Cory Doctorow posts on tethering… using technology to leash you to a particular product [read, blades for your razor, music for your iPod, or coffee for your pod machine. You knew there had to be coffee here somewhere, right?] The root of the post links to a spiffy editorial from the author of The Anarchist in the Library:
“So we looked on with enthusiasm at the new pressurized personal coffee makers. They push hot water through a sealed “pod” filled with a precise measure of coffee. It was neat, slick, well-designed, and promised a strong, good, dependable dose. It’s the same technology that supplies those surprisingly good coffee available from coin machines in public spaces in Europe.After a half-hour of debating the pros and cons of such a radical “format shift,” we left without one of these cool new machines. We opted out because these specialized “pods” are essentially “tethered” to this brand of coffee maker. “
The argument runs parallel to prior posts within these pages on the Senseo and its extremely limited coffee offerings, and not a single socially responsible coffee among them.
August 1, 2004 at 9:44 pm
I got one of those Melitta coffee pod things for Christmas, and thought it wa a gimmick. Two days later, I got thrown off a horse and broke my right arm. It turns out that the coffee pod machines are great for people with a broken arm.
Yes, it would be more socially responsible if they set up a shop in Central America to employ people making the pods, but for a handicapped person, they sure are great.
August 2, 2004 at 10:43 am
Thanks for the note!
I hope I’m making it clear that I don’t discount the convenience factor here… as you note, with these pod machines you can make coffee with one hand tied behind your back [or in a cast, for that matter.]
My real sticking point is about *choice*. I don’t care to be locked into any one roaster’s coffee… I’d like to sample coffee from my local shop, as well as this or that nifty purveyor of roasted beans I might find online. Finally, I like to be able to put my money where my mouth is, and buy sustainable and socially responsible coffees when I can.
Best,
-deCadmus
August 28, 2004 at 10:50 pm
just a thought on the pod. I am wondering if they make the makings of the pod for individuals to put together for using the good coffee.
September 21, 2004 at 12:01 am
A reuseable filter is available for purchase at http://www.knivesandtools.com for the Senseo coffee maker. The problem is, the Senseo is the most expensive of the 3 models I’ve come across (Black & Deckers Home Cafe, Melitta’s One, and Philips Senseo). Does anyone know if there is a reuseable filter available for the Black and Decker or the Melitta somewhere online?