f13.net

So, my wife wants something in the kitchen that she can use to save (scan preferrably, or type) receipes she gets from magazines as well as look up stuff on the 'Net.

From my little research I see a couple of options:

1) A Kindle - seems like it might work, but a bit pricey if all you are going to do is look at recipes on it once a week - plus I don't care for all the issues the newer Kindles seem to have. Nice portability and we can also use it when we travel for regular reading materials.

2) A Netbook - this might be the best option, though I need to do a bit more research on recipe cataloging/searching software. My concerns come from the price (which can be a bit spend), and the size. Since it has to be plugged in I have less options for where it can live in the kitchen.

3) An iPhone - I found a couple apps that let you input your own recipes and even one that lets you take a picture of it, and this may end up being the easiest option. (She already has an iPhone and the app is $2).

What do you use? Any particular setup you like or don't like?

For the kitchen?  You have to get an Apple!

Corny jokes aside I use my iPhone.  I'm always pulling stuff of of the web so I just leave the browser open and go at it.  If she scans in stuff I would just keep it on your computer and then airshare it to the iPhone on demand.

The best solution would be to mod an old laptop into a photoframe and mount it somewhere, then you'd have a self-contained flat unit with a great resolution.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeywell_316

I'm totally gonna send that to her.

The kindle's browser is really mediocre and the keyboard is next to useless. I'd suggest a cheap netbook. If you don't want to pay a ton of money per month for an iphone, isn't there a ipod version that's the iphone without the phone? Use that with wifi?

Netbook seems to be your best option, they're no more expensive than buying an iphone and paying the monthly fee for it. Cheaper even! I'm sure you can find some kind of indexing software or teach her how to be REALLY good with Excel. Also, my friends netbook has some insane battery life on it, so needing to be plugged in all the time is not really the case.

iPod Touch.

I am leaning towards the Netbook, but god forbid I could find a freakin' useful (post Win 95) app to handle a recipe catalog.

iTouch works fine with wifi, no need to have the phone and whole plan for just browsing in the house. I'd still go with one of those mini notebooks instead though.

Something about a laptop in the kitchen that is a RECIPE (get it?) for disaster. I would get flour under the keys in two seconds, that's why just a screen is nice.

She already has an iphone!  All these itouch suggestions.

Problem is that it's so small and not exactly easy to type in a recipe. (2 1/2 Cups of Crushed Walnuts, lightly sweetened with honey or caramel). I do agree that it might get iffy with liquids and flour being thrown around.

I *may* look into mounting a flat screen on the wall, hooked to a micro in a cabinet. That way, only the mouse and keyboard are on the counter and the both could be easily replaced when a pitcher of olive oil falls on them.

My wife cooks pretty regularly and has a fairly large list of recipes. She puts them all on her laptop and just prints out the recipe when she needs it. We had thought about a device for her, but realized that its cheaper to have a laptop that does more than one function and easier to use because it comes with a full keyboard and large screen. There's also far too much risk for getting stuff on the device that would ruin it. If she gets finger prints of homemade marinara sauce all over a printed out recipe, well, who cares? Recycle it and print it out again when she needs it.

http://www.pcconnection.com/IPA/Shop/Product/Detail.htm?sku=8486640&oext=1038A&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=8486640

Not sure on the mouse, though.

As someone who's a big cook, yeah, I would never have a laptop in the kitchen. I print something out and refer to it. Or more likely just read it and cook. But I get crap everywhere when I cook.

I also just print things out. I'm starting to make multiple prints because I spill stuff all over the originals. I can't imagine trying to keep an electronic device clean while cooking. I do have a separate table for setting my cookbooks and recipes, but they still get messed up. It's a kitchen, if you can keep it clean while using it, you're doing it wrong.

Best advice I can think of if you're set on this is to look into industrial input devices, keyboards they use in industrial and warehouse settings that can stand up to spills and particulates. Don't forget the heat issues in the kitchen, too.

http://www.msicomputer.com/msiaio/

Intel atom netbook guts + touchscreen lcd (a bit buggy)

Or hope that Apple Tablet PC comes and won't cost a fortune (yeah, right).

