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Comment by normloman | Hacker News Reader

What problem is this cup solving? Is it that hard to figure out what you're drinking? (Hint: look at the bottle when you pour, and don't take drinks from strangers.) Is it that hard to keep yourself hydrated? (Just drink when you're thirsty.) And how is a calorie counting cup gonna help me lose weight? (Just DRINK WATER).

I want something that simplifies my life. Not something that needlessly complicates something as simple as drinking without giving me added benefits.

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Keeping track of what you're drinking, how much you're drinking and how many calories your drinking is what this solves. It clearly isn't useful to you but it's automating a task that some people don't want to do manually. Why do you need a pedometer when you can count steps?

We can certainly argue the usefulness of this device for the average joe or how small their market may be but arguing that it doesn't solve any problems is silly.

Almost nobody needs to do that.

If you're trying to lose weight, it's easier to just drink water. Then you know what your drinking, and how many calories it has (none!).

If you're trying to limit caffeine, you don't need a fucking sensor cup to tell you how many cups of coffee you had. Because most people can count the number of cups they've had on their fingers. Counting on your fingers is a lot easier than lugging a $99 dollar cup everywhere you go.

And that's pretty much the only reasons you'd need to watch what you drink. Lets cut the shit. This product is for people interested in "quantified self." People who think they can derive useful insights from looking at 3 years worth of their own toenail clippings. Hey, different strokes for different folks, but I doubt you can learn something from measuring your drinking that you didn't already know (Oh hey, I drink more wine when I'm sad... and soda makes me gain weight! I'm so glad I obsessively poured all my drinks into a $99 electronic cup).

For a copywriter you're pretty boring. Your complaint is the equivalent of begging why have anyone tell you the weather when you can just open the window!

This is a sensor in a cup. It's a companion piece. The future is all about companions surrounding you, nudging you, guiding you.

> For a copywriter you're pretty boring.

His profile says "I'm a copywriter, a web designer, and a deeply cynical person."

I believe that is utterly congruent with his comment.

That future sounds dystopian. And just because I get paid to talk up worthless products doesn't mean I use them myself.

I rarely think to drink water, because I rarely feel thirsty. When I do, I usually drink coffee.

It took a trip to the doctor to find out I was chronically dehydrated. I used to only drink 1 - 3 glasses of water a day.

I'd expect this to be possibly useful for diabetics. I don't expect this to be useful for detecting allergens, because I don't expect it to have small enough detection thresholds.

Roofies. It solves the problem of roofies.

The website makes no such claim. So no, I don't think the problem of roofies will be solved until certain men learn that sex isn't something you take by force.

Instead, we have a 100 dollar cup that peforms a neat trick.

There are already cheaper solutions to this: http://www.drinkspikedetector.com/howitworks.htm for example.

Not really. I don't see discotheques or bars buying it. They generally buy the cheapest plastic glass they can find for the former and the later have drink companies offering them free glasses. As for private parties, where your cup is likely to be lost or broken, people won't bring this expensive cups with them.

To me it's more, "lets surf on the Internet of Things". As already said, I don't see the need. Maybe if one day it become as cheap as normal cups. But not now.

Not I saying roofies are not a problem. Just that is not a solution, IMHO.

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