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By Steve Benoff I hate last-minute deadlines. So, I try to have projects done well in advance. This, of course, applies to my monthly apps column. Sometimes I write an article almost a year before publication. That has obvious downsides as can be seen (actually you can't see it since this is the revised version) in this current piece which was written before I discovered a second app that obviates the first. But I've included them both here. I wonder what your idea of a wireless device is. A device without any wires, right?! Well, if you thought that, you would have been wrong. (A repeated reference to Tom Hanks' Joe Versus the Volcano.) For example, having been in the home electronics business for more than 40 years, I get a kick out of the term wireless speakers. With the exception of Bluetooth battery-powered speakers, there are no wireless speakers. A speaker either requires a two-conductor wire connected to an audio amplifier or a power cord to power an on- board amplifier and Bluetooth receiver. In very rare occasions, I've seen speakers that require both. It's true today's wireless speakers don't need speaker wire, but they do require a power cord. Of course, having spent four decades installing speaker wire in the crawl spaces, walls, and attics of hundreds of homes, I'm glad I don't have to compete with these wireless speakers. But it's not speakers that sparked the idea for this column; it's the wireless thermometer I bought last year. Would you not agree that a wireless thermometer is a thermometer without wires? I thought that when I ordered one from Amazon late last year. Because of the weather, I didn't open the package until spring. It was then (too late to return it) that I discovered the thermometer indeed has wires. So, what's the wireless part you may ask? It's an app. It's called EasyBBQ, and I downloaded it in a way that was unique for me. I could have gone to the app store and entered the name. But the thermometer instructions came with a QR code which I scanned with my phone's camera app, chose IOS, and the app downloaded in an instant. (By the way, on reflection, in the future I'll stick with the app store. You never know the curious ways deceitful people use to infect your electronic devices. I think it's safer to use the Apple or Google store for downloads.) But before I could test it, I had to deal with a big problem. My barbecue had reached ita "sell-by" date. It had two operating temperatures – very hot and extremely hot. So, I bought a new one which actually had an excellent temperature range. As an experiment, on consecutive days I cooked two steaks, two burgers, and two chicken breasts. Using the EasyBBQ app, I was able to cook every piece to perfection (if I do say so myself ). The temperature alarm works great once the clueless operator figures things out. But when you come right down to it, EasyBBQ is just a fancier version of a wired cooking thermometer with a helpful app. If this thing qualifies as wireless, so does every device that has an app. That includes my Kindle, my hearing aids, my sprinkler system, my scale, and dozens of other things in my life. Thankfully, my son-in-law showed me a truly wireless cooking thermometer. He brines his turkey at Thanksgiving and smokes it in his backyard in Brooklyn. He showed me his Meater thermometer. It looks like a fancy Cross pen. It sits in a very nice battery-powered wood charging case when not in use. But without the Meater app, it's useless. I've tested the Meater truly wireless thermometer in the oven and barbecue. It works great. The probe can connect via Bluetooth, WiFi, and even to the Cloud. The app is very well designed. It has preset temperatures for just every kind of food you'd cook in an oven with different settings for various degrees of doneness. You can also set your own desired temp if you want. The app shows the ambient temperature of the oven or BBQ and the internal temperature of the food you're cooking. It has a countdown timer that makes rough prediction of when the food will reach the assigned temp. Incidentally, as nice as these two devices are, I always confirm their readings with a standard meat thermometer when it's time to take the food out of the oven or off the grill. So, while EasyBBQ doesn't meet my description of a truly wireless device, Meater definitely does. If you use an app you'd like to share with others, let me know at steve.benoff@verizon.net. 26 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | JULY 2023 THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT! Wireless Cheeseburger (and Steak and Chicken) in Paradise

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