My wife and I are heavy users of laptops in the kitchen. We frequently choose recipes from the web, and then refer to them on our laptops when cooking. The problem is that when our laptops are on the counter, they take up valuable space and they can get awfully dirty. Being an certified MIT computer science nerd, I wondered, is there a better way?
I set out to take an old laptop that we no longer use and give it a new life as a fridge-mounted kitchen computer. I nicknamed it the iFridge. It worked like a charm! Have a look at the picture below. We use our iFridge not only to look up recipes on Epicurious, but we also stream Pandora, and have a few weather/news widgets to keep us up-to-date.
For those interested in more technical details in case you want to do-it-yourself, here is a rough step-by-step:
- Started with an old Compaq Evo n410c. It was so old it couldn’t run any recent version of Windows. Basically, it was waiting for the junkyard. However, it had the benefit of being a very slim device.
- Installed Ubuntu Linux. There was a lot of fiddling necessary with the kernel to get it to support the non-standard WiFi card that is built into the laptop, but I’ll spare you those details. The good new is that with Linux, this laptop is quite zippy!
- Installed Firefox. The goal was to have the device be completely “cloud-powered” so I’d never have to worry about updating miscellaneous software. I also installed the SpeedDial extension to enable quick launches from the Firefox home screen.
- Configured SpeedDial with shortcuts to Epicurious, AllRecipes, and MyRecipes. Also added shortcuts to Pandora and Hulu (there’s nothing like watching the Daily Show to kill time while waiting for water to boil). Also configured a couple weather and news widgets.
- Mounted the laptop to the fridge. Since our fridge door isn’t magnetic (oddly enough), I opted to use a sling design to mount the laptop. I used two interlinked ribbons, one that went around the top edge of the door, and the other which went around the waist of the laptop. Due to the subtle curve of the fridge door, the laptop actually hugs the door quite tightly. Even when the fridge is opened or closed! Lastly, I concealed the power cord underneath the ribbon and traced it around the hinge towards the outlet. That way you can’t even see the cord and it doesn’t interfere with the motion of the door.
- Enjoyed! Our iFridge has undoubtedly changed the way we cook in the kitchen. We have all the internet’s food knowledge (as well as its entertainment) on demand and in a convenient spot.
I urge everybody out there who has an old laptop to consider reincarnating their device as an iFridge.
genius idea!