s Experience of the Future” initiative." Automating the ordering, if not the production process, will be the first step in the switch. The company has already rolled out "ordering kiosks" in various locations such as Vienna, Austria, according to Forbes.

While McDonald's is (unfortunately) not yet busy hiring MIT to make them a burger-bot Terminator that cooks fries with its laser eyes, many food-prep devices already exist (including for the major food groups of burritos and pizza.)  Can automated Happy Meals be far behind? And what will become of the McD's fry jockeys then? If they all lose their jobs, be sure not to send them to a bar helmed by robot mixologists like Monsieur. Because that could easily spark a neo-Luddite fervor, if not the beginnings of an android apocalypse (okay, food service robots can't fight back, but they can burn your pizza or put pickles on your burger, and that's nearly just as bad, right?)

To be fair, the McBots have been warning us about this since the 1980s.
(Image courtest dailytech.com.)

Devices Slinging Slices: Fresh 90-Second Pizza Vending Machines Firing Up Soon

In today's immediate-gratification culture, it often seems like a race to obtain everything we "need" as quickly as possible.  Things that used to be worth a wait might now sometimes be sidelined for instantaneous happiness, no matter how fleeting that exchanged-for sensation may ultimately be.  However, some innovations have been made that allow for speedy and significant satiation.  One device that may achieve this is the Pizzabox.

According to cnet.com, the Pizzabox is a new type of vending machine that serves up a fresh 10" pie in only 90 seconds.  Their proprietary 800-degree oven (NOT a microwave) bakes the pies from non-frozen scratch, yielding crispy crusts and stretchably melty cheese.  Optional pepperoni, as well as seasonings like red pepper and oregano, plus utensils and wet-naps are included.  Full pies cost a cool $5.  According to businessinsider.com, a sausage-and-egg "breakfast pizza" is an option to start your day (or conclude your night of partying.)  No word yet on whether you can live dangerously and add pineapple, anchovies, or other roommate-repelling toppings.

Should the electronic chef get something wrong with your order, you can video-chat live with customer service operatives directly through an onboard screen in the Pizzabox machine.  Like many device and services that modern technology tries to tout, the pizza machine of the future wants you to be happy.

Not having to deal with any weird humans makes the pizza-procuring experience even better.
(Image courtesy cellartours.com.)

The Pizzabox was created by parent company The Box Brands, whose brainchild Burritobox is a similar device specializing in Mexican fare.  While already making the rounds of various conferences for demonstrations, Pizzabox is likely to be released for the masses in 2015.  Prospective initial locations include airports, and colleges like the University of Southern California (machine-made munchies, dude!)  The Box Brands' founder Denis Koci said, "We are initially launching it as the first-ever drive-through pizza experience."

Will it outdo the elderly Italian dudes down your street? Probably not. Will it provide a satisfying snack on the go? Likely way better than soggy fries and tragic fast-food burgers. For fast-paced food-fuel that almost seems like a real meal, the Pizzabox could be a slice of instant gratification that will have you sending your regards to the robot chef.

The only thing it doesn't do is dope dough-tossing tricks.
(Image courtesy hozpitality.com.)

'Bots And Bottles: Robo-Bartender "Monsieur" Could Be Worth A Shot

You step into your favorite local watering hole, nodding at the regulars.  You sit down on your usual stool and are greeted by a nondescript black box with a screen interface and a small compartment on the bottom that holds a cup.  The screen depicts a cozy candle-lit pub in rural Ireland.  You're actually in New York, but that doesn't matter.  You swipe the screen and suddenly you're in Costa Rica at a beach bar.  Another swipe, you're in Finland in an ice cave, where vodka bottles are frozen into the bar.  Another swipe and you're in a Kentucky honky-tonk.

