Beer & Soda chiller from the makers of hardware coolers

"The U.S.B. Beverage Chiller, from CoolIT Systems of Calgary, Alberta, was designed to spare white-collar workers the irritation of wasted caffeine. The device, which can draw power from most any PC or Macintosh, is sort of a reverse hot plate, as well as CoolIT’s answer to the multitude of U.S.B. drink warmers beloved by coffee-craving geeks [who frequent Starbucks].

"The chiller was inspired by a throwaway joke ... “Somebody said, ‘It’s a shame that our coolers don’t chill beer, because we’d make a lot more money,’ ” said Geoff Lyon, the company’s chief executive. “We all had a good laugh about that one.”

But CoolIT’s chief technology officer, Sandy Scott, treated the remark as a challenge rather than a gag. He went home that night and built a crude prototype that could, indeed, preserve a beer’s drinkability on a hot day... “He came in the next morning, plugged it into my desktop, and said, ‘There’s your beer cooler,’ ” Mr. Lyon said."

From:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/30/business/yourmoney/30goods.html?ex=1311912000&en=5c5db9ba56472a5d&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

http://www.coolitsystems.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=84

...The official website.