Register | Sign In


Understanding through Discussion


EvC Forum active members: 65 (9162 total)
5 online now:
Newest Member: popoi
Post Volume: Total: 915,808 Year: 3,065/9,624 Month: 910/1,588 Week: 93/223 Day: 4/17 Hour: 1/1


Thread  Details

Email This Thread
Newer Topic | Older Topic
  
Author Topic:   Saying Goodbye to Keurig
Percy
Member
Posts: 22389
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


(1)
Message 1 of 46 (889949)
12-17-2021 4:04 PM


There are two appliances I'm very attached to that both became famous. One is TiVo, which did not become ubiquitous, and the other is Keurig, which did.
I don't know why TiVo didn't become more successful right from its beginning at the end of the 1990's, but it didn't. I like it a lot. Eventually they got bought by Xperi which is now working much harder licensing the technology to others than they are improving the TiVo box, and the latest incarnation is the first to take a solid step backwards by changing the famously wonderful user interface.
But it doesn't matter because the product category has run its course anyway. There's no longer a need for TiVos. In the day it was wonderful having your shows recorded and organized in nice lists that you could watch whenever you wanted. If you really liked a show or movie you could save it forever. I still have the TiVo recordings of the last two Patriots Super Bowl wins and all the seasons of The Good Place.
But now there's no need for this recording capability as long as you're willing to pay for streaming. Want The Good Place? All four seasons are on Apple TV. Want to watch M*A*S*H from season one on? It's on Hulu. And so forth. I use my current TiVo far less than I did the first.
Keurig has traveled a similar path of providing gradually diminishing satisfaction. I first encountered Keurig in the workplace, again around the end of the 1990's, and as soon as it became available for the home we got one. We bought tons of K-Cups, and since we were both working and could afford it, and since we're not coffee aficionados, we were very happy. Our first wore out after some years so we bought another, and then I took one to work (because work had stopped providing free Keurig coffee) and we bought another for the home.
And then I retired and we decided to economize and stop buying K-Cups, which cost 50 to 75 cents each. They had always promised they'd get cheaper, but they never did. We decided to instead buy ground coffee and use reusable K-Cups. We found ground coffee we liked that only cost 5 to 10 cents a cup (remember, we're not coffee aficionados - we're not picky).
And then the old Keurig failed and we bought a new one. The new one had a new "feature" - it could detect when you weren't using a genuine Keurig approved K-Cup. Some reusable K-Cup manufacturers made versions that could fool the new Keurigs, so we were still happy, though the new Keurig could be a bit picky about them. If they weren't positioned exactly right or if the top was wet or if the sensor got dirty the Keurig would reject them with a fairly friendly but after too many times very annoying "Oops" message.
We finally had enough when the seal for the needle that sticks through the top of K-Cup started to leak. It wasn't exactly the seal that was the last straw, but a new seal can only be had on E-Bay for $37, and we feared buying a new Keurig and finding that the latest generation is even more picky about the K-Cups it allows. So last week we bought a Cusinart K-Cup brewer and it works great. It doesn't care what kind of K-Cup you use. So goodbye to Keurig. It was a nice run, but you wore out your welcome.
--Percy

Replies to this message:
 Message 2 by dwise1, posted 12-17-2021 4:57 PM Percy has seen this message but not replied
 Message 3 by Tanypteryx, posted 12-17-2021 8:13 PM Percy has replied
 Message 4 by ramoss, posted 12-19-2021 1:44 AM Percy has seen this message but not replied
 Message 10 by Stile, posted 12-21-2021 11:26 AM Percy has seen this message but not replied
 Message 23 by Minnemooseus, posted 12-23-2021 1:35 AM Percy has replied

  
dwise1
Member
Posts: 5930
Joined: 05-02-2006
Member Rating: 5.8


(1)
Message 2 of 46 (889950)
12-17-2021 4:57 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by Percy
12-17-2021 4:04 PM


