In a move that suggests your kitchen appliances aren't already eavesdropping enough, Prego, the pasta and pizza sauce brand, has introduced a device designed to record everything said around the dinner table. The Connection Keeper, which resembles an oversized pasta jar lid, was developed in partnership with StoryCorps, the nonprofit that archives American stories at the Library of Congress’ American Folklife Center. It contains no AI, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth, but users can optionally upload recordings to StoryCorps’ website for easier sharing.
Prego claims the device aims to foster family conversation instead of phone-staring during meals - a noble goal, albeit one they're only extending to a select few. The company plans to produce less than 100 units. Starting April 27th, it will be available online for $20 as part of a bundle that includes the device, a jar of Prego sauce, spaghetti noodles, and a deck of conversation-prompt cards.
Operation is straightforward: place the Connection Keeper on the table, press a button, and it starts recording. Using dual microphones, it captures CD-quality audio to a 16GB microSD card, offering up to eight hours of recording on a full charge.
After dinner, recordings can be transferred via USB-C to a computer and uploaded to a StoryCorps microsite, where they're stored privately unless shared with other users or the public. There's even an option to archive them in the Library of Congress, making them automatically public - so hopefully your family chats about more profound topics than the latest internet memes.
Recordings are accessible through the StoryCorps app on smartphones, but Prego deliberately omitted phones from the rest of the process to discourage their use at the table. This also explains the lack of a screen; the goal was to minimize device interaction so families could focus on talking to each other.