Yet another appliance, that does... what exactly?

Nothing that a hot plate, crockpot, or slow oven cannot do.

After initial interest, I have cooled on sous vide... it's basically a long, slow braise. Easily reproduced without special equipment. And exactly what chemicals leach into the food during its long simmer in a plastic bag?

In fact, you could get the same result with a hay box - a staple of off grid cooking - at considerable energy savings, with no loss of convenience.

hayboxes and retained heat cooking:
http://www.solarcooking.org/heat-retention/
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/1980-01-01/Rediscover-the-Hay-Box-Cooker.aspx

72 hours for spare ribs? No thanks.

Didn't read any of the links, but every American knows that the only way to cook ribs is with smoke.

Seems more like a Blu-Ray type of cooking advancement instead of DVD. In other words, purists will love it and discuss the nuances and differences that make it so worth the investment. The vast majority of people will consider existing cooking methods good enough. DVD was so clearly superior it became one of the fastest technologies ever adopted by consumers. In contrast Blu-Ray has really lagged. The difference between DVD and Blu-Ray isn't worth the effort to upgrade for most people. That does not mean it is not better. I just mean it is not compellingly better to most people to justify purchasing.

I am curious. How green is it? Leaving it on for up to 72 hours seems like it uses more energy than other methods? Here is what I found on the website:

"Although it is difficult to scientifically determine the quantitative energy savings involved, because water is a much more efficient medium for heat transfer than air, the SousVide Supreme is considerably more energy efficient than conventional cooking appliances. Once the desired water bath temperature is reached, the SousVide Supreme uses only about the energy of a 60 watt light bulb to cook."

In other words, it uses less energy as it cooks but does not seem to claim overall savings over other methods in total cooking time including heating up the water.

I will pass on getting one. But I also admit I am not the target audience for this type of appliance.

It doesn't replicate more easily available cooking methods. Before weighing in, it's worthwhile to read Dr. Eades' definitive blog post on sous vide cooking, how it works, and why it's different:

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/food-porn/diy-sous-vide/#more-3835.

Read through the comments as well to get a feel for everyday people and their experiences with the method and the machine.

I've been aware of sous vide for a while, being an avid consumer of shows like "Top Chef." But I still balk at ponying up $450 for yet another kitchen appliance. And even after saying that, I'm impressed that the Eades managed to make the device at 1/3 the cost of a usual unit.
My mother used to make a ham by putting it in the oven set to 200º since she read that a ham is fully cooked when the center reaches that temp. She figured that about 12 hours in the oven at that temp would fully cook the ham without over cooking it. We used to "snack" slices off the exterior as the ham cooked since it smelled sooooo good.

But why do I want to cook a steak for 6 hours? It's fun in a commercial place to try this technique but for a home cook, it's insane. I predict this will be a big hit with retired men who discover cooking, and have lots of time on their hands.

Diana Hsieh seems to be crazy about cooking eggs this way, but I'm not spending $500 to make soft-boiled eggs.

and this cooking thing is what again?

Thanks for mentioning my blog!

Amy:
Crock pot food isn't so hot, or they'd be making it in fine restaurants.
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Yet a crock-pot like solution was/is used in many restaurants for stew-like recipes.

As a Sabbath observant Jew, I have considerable experience with slow, low cooking techniques.

The sous vide food has to be "browned" at high temp before serving.

Traditional braising in a Dutch oven involves browning first, then cooking in a sealed pot at very low, diffuse hea - low enough heat that the liquid does not bubble. Some traditional recipes actually seal the pot with flour paste.

So aside from when the browning takes place, what's the difference?

(and it could be argued that browning first allows rich flavors to develop from caramelized sugars...)

Put water in your crockpot, and by an oven-roating plastic bag if you want to feel trendy.

Slow is slow.

Apparently also being used in molecular mixology for inventing new cocktails:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427392.500-hightech-tipples-the-future-of-cocktails.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=magcontents

If the "finger tips" combined with common sense doesn"t cover it, you might wanna reconsider having an iPod Touch/iPhone/iPad.Had iProducts since before iPhone. Have had last 3 iPhones. But I want an FM radio so I don"t have to carry a seperate device.Listening to the podcast now. Light leaks on the white iPhone. Could that be the real reason there"s still no white iPhone 4?It"s really cute but I wouldn"t pay that much for it. Especially if it"s as hard to get the phone in and out of (as it looks).Unfortunately with an unlocked phone, the cariers don"t give you a better plan. So basically this means loosing the subsidies…For me, all it needs is a dropbox style folder sync, so i can auto backup stuff. Unless its possible and i just dont know it?!