I've never owned a TiVo, though my Spectrum DVR serves that purpose.
During the pandemic lockdown, I've stockpiled a number of movies that I want to rewatch (and delete afterwards) and some that I want to keep (eg, "The Big Short", "In Harm's Way". "Forbidden Planet", Classic New Doctor Who like "Blink" and "The Girl in the Fireplace"). Though of course the moment your box malfunctions and you need to replace it, then those recordings are all gone. But then if you had a TiVo and it failed, wouldn't the same thing have happened?
Plus, if you are relying on a streaming services always supplying you your shows, what about that incredible show, Sherlock, which is now only available for sale at $2 per episode? Streaming services are ephemeral. There are epic foreign movies I want to refer my friends to, but they are now no longer on Netflix.
As for Keurig (for which I only use the, to me personally, properly Germanic pronunciation which differs entirely from the common English who the hell knows where they got that from? rendering), I've never used it to my knowledge -- CAVEAT!!. My friend opposed the very idea as being very environmentally unsound, what with dumping those disposable cartridges, though some versions (eg, ¿Nespresso?) have emphasized recycling.
At home, I use a Bialetti Moka Express -- one time at Total Wine and More I saw a coffee liqueur or the like in a bottle shaped like a Moka pot. Advice to anyone shopping for one, the capacity is in espresso cups, so a "three cup" pot will yield a single 6-7 fluid ounce serving. My friend had given me a drip-coffee setup, but I've never been able to figure it out.
 
As per that CAVEAT above. My sister up in WA has a coffee thingee that might be a Keurig. It was finicky about its feeding tubes or whatever. All I can say is that I am so very glad to not be dependent on coffee.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by Percy, posted 12-17-2021 4:04 PM Percy has seen this message but not replied

  
Tanypteryx
Member
Posts: 4344
From: Oregon, USA
Joined: 08-27-2006
Member Rating: 5.9


Message 3 of 46 (889955)
12-17-2021 8:13 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by Percy
12-17-2021 4:04 PM


We never had a TiVo but our cable company rented us a DVR. I had 2 crash, so watched things I cared about fairly quickly. We switched to a streaming service and it's fine for some things but my biggest complaint is, seasons are as short as 6 episodes now. I assume those are projects with fairly low start up capitol. We adapted, my wife's watching preferences and mine are pretty different, so we each have our own system in different rooms.
We recently signed up on Apple TV so I could watch Foundation. I was disappointed and will probably drop it before the next season.
My sister and my daughter both have those coffee makers with a cartridge one shot thing. I just use a single cup filter holder #2 size and grind French roast beans. 3 minutes to heat the water and a couple more to brew and I'm good.

What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python

One important characteristic of a theory is that is has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie

If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --percy

The reason that we have the scientific method is because common sense isn't reliable. -- Taq


This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by Percy, posted 12-17-2021 4:04 PM Percy has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 5 by Percy, posted 12-19-2021 11:33 AM Tanypteryx has not replied

  
ramoss
Member (Idle past 611 days)
Posts: 3228
Joined: 08-11-2004


(1)
Message 4 of 46 (889974)
12-19-2021 1:44 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by Percy
12-17-2021 4:04 PM


The K-cups also filled the land fill. Huge amount of plastic waste.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by Percy, posted 12-17-2021 4:04 PM Percy has seen this message but not replied

  
Percy
Member
Posts: 22389
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 5 of 46 (889983)
12-19-2021 11:33 AM
Reply to: Message 3 by Tanypteryx
12-17-2021 8:13 PM


Tanypteryx writes:
We recently signed up on Apple TV so I could watch Foundation. I was disappointed and will probably drop it before the next season.
I read the Foundation trilogy in 1965, so while I realize the current Foundation series doesn't follow the books all that closely, I don't recall the books in enough detail to care. It's okay and I'll watch the next season.
Invasion was another on Apple TV whose reach exceeded its grasp, but again it was okay and I'll watch the next season.
I'm looking forward to Westworld season 4, Mrs. Fletcher season 2, Russian Doll season 2, and Upload season 2. I wish The Man in the High Castle hadn't ended. I'm in the middle of The Underground Railroad, but it's harsh and violent and hard to take and I only watch an episode every so often. I keep at it because I do enjoy shows that are done well.
It's very annoying that seasons have declined from 30 episodes to 20 to 10 and 8 and even sometimes 6. Can't they keep a story arc going for more than a few episodes anymore?
--Percy
Edited by Percy, : Add a show.

Edited by Percy, : Typo.