You tap the screen, selecting from scrolling menus with options of shots, cocktails, martinis, drinks neat or on the rocks.  Various flavor profiles like "bitter", "sour", "tropical" and "refreshing" are also there to choose from.  Touching the button for "bourbon" then another for "highball", the machine starts to buzz and fizz, and in an instant, your beverage sits before you.  You take a sip, smiling as the day's worries slough off like a file deleted and a recycling bin emptied.  You raise your glass in toast to the robot bartender, offering thanks.  You haven't had to talk to anyone until this point, when you chose to.

"Excellent as always, Monsieur."

If this seems weird to you, congratulations, you're another citizen who isn't ready for robots to take over commonplace human jobs.  However, the mixological option has now been made manifest by Monsieur, a new startup robotic project that replaces your friendly neighborhood shot-slinger with an impartial and boringly accurate robot.

According to techcrunch.com, Monsieur is the boozy brainchild of two Georgia scientist/engineers who were fed up with long waits for drinks at popular bars, and decided that manufacturing a saucy service wench (or, if you prefer, seasoned sommelier) was a viable alternative.  The Monsieur is capable of serving a variety of mixed or straight drinks, tracking your intake, cutting you off, and basically doing everything short of throwing you out of the bar when you've started slapping it trying to break into its Jagermeister stash.  

Another feature of the Monsieur is remote ordering (via your phone), so you can have that next round of Kamikaze shots ready and waiting for you at the bar while you divebomb your way across the dancefloor.  Or if you're sitting pretty someplace super fancy, your own private Monsieur could be your bottle service valet for the evening.  Perhaps if you find yourself overseas in a foreign land, you can scroll through the hotel bar's Monsieur in your desired language and be sure you haven't ordered the local camel-milk White Russian-Province.

"We swear it's not made with too much antifreeze, comrade...drink up!"
(Image courtesy gct.com.)

With 1,000 units on track to ship, Monsieur is no longer a garage project (even though it literally was created in co-inventor Barry Givens' parents' garage.)  You could be spotting these 'bots in all sorts of locations soon (pro tip: there is a setting that adjusts the pour on your drink from regular to "boss.")   No word on whether they have a "wildly inappropriate dirty jokes" or "wingman to help me meet that hottie down the bar" feature available yet.  

Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name...and of course Monsieur will.  It's in his programming.  He'll listen to everything you have to cry about, although he won't really have any wise life advice to offer you in return.  But for those who just want booze at the touch of a button, Monsieur will be honored to serve you.

Remember, you cannot hit on it, literally or figuratively, to try to score a heavier pour.
(Image courtesy kickstarter.com.)

E-Pubcrawl: Two Alcohol Apps To Slake Your Thirst

In New York City and the Hamptons, there always seems to be a party going on somewhere. Why not make it your place? Now, thanks to a new app, you won't even have to hit the liquor store.

Meet Minibar Delivery, a delivery service that promises alcohol delivery in Manhattan (under 96th street) and some of Brooklyn, all inside an hour. Their app is available for iOS and Android, meaning you could bypass the after-work happy hour gauntlet entirely, send an alcohol order from the subway and be ready to meet your whiskey deliveryman by the time you got home. Sure, it might not be as fun as hitting up your nearest pub, but if you need extra party supplies and simply can't eschew your hosting duties, now the traditional "beer run" runs to you!

Minibar Delivery's cofounder Lara Crystal told venturebeat.com, “Basically we saw a huge market that has not been successfully brought online...A lot of people have loyalty to spirits but not necessarily to brands.” Your loyalty plus their legwork equals good times.

The Minibar Delivery service is not to be confused with the app of the near-same name, which offers excellent bartending advice ("mixology" for you fancy-tini drinkers.) This Minibar app ("A world of cocktails in your pocket") provides detailed recipes including mixing techniques, proper glassware instructions, and even facts about the origins and ingredients of the cocktails. Rated a "new and noteworthy" 5 stars from Macintosh and said to "outclass every other cocktail app in every aspect" by Beautiful Pixels, the Minibar can give you ideas for everything from punches for parties to a classic cocktail to try the next time you get bored at your local bar.

Cheers!

Don't want anyone catching you buying cupcake-flavored vodka?  Problem solved.