Coffee, the Weather and MSN, all in the same cup. I know, I know. I too have woken countless mornings thinking that an apparatus that would allow me to sample coffee and smell the weather together would come quite in handy. But my feeble mind never made it past this point. I certainly never imagined a connection between coffee, a coffee dispenser, the weather and Microsoft. This just goes to show that the Redmond Company still has some surprises up its sleeve.

Introducing... the new Melitta Smart Mill & Brew with MSN Direct. "The first coffee maker to display real-time weather information incorporates Microsoft Corp.'s Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT)," reveals Microsoft.

"We are all busy people, constantly on the go. Everyone needs up-to-date weather information, and this is a fun, new way to get weather with a quick glance," said Eric Lang, general manager of the SPOT initiative at Microsoft. "With the Melitta Smart Mill & Brew Coffee Maker, we are extending the MSN Direct-enabled product category and realizing our vision of making everyday objects smarter through technology."

Manufactured by Salton Inc., Melitta Smart Mill & Brew with MSN Direct not only brews delicious coffee from both whole beans or ground coffee but also informs you of the weather forecast, precipitation, sunrise and sunset times via MSN Direct.

"The addition of weather information to our Melitta Mill & Brew coffee makers greatly enhances the customer experience in that the entire process is simple, automatic and easy," said Leonhard Dreimann, chief executive officer of Salton. "We are pleased to be working with Microsoft and our retail partners on this fun and functional product that combines two of the things that we want most when we start our days - coffee and weather."