Essentially, it’s a polyurethane cage full of goodies that you store in the fridge and secure with a combination lock (included). Of course, there’s nothing preventing thieves from stealing the entire cage and working on it later with a hacksaw, but that’s a lot of trouble to go through for last night’s leftovers. [Perpetual Kid via RGS via OhGizmo]

The kegerator features an iPhone-like array of “apps,” including a CO2 gauge, the “Tap Store” where different beers are selected, and a temperature gauge (the fridge is kept at 37 degrees for a perfect frosty brew). It actually looks like a project that’s conceivably doable by a group of dedicated beer-lovers, even if they don’t work for a tech magazine. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to scour the Craigslist free listings for refrigerators. [Wired]

AT&T may be worried about the Palm Pre, but they should be much more worried about refrigerators that smell so bad they force the evacuation of over 300 office employees.

It’s true, an office refrigerator, unplugged for disinfection and scrubbed with some unsuitable cleaning supplies, grew so rank that it made over 20 people in the office sick. The fire department was called in to handle the situation and the old, smelly lunches.

Refrigerator: 1 AT&T: 0
[via RedLasso]

The Izona CoolDrawer—similar to offerings from Norcool—is a fashionable compromise over one of those crappy mini fridges that froze your beer through college. With a facade that can match your cabinetry, the entire fridge takes up one small section under the counter. And while the sci-fi-inspired adjustable temperature drawer system won’t fit a whole cow of meat, it even manages to accommodate tall items like wine bottles without shattering glass.

While the CoolDrawer appears to be a real planned product, I’m not sure if it’s available yet. I am certain, however, that your overpriced interior decorator will have a solid company contact. Also, she’s totally right in regards to your “curtain situation.” [Izona via Core77]

These Shuriken Magnets are perfect for the refrigerator or any other place you’d like to send a message. Just place a shuriken (magnet) in your hand, flick the wrist and…WHUTING! Pick up Billy at practice. WHUTING! Don’t eat those mashed potatoes because they’re old but I was afraid to open the container to throw them away because it probably smells but your sense of smell isn’t as good as mine so you might eat them and get sick.

Get a box of two Shuriken Magnets for $US19. [epaulet via Core77]

Buchberger said he decided to create Flatshare from personal experience, after discovering that “there is nothing more disgusting than a dirty fridge in a shared flat.” I had one of those experiences. One former roommate had made a creamy fruit salad in the fall, and plum forgotten about it when she moved out in the winter. I could’ve sworn the monstrosity that greeted me three months later asked me if I was the Gatekeeper. [Flatshare Fridge set via Electrolux

Like someone pointed out before, the life of a fridge is very long, so the iPod dock would probably become obsolete down the line. I also don’t see the point of having your fridge acting as your amplifier: as you can see in the video, you can connect extra speakers to it. The Wi-Fi connection and iGorenje program makes a lot more sense, as it can be expanded in the future to accommodate new appliances and functionality. Plus, it is device independent. Although you can use any device, however, the interface has clearly been optimised for the iPod touch and the iPhone, which is the handheld they were using for their demos. According to them, they have some kind of collaboration contract with Apple, so Steve or someone else in Cupertino must be a fan of the brand.

The iGorenje system works quite well. It uses the Wi-Fi network in your home to connect your web-browsing device to your oven and washing machine, and when it’s released later this year you will be able to control all Gorenje appliances.

iGorenje’s interface is very easy to work out. Just touch the function, select the options you want and click Start. The appliance will get the parameters, start working and give you feedback in realtime, back to your iPod. For the oven, you can start from a recipe, a wizard that allows you to set the oven according to the kind of food and weight, and a custom program, which can be easily created in iGorenje and then stored. The process is fully automatic, so if you have something that needs to be cooked first slowly, then a really high heat in the last minutes, it will handle it for you.

For the washing machine, it’s exactly the same thing. This time you have different programs according to the clothes you put in, making it very easy to operate.

But while the whole thing seems polished and works well, do we really need this kind of sophistication in our kitchens? I may be too old school, but I like to cook in the kitchen, not by remote control. I like the idea of programming the oven in an easy way, although I will still be controlling it myself. What do you think? Is this the kind of evolution everyday home tasks need? [More IFA 2008 Coverage]