Rice Cooker

The image of geeks surviving on colas and cold pizza is not completely myth. When you're really cranking on a cool project, who can spare the processor cycles to cook?

Well, the genius of this classic rice maker is a thermostatic switch, set to cut the power once all the liquid has boiled. Measure ingredients, push the lever, and get right back to hacking, with no risk of burning the house down. Asian households have used them for decades to make foolproof rice; fancier models even click over to keep-warm mode when then done. But the undocumented tip is this: You can also dump in veggies, spices, meat, and so on, to balance your carbs with other nutrients. And for breakfast, try it with oatmeal. It's cheap, tasty home cooking that runs as a background process.