Like many Asian countries, Japan has got pretty good free Wi-Fi coverage, but like all things, there’s room for improvement, which is where these vending machines come in. Asahi [JP] says that they will allow people within 160 feet to access the Internet for free, on multiple devices, without registering.

Building Wi-Fi hotspots into vending machines make good sense, because they already have to be plugged into a power source, and presumably these days they also need to communicate sales and stock information back to the main office. Over the next five years, Asahi plans on putting out about 10,000 of these machines. For 2012, they plan on installing 1,000.

And no, the beer isn’t free, just the Wi-Fi.

[via CrunchGear]

In recent years there has been a bacon obsession sweeping the internet, (largely thanks to Reddit, I believe) resulting in strange objects being crafted out of the stuff, and  a smattering of bacon-flavored products. If you’re interested in the latter, then today is your lucky day.

The guys at Jones Soda have the perfect holiday pack for any bacon lover. The $9.99  Jones Bacon Soda Holiday Pack contains two bottles of soda, one tube of lip balm, one package of popcorn and one package of gravy mix. All flavored by your favorite pork product. Really, what better gift could you get someone for $10?

[via The Awesomer]

Here’s a side view of the machine:

Unfortunately, Tugrik doesn’t go into the details of the machine’s geekification, saying only that “We just dressed it up for a shop party this weekend on a whim. The machine is an old Vendo96 with stickers designed by my friend Peggy and printed on our large-format printer.” And what’s a Nuka Cola vending machine without Nuka Cola?

They even have the glowing Nuka Cola Quantum!

Unfortunately Tugrik et al don’t have the Quantum Chemist perk, so that’s not a real glowing Nuka Cola Quantum. That’s just a Lemonade bottle with an aqua blue LED taped to its bottom. Still looks awesome though! Check out the rest of Tugrik’s pics here.