This message is a reply to:
 Message 3 by Tanypteryx, posted 12-17-2021 8:13 PM Tanypteryx has not replied

  
ringo
Member (Idle past 411 days)
Posts: 20940
From: frozen wasteland
Joined: 03-23-2005


(1)
Message 6 of 46 (889995)
12-20-2021 11:34 AM


I download movies at the library onto a flash drive. At home I copy them onto an external hard drive. I currently have almost a thousand movies. Right at this minute I'm downloading The Silver Fleet(1943). Does Netflix have that?
I've had my home computer for more than ten years and it wasn't new when I bought it. It has 2 Gigabytes of RAM and a 40 Gigabyte hard drive.
I have two coffee-makers, a three-cup drip and a one-cup drip. I buy whatever brand of ground coffee is on sale. I have never had a Starbucks coffee.
I have never owned a microwave.
I have only had a bank card for a few years and I only got it because my last employer insisted on online banking. Before that, I never even carried ID - I did all of my banking on my signature alone.
No, I'm not a Luddite. Nor am I a faddist.

"I call that bold talk for a one-eyed fat man!"
-- Lucky Ned Pepper

Replies to this message:
 Message 7 by Percy, posted 12-20-2021 1:00 PM ringo has seen this message but not replied
 Message 8 by dwise1, posted 12-20-2021 2:00 PM ringo has replied

  
Percy
Member
Posts: 22389
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


(2)
Message 7 of 46 (889996)
12-20-2021 1:00 PM
Reply to: Message 6 by ringo
12-20-2021 11:34 AM


ringo writes:
No, I'm not a Luddite. Nor am I a faddist.
No, of course not. You're a Canadian! So was my mother, and she wasn't yet naturalized when I was born, so...hey, countryman! Actually, you have to file to claim your citizenship and I haven't done that.
--Percy

This message is a reply to:
 Message 6 by ringo, posted 12-20-2021 11:34 AM ringo has seen this message but not replied

  
dwise1
Member
Posts: 5930
Joined: 05-02-2006
Member Rating: 5.8


(1)
Message 8 of 46 (889998)
12-20-2021 2:00 PM
Reply to: Message 6 by ringo
12-20-2021 11:34 AM


Right at this minute I'm downloading The Silver Fleet(1943). Does Netflix have that?
I just did a search on my Roku. That movie is on "TV Time", a free streaming service I hadn't heard of before.
They even have Captain Midnight! But still no Navy Log nor Hennesey.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 6 by ringo, posted 12-20-2021 11:34 AM ringo has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 9 by ringo, posted 12-21-2021 10:56 AM dwise1 has replied

  
ringo
Member (Idle past 411 days)
Posts: 20940
From: frozen wasteland
Joined: 03-23-2005


(1)
Message 9 of 46 (890003)
12-21-2021 10:56 AM
Reply to: Message 8 by dwise1
12-20-2021 2:00 PM


dwise1 writes:
But still no Navy Log nor Hennesey.
I remember Hennesy. Jackie Cooper - Little Rascals, Treasure Island, The People's Choice.

"I call that bold talk for a one-eyed fat man!"
-- Lucky Ned Pepper

This message is a reply to:
 Message 8 by dwise1, posted 12-20-2021 2:00 PM dwise1 has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 11 by dwise1, posted 12-21-2021 11:33 AM ringo has replied

  
Stile
Member
Posts: 4295
From: Ontario, Canada
Joined: 12-02-2004


(1)
Message 10 of 46 (890006)
12-21-2021 11:26 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by Percy
12-17-2021 4:04 PM


Pullbacks in the name of the almighty dollar
One I've noticed recently that irks me is the free usage of Adobe Reader.
I recently got a new laptop at work and transferred all my files onto it.
Everything works great, and nice and speedy again.
I open an electrical schematic in PDF form and it opens up in Adobe Reader.
It's an 11x17 drawing, and defaulted to being in portrait mode although it usually viewed in landscape.
Not a problem, I'll just click the little "rotate view" button in Adobe and... it no longer works.
I am, however, welcome to purchase the full version of Adobe in order to access all sorts of things I'll never use or need... and also rotate the view.
Their call, but seems like a low-blow to me.
Poops.
I'm begging, and I want to choose, too!

