A gadget doesn’t have to be high tech and fancy to be good. It doesn’t hurt, but it’s not critical. 🙂
Example, the simple coffee press. I’ve used different coffee makers over the years and have settled on a basic coffee press for home use.
Why? It makes damn good coffee quickly and easily. I’m not tied into buying a particular type of prepackaged, pre-ground stuff that the one shot machines require.
The trick is start with good coffee, whole beans, and fresh roasted. I get mind from Armeno Coffee Roasters, a local establishment in Northborough, MA, that actually roasts their own beans on site. They also carry Hawaiian beans. Which in addition to “buying American” is damn good coffee.
A course grind on the beans, hot but not boiling water, wait a few minutes, and my coffee fix is taken care of.
You may ask, “A discussion on coffee in a tech blog?” If you do, you haven’t worked in High Tech. The business runs on coffee. According to Bandit Six, so does the US Army, but I digress.
The latest issue of Wired had an article on a high tech coffee machine that Starbucks paid a lot money for. Perhaps it will help hide the fact that they over roast.
Urbin Technology 
Forget Coffee Presses. Get a Vaccuum Pot – it’s pretty much the pinnacle of Coffee Brewing.