Why is the #UserInterface #UserExperience of virtually every #MicrowaveOven on the face of the planet so abysmally awful? For a #kitchen #cooking device that has been this ubiquitous for this long in this many homes around the world, you would think that *someone* would have bothered to study how people actually use the things and improved their #design. There is an entire field for the study, #IndustrialDesign.
This is the model rated "best" by Wirecutter. It's just as awful as all the rest.
Probably one of the most common uses of microwave ovens for many people is reheating a beverage. Most people don't want to think about it—they just want to open it, put the cup in, close it, hit as few buttons as needed, open it, and drink.
So, given that the easiest modes to use are multiples of 30 sec, why are turntables not synchronized to a 15 sec rotation (4 rpm), so the the handle ends up in the same orientation where it started—the place your hand naturally positions the cup? #UI #UX
Another of the most common uses for a microwave oven is heating prepackaged frozen meals. The "Express Cook" function on most units only goes up to 6 minutes, but most cooking times are based on larger 1100 W units, while most smaller units are less powerful and require longer cooking times. I live alone and have a small 700 W unit. 1/3rd of all households in the US are single person. #UI #UX #design #IndustrialDesign
Speaking of cooking times, if I can't use the Express Cook, I have a habit of punching in cooking times like 66, 77, 88, or 99 seconds, or 1:11, 2:22, … 9:99, so I don't have to hunt and peck at even more buttons.
It drives me nuts that manufacturers keep basing times on whole minutes. There has to be a better #UI #UX #design than the 10-key pad that allows arbitrary inputs that no one needs, except when setting the clock. #IndustrialDesign
If there is anything I have learned about #life and #humanity, it's that I am never #alone. If I think of a thing, it is a certainty that I am not the only one who has thought of this thing. If there is a thing I feel or a thing I believe, I know from #experience that I am not the only one who has felt the same way or believed the same thing. All experiences are shared experiences. The trick to life, what gives #meaning to life, is #connection—finding the other people who share your experiences.
@gcvsa Why do they all have an automatic setting for jacket potatoes? Is there an official size for spuds suitable for microwave cooking?
@nehpetst That setting probably uses an automatic sensor, so size won't matter much.
@gcvsa I've always understood that size does matter so that's handy to know
@gcvsa What about a single button that gradually increases cooking times (maybe 10 seconds, and if pressed longer 20 and so on) and when released it starts?
@gcvsa i love the ancient one at my home which has 2 knobs.
Time and mode (grill, convection etc)..
Another design which I think would be great is weight and time.
My wife always overheats or underheats, mostly because of different food behavior.