The "one knob, that's all there is" user interface that the author of this post hails as a breath of fresh air is certainly simpler than the 34-buttoned UI he criticizes, but anyone who's familiar with the intricacies of microwave cooking knows that just as important as the cooking time is the power level.
You know those cheesy leftovers that you ordinarily nuke for 2 minutes, and the cheesy portion ends up a gooey, steamy mess, while the rest of the dish is only slightly warm?
Try nuking it for 3 minutes, but set the power level to 60%. You'll be amazed at what a difference it makes!
P.S.: Could you imagine a Hacker News crowd-designed microwave? There'd be buttons for "Add 2^1 seconds," "Add 2^2 seconds," "Add 2^3 seconds" ...
Most toaster ovens have three knobs: temperature, time, and a series of what sound like discrete settings (bake, toast, broil, etc.) but are actually a graduated spectrum for heat distribution to the top vs. bottom heating coil. Pretty much a perfect UX (though you could toss out the heat-distribution names), and makes me wish that everything else—actual ovens, actual toasters, and microwaves—shared it.
I had that too - Amana RadarRange. It was great for me. But terrible for little kids - up to school age. They would ask "How much time?" for their popcorn. I'd tell them. They'd turn the knob, it would go to some time, they'd ask "More or less?" We'd play that game until they had about the right time.
With a digital control, they'd just press 2-3-3 and Start.
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The "one knob, that's all there is" user interface that the author of this post hails as a breath of fresh air is certainly simpler than the 34-buttoned UI he criticizes, but anyone who's familiar with the intricacies of microwave cooking knows that just as important as the cooking time is the power level.
You know those cheesy leftovers that you ordinarily nuke for 2 minutes, and the cheesy portion ends up a gooey, steamy mess, while the rest of the dish is only slightly warm?
Try nuking it for 3 minutes, but set the power level to 60%. You'll be amazed at what a difference it makes!
P.S.: Could you imagine a Hacker News crowd-designed microwave? There'd be buttons for "Add 2^1 seconds," "Add 2^2 seconds," "Add 2^3 seconds" ...
You could push and turn to adjust power.
Or have 2 knobs (Power and Time).
I used to have one like that many moons ago. It also had a start button and a stop/open door button. That was perfect.
Most toaster ovens have three knobs: temperature, time, and a series of what sound like discrete settings (bake, toast, broil, etc.) but are actually a graduated spectrum for heat distribution to the top vs. bottom heating coil. Pretty much a perfect UX (though you could toss out the heat-distribution names), and makes me wish that everything else—actual ovens, actual toasters, and microwaves—shared it.
I had that too - Amana RadarRange. It was great for me. But terrible for little kids - up to school age. They would ask "How much time?" for their popcorn. I'd tell them. They'd turn the knob, it would go to some time, they'd ask "More or less?" We'd play that game until they had about the right time.
With a digital control, they'd just press 2-3-3 and Start.