That simple. Touch to activate. Touch to deactivate. That. Is. It. Off with handles. Off with indicator. Just capacitive touch built in the whole faucet, so you don’t have to anything with dirty, wet hands. Just with any dry, clean part of your body. Yes, any clean body part. You can even detach the tip.

Geeneeus functionality, and perfect, minimalist design. Jon Ive and Dieter Rams probably have theirs already. As soon as I get $US547 to throw away, I’ll get mine. [Delta Faucet via PopSci]

My point is: What’s the fun of using a machine like the Kenwood Cooking Chef—which can cook at temperatures between 20C and 140C while stirring at three different speeds—to cook a risotto? Where is the fun in that when the alternative is doing it yourself alongside your loved one, improvising, sharing a nice wine, music and conversation, waiting for your friends to arrive?

I rest my case. [Daily Mail via Dvice]

Even if the washer is all eco-friendly with electricity consumption dropping “from 79 watt hours to 72 watt hours and water consumption trickl[ing] down to 67 litres from 72 litres per load”, the price is outrageous and keeps us from adding it to our laundry rooms just yet. (Though one of us could use it for his questionable bedsheet stains.) [Discover]

This dishwasher concept from De Dietrich uses cavitation to clean your dishes. In layman’s terms that means tiny bubbles strike your dinnerware and scrub the surfaces clean. The process cuts out much of the water and energy waste associated with traditional dishwashers.

Sadly, this dishwasher can’t be used to steam a salmon, which, on second thought, may be a good thing. [De Dietrich via Appliancist via DVICE]

Indeed, 2009 represents 100 years since Frank Shailor and General Electric came up with the D12 in 1909. It may look like a major fire and burn hazard, but this device was the world’s first commercially successful toaster and it paved the way for the Pop-Tart you had this morning. That’s right—without Frank Shailor’s invention, nerds would surely starve. [Daily Express via Fark / Image via Jitterbuzz]

With this news, plus the reports that Sony’s going to lose a billion US dollars this year, it’s looking like 2009 is going to be a pretty gloomy year for technology companies. We can only hope that it’s not so gloomy for the technology itself.

[ARN]

The only thing we can see is that you don’t need to repeatedly bend down and unload the washing machine when the cycle’s done, but you still have to dump your wet clothes into the dryer afterwards. This saves up to 60 seconds of time, but probably diminishes the washing capacity of the machine. Our LG has fins and jets on the side, whereas this just has holes for jets.

We think functionality trumps laziness this time—we’ll pass. [Tuvie via DVICE]

By using a tempered glass body and electro-thermal wires that conduct heat through the glass, the B-Iron 725 lets you see what you’re actually ironing at that very moment—now you can know if you’re making the wrinkle worse or scorching your clothes. Yanko seems to think that the lack of a stainless steel surface lessens the effectiveness of the iron, but lets be honest here—it’s the alien-esque beauty of the thing that’s really worth our time. Be sure to check out more photos on [Yanko Design].

Details on the project are scarce, but we do know that these units would be relatively cheap to produce at around $US50. That makes it ideal for delivering medicines and cold water to developing countries—not to mention a useful tool on a camping trip. [Esquire via CrunchGear]