brew() then pour()
I know this is enormously geeky, but I thought I'd post this photo that got forwarded to me by a friend inside Microsoft (I thought it was funny at least -- and some of the lingo is probably best appreciated by fellow msfties who know the pain that is our bug tracking and ticketing system):
These Starbucks machines, imaginatively named iCup, were installed recently to replace the nasty, "cup-o-flavor" drip filter machines we used to have in our company kitchenettes. AFAIK, though, the "i" is a misnomer -- there's nothing "i" about it since there are no connections save for water and electricity. In fact, they are far far from being connected to the Internet and presumably alerting someone of the need for maintenance and/or refilling, if downtime is any indication! There's also something very 1980's about the dot matrix display and blocky progress bar that tells me my coffee is brewing...
Truth be told, I find the coffee that these machines produce fairly awful; barely a step up from what came before, and I find them unpalatable... I tried it twice (the second time to give it a fair go) and I haven't been back for more. Thanks Microsoft for trying, but seriously, this bitter brew is no restorative compared to a good flat white back home in Melbourne! Their saving grace, though: they make a fabulous hot chocolate... Perfect for the winter months...