Internet enabled fridge (http://www.alibaba.com/product/teptronic-10863374-10652784/productdetail.html).

She would totally kill me for getting that, but maybe she won't notice!

Edit: Maybe you guys have the right idea and I should just get one of these instead: http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&sku=224-3471&redirect=1

If that's in your pricerange, this should be too:

http://www.mydemy.com/index.html (http://www.mydemy.com/index.html)

You'll get a BJ out of it too.

How the hell did you find that?

zomg

You, my friend, need a Honeywell 316 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeywell_316)!

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c8/Kitchen_computer_ad.jpg)

If only someone had thought to post that in the second reply.

I would kill for that thing.

Also, once again, I need to point out how many chives that woman has. I don't know what she's fucking cooking, but it better have a side of chive pie or else those are gonna go bad.

Probably Baked Potato and Chive Soup.

EDIT: Or if they are scallions, Mongolian Beef!

Google!  :drill:

If it didn't have the picture inline it didn't count.

It's funny.  I was going to answer this in a serious 'try the iPhone app first since it's cheap' way, but honestly - if someone has an iPhone and a PC and this problem and the result is her spouse making this thread on a gaming forum, it doesn't matter what anyone here says.

It could be worse, she could be asking for a computer for the closet.

10 BUY CHIVES
20 GOTO 10

What exactly are you insinuating?  :awesome_for_real:

I had something published on Key Ingredient, and they wanted me to try that thing out (they weren't giving it to me for free, though, so wtf). Looks cool, but one obvious flaw I find is that the kitchen is a steamy, greasy place that I try to keep screens away from. Cook a steak on a hot pan once or twice and you'll end up with a fine mist of fat all over that thing.

Those are scallions.

She could be a midget in a midget house.

I think we could keep it away from the stove, we have a very long counter on both side of the kitchen - so I'm not worried about that too much for us. However, I don't like the idea of it being tied only to Key Ingredient. If that site ever goes down or they stop supporting their API or whatever, there would be no way to update the device. If it had a desktop app or some other way to push changes to it, I think I'd be all over it.

A printer really is your best bet.  Get a laser and not an ink jet.

Hard copy? How quaintly 20th century...

I say use a printing press!

FWIW, I use my iPhone if I need a recipe that I don't have in one of my cookbooks.

Call me old school, but I really like having a crusty old copy of Joy of Cooking that just falls open to the cornbread page on its own because of all of the times I've made it, or seeing a little blob of dried dough on the biscuit page. It reminds me of being in my mom's and grandma's kitchens as a girl.

Phone a friend?

Only if you make your own paper and ink.
And this. I really do need to get a copy of that book. My worn old book from ze olde dayes is a Good Housekeeping. It rocked for me because it had all these illustrations to teach me what the hell to do, since my family was never big on cooking all fancy style.

Actually my cookbook was stolen, so my cousin gave me hers because she doesn't cook and all the stains and gobbets are from the last fifteen years only :)

Mine falls open to the Yorkshire pudding recipe. I can't for the life of me imagine why I can't keep the proportions of it straight given that I've been making it since I was a child, but I apparently can't.

I'm using the Betty Crocker Cookbook, which is a three-ring binder for dummies.  I used it to make that great meatloaf... not that I stick to recipes like glue or anything.  Computer actually in the kitchen seems like overkill, just keeping recipes somewhere is all I really need.

In case anyone is curious, I bought my wife a Dell Mini 10v (http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/notebooks/laptop-inspiron-10/pd.aspx?refid=laptop-inspiron-10&s=dhs&cs=19&ref=lthp) and will be giving it to her tonight. We have 2 weeks before we can return it for a refund of some sort.

Cool - make sure you pick up a 2GB SODIMM for under $30 at NewEgg - installation is retarded easy.