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by Percy, posted 12-17-2021 4:04 PM Percy has seen this message but not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 13 by Stile, posted 12-21-2021 11:54 AM Stile has seen this message but not replied

  
dwise1
Member
Posts: 5930
Joined: 05-02-2006
Member Rating: 5.8


(1)
Message 11 of 46 (890008)
12-21-2021 11:33 AM
Reply to: Message 9 by ringo
12-21-2021 10:56 AM


In the mid-60's Hennesey was re-run in the afternoons. I had just discovered my father's 1944 Bluejackets Manual and used the show to practice reading the characters' ranks. Decades later in the opening shot of Star Trek: The Next Generation the moment CAPT Picard came into full view I said to myself, "They're just using the same system as ours." Though why O'Brien, who wore the two pips of an LT, would be referred to as a CPO made no sense (after several seasons, they finally came up with a CPO pip (though it could have been CWO) -- Star Trek never did do right by their enlisted).
As for Jackie Cooper's role in Little Rascals, there's that film where he meets their new teacher, Miss Crabapple -- he expects an ugly old woman but she's young and beautiful. That character was the source for the name of Miss Krabappel in The Simpsons.
Another TV show that's MIA is Men Into Space (1959-1960), which was based on USAF plans for space exploration from going to the moon to a Mars mission.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 9 by ringo, posted 12-21-2021 10:56 AM ringo has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 12 by ringo, posted 12-21-2021 11:48 AM dwise1 has not replied

  
ringo
Member (Idle past 411 days)
Posts: 20940
From: frozen wasteland
Joined: 03-23-2005


(1)
Message 12 of 46 (890009)
12-21-2021 11:48 AM
Reply to: Message 11 by dwise1
12-21-2021 11:33 AM


dwise1 writes:
Another TV show that's MIA is Men Into Space (1959-1960)....
I remember that too. We only had one channel at the time.
And I remember the headlines of John Glenn's first orbital flight in 1962.

"I call that bold talk for a one-eyed fat man!"
-- Lucky Ned Pepper

This message is a reply to:
 Message 11 by dwise1, posted 12-21-2021 11:33 AM dwise1 has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 14 by Percy, posted 12-21-2021 12:02 PM ringo has replied

  
Stile
Member
Posts: 4295
From: Ontario, Canada
Joined: 12-02-2004


Message 13 of 46 (890010)
12-21-2021 11:54 AM
Reply to: Message 10 by Stile
12-21-2021 11:26 AM


Re: Pullbacks in the name of the almighty dollar
Ha ha... just figured it out, actually.
The default "rotate" button isn't actually a rotate view button, it's a rotate-and-save-document-as-rotated button. Which has never been available in the free reader, and still isn't.
However, if you dive into the View options, there's still rotate clockwise or counterclockwise options and they still work (because it's just the view, not trying to save the file.)
So... Adobe isn't as bad as I thought they were.
However, they are being pretty sneaky about it

This message is a reply to:
 Message 10 by Stile, posted 12-21-2021 11:26 AM Stile has seen this message but not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 15 by Percy, posted 12-21-2021 12:06 PM Stile has seen this message but not replied

  
Percy
Member
Posts: 22389
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 14 of 46 (890011)
12-21-2021 12:02 PM
Reply to: Message 12 by ringo
12-21-2021 11:48 AM


For decades I've been trying to remember the name of the show with the spaceship that I watched as a kid (we also had one channel in central NH). Nice to finally know. There are a bunch of episodes on YouTube, here's one:
--Percy

This message is a reply to:
 Message 12 by ringo, posted 12-21-2021 11:48 AM ringo has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 16 by ringo, posted 12-21-2021 12:12 PM Percy has seen this message but not replied

  
Percy
Member
Posts: 22389
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


(5)
Message 15 of 46 (890012)
12-21-2021 12:06 PM
Reply to: Message 13 by Stile
12-21-2021 11:54 AM


Re: Pullbacks in the name of the almighty dollar
User interfaces are getting worse and worse not because the designers are sinister cynics but because they're children who grew up in the age of "just keep clicking until something works, don't try to make sense out of it."
Not that I'm cynical...
--Percy

This message is a reply to:
 Message 13 by Stile, posted 12-21-2021 11:54 AM Stile has seen this message but not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 17 by jar, posted 12-21-2021 12:30 PM Percy has seen this message but not replied
 Message 18 by xongsmith, posted 12-21-2021 2:57 PM Percy has seen this message but not replied
 Message 19 by dwise1, posted 12-21-2021 9:19 PM Percy has replied

  
Newer Topic | Older Topic
Jump to:


Copyright 2001-2023 by EvC Forum, All Rights Reserved

™ Version 4.2
Innovative software from Qwixotic © 2024