cups

You might not be a golf fan, and if that's true, you probably don't know that this weekend, the United States is facing off against Europe in the biennial Ryder Cup. You may not even know what the Ryder Cup is. But a hash tag in the sky might get your attention.

Regardless of your golf knowledge, a lot of people have been paying attention -- and enjoying the Americans' lead in the competition. But some European boosters are realizing that their heroes might need a little extra encouragement.

That's probably why attendees on hand in Medinah, … Read more

Combining one thing with another is a time-honored kitchen tradition. In fact, it's hard to imagine how any cooking would get done without such an activity. But beyond the food, there lies another realm of alchemy and it can be found on the shelf or in the drawer where all the kitchen gadgets lay in waiting.

Haunting any kitchen worth its salt will be a set of measuring spoons as well as a measuring cup. They may reside in different areas, but that doesn't mean that the utensil drawer and kitchen cupboard haven't been mixing it up. … Read more

Anyone who has ever used a measuring cup knows that they like to lie. Well, maybe not lie so much as distort the truth. That is, unless one lifts it up to eye level, the reading might not be so accurate. Attempts have been made to rectify this issue and include enhancements such as angled measuring cups (Oxo) or measuring cups with a scale built in. Those are all steps in the right direction, but we now have given the measuring cup itself a voice.

The Talking Measuring Cup ($59.95) chimes into the conversation by offering voice-assisted operation. Capable … Read more

Cricket WorldCup Fever for iOS takes its users right into the middle of the World Cup by inviting them into the spotlight. Its great graphics, combined with the brief tutorial for each game selection, allows both longtime cricket fans and beginners to grasp the basics of the game in seconds. The only downside is that it might take you a while to perfect your shots.

The first steps of the game are very simple: you choose a game mode from the list available, and you'll immediately meet your opposing team. We were impressed by how real the developers were … Read more

There's a retrograde little sports event happening in England this week called Wimbledon.

The organizers still force players to wear predominantly white clothing. Yes, even on the practice courts.

And yet, way back in 1980, Wimbledon began employing Cyclops technology to make service line calls.

Meanwhile, soccer (or football, as most of the world knows it) contented itself with sad little men carrying flags, often somehow blind to balls crossing the goal line.

But that perhaps will soon be no more. For the BBC reports that the International Football Association Board has finally decided that it should experiment with goal-line technology, starting in December at the slightly insignificant FIFA Club World Cup (not to be confused with the World Cup).… Read more

Aunt Jill is on the show once again, back by popular demand to tell us more about Apple's massive earnings that blew past our initial profit forecast.

She'll also update us on her LinkedIn privacy fiasco and answer more questions from our listeners -- this week's advice includes what to do with extra savings, tips to reduce interest on school loans, how to use 401(k) rollover at a new job, and more.

We tried to answer everyone's questions today, but be sure to follow Jill Schlesinger on Twitter if you think of another. If not, Jill will be back on the show in two weeks, so get ready!… Read more

A world without K-Cups? The horror! While a K-Cupless world may not befall the caffeine-addicted anytime soon, single-serve coffee giant Keurig recently debuted a next-gen successor called Vue that could warm the hearts and hands of geeky java lovers.

For those wondering what I'm talking about, these small plastic capsules sell in the billions annually. They contain coffee (or another beverage) and a filter; putting a K-Cup in its specific brewing device creates a single serving of that drink in less than a minute without a mess.

We checked out a Vue test unit at a Bed Bath & Beyond, the first retailer to carry the new V700 brewer (other big retailers will sell it soon). Keurig's pricey $249 Vue roaster looks similar to existing K-Cup machines, and bears many familiar components, but it doesn't take long to spot the differences. … Read more

Starbucks is giving its augmented reality mobile app a little bit more love. Literally.

As part of a new update, users of the company's Cup Magic app can now point their phones at Starbucks Valentine's Day-themed cups to see new, love-themed effects that appear to be happening on the cup itself.

Starbucks originally launched its Magic Cup app last November on both iOS (iTunes) and Android (Market) to coincide with the coffee chain's annual run of holiday-themed cups. Users would point their smartphone's camera at one of the seasonal cups and it would pull up an augmented reality scene that matched up with whatever character was on the cup.

This new addition is a little more limited, with the company only using one type of cup that will be carried in its stores through February 16. … Read more

After taking second place in the 2011 Imagine Cup finals, Team Lifelens of the U.S. is one of four teams from around the world to win a $75,000 Imagine Cup grant, Microsoft announced today at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

The Lifelens project is run by students at universities across the country who have been working since November 2010 on an app that can image malaria cells for fast diagnosis right there on the phone, sans Internet.

The premise is straightforward. Apply a blood sample to a slide with a dye that only malaria … Read more