5 ms·

None of my friends say their stove touch buttons are great. They are not just unintuitive, most implementations are painfully slow. (my own pet peeve though ar

None of my friends say their stove touch buttons are great. They are not just unintuitive, most implementations are painfully slow. (my own pet peeve though are microwaves - they are a positive monstrosity of horrible interface bearing no connection to actual typical usage. I'd like one with a massive "add 30s and start button", and anything else is a nice optional extra for me :-D

unwind 4y ago
Get a Whirlpool with Jet Start [1], it's a big-ish button that does exactly that. Easily the nunber 1 used button on our microwave (which, unfortunately, has loads more buttons). A pretty good idea, I'm sure other manufacturers have the same but I don't know the marketing lingo. [1]: https://www.manualslib.com/manual/972967/Whirlpool-Jt469.html?page=14 https://www.manualslib.com/manual/972967/Whirlpool-Jt469.htm...
dsr_ 4y ago
Commercial heavy-duty microwaves and the cheapest plastic microwaves share the same interface: two dials. One is time, the other is power cycle. Sometimes it's just one dial for time.
- cinntaile 4y ago
  This is why I buy the cheapest ones. They don't break and their buttons are intuitive, I don't need a Bachelor's in microwave UI to use one.
- bschwindHN 4y ago
  > two dials. One is time, the other is power cycle This is the ideal design and no one can convince me otherwise. Same thing goes for ovens. All I care about is "how hot do I cook/bake this?" and "For how long?" Two dials is perfect.
  - vel0city 4y ago
    Personally I really like the sensor modes of my microwave. For most of my leftovers, I can toss the plate/bowl in the microwave, hit REHEAT, and it figures it out. If it thinks I need to stir/rotate, it'll beep at me to do so while its cooking. Seems a lot simpler as a user than thinking about how long to cook it, what power level, etc.
zelos 4y ago
My microwave pretty much has that - press start and it sets the timer to 1 minute and starts. Then spin the dial to add time while it’s cooking.
- xnx 4y ago
  I find it even better when they just have a dial
marssaxman 4y ago
The best microwave I've ever used lived in the break room at my last job. It had one big knob, which worked like a standard kitchen timer: you would just twist it right until it pointed at the amount of time you want, then let it tick back down to the left until cooking was done. Want more? Just twist it right a little more, and let it keep ticking. I have no idea why domestic microwaves come with a maze of buttons when such vastly superior knob technology exists.
- Macha 4y ago
  Yeah, I've got a cheapo microwave, but honestly it's UI is pretty good as appliances go. Turn the knob for time, hit ok, get power prompt, hit ok again for 100% (or adjust using the knob for less), microwaving starts. There is also specific program functionality to tell it you have 200g of mince meat to defrost or whatever and it figures out the time/power setting, but I personally never use them.
- dmitriid 4y ago
  Samsung Solo Microwaves are one knob for time + start immediately. One knob for power (that you use once a year): https://www.samsung.com/uk/microwave-ovens/solo/mw3000am-ms20a3010al-eu/ https://www.samsung.com/uk/microwave-ovens/solo/mw3000am-ms2... They iterate over the design bits (black knobs on black microwave -> silver knobs on black microwave -> current design), but the microwave remains the same
- Too 4y ago
  Such knobs should be the most obvious interface but sadly most of the analogue models on the market lack a lot of accuracy. Some times even up to 30s-1min range. Enough to be the difference between cold or over-cooked food. The best are often a big knob controlling a digital LCD timer. Started with a single start button doubling as +30s.
  - marssaxman 4y ago
    > The best are often a big knob controlling a digital LCD timer. That's exactly how this one worked. I wish I could recall the brand, but I don't; it felt more like an industrial device than a home appliance.
Zak 4y ago
Last time I had to buy a microwave, I intentionally sought out one with two knobs: time and power. It would be very hard to improve on the UX that provides.

unwind 4y ago

Get a Whirlpool with Jet Start [1], it's a big-ish button that does exactly that. Easily the nunber 1 used button on our microwave (which, unfortunately, has loads more buttons). A pretty good idea, I'm sure other manufacturers have the same but I don't know the marketing lingo. [1]: https://www.manualslib.com/manual/972967/Whirlpool-Jt469.html?page=14 https://www.manualslib.com/manual/972967/Whirlpool-Jt469.htm...

dsr_ 4y ago

Commercial heavy-duty microwaves and the cheapest plastic microwaves share the same interface: two dials. One is time, the other is power cycle. Sometimes it's just one dial for time.

cinntaile 4y ago
This is why I buy the cheapest ones. They don't break and their buttons are intuitive, I don't need a Bachelor's in microwave UI to use one.
bschwindHN 4y ago
> two dials. One is time, the other is power cycle This is the ideal design and no one can convince me otherwise. Same thing goes for ovens. All I care about is "how hot do I cook/bake this?" and "For how long?" Two dials is perfect.
- vel0city 4y ago
  Personally I really like the sensor modes of my microwave. For most of my leftovers, I can toss the plate/bowl in the microwave, hit REHEAT, and it figures it out. If it thinks I need to stir/rotate, it'll beep at me to do so while its cooking. Seems a lot simpler as a user than thinking about how long to cook it, what power level, etc.

zelos 4y ago

My microwave pretty much has that - press start and it sets the timer to 1 minute and starts. Then spin the dial to add time while it’s cooking.

xnx 4y ago
I find it even better when they just have a dial

marssaxman 4y ago

The best microwave I've ever used lived in the break room at my last job. It had one big knob, which worked like a standard kitchen timer: you would just twist it right until it pointed at the amount of time you want, then let it tick back down to the left until cooking was done. Want more? Just twist it right a little more, and let it keep ticking. I have no idea why domestic microwaves come with a maze of buttons when such vastly superior knob technology exists.

Macha 4y ago
Yeah, I've got a cheapo microwave, but honestly it's UI is pretty good as appliances go. Turn the knob for time, hit ok, get power prompt, hit ok again for 100% (or adjust using the knob for less), microwaving starts. There is also specific program functionality to tell it you have 200g of mince meat to defrost or whatever and it figures out the time/power setting, but I personally never use them.
dmitriid 4y ago
Samsung Solo Microwaves are one knob for time + start immediately. One knob for power (that you use once a year): https://www.samsung.com/uk/microwave-ovens/solo/mw3000am-ms20a3010al-eu/ https://www.samsung.com/uk/microwave-ovens/solo/mw3000am-ms2... They iterate over the design bits (black knobs on black microwave -> silver knobs on black microwave -> current design), but the microwave remains the same
Too 4y ago
Such knobs should be the most obvious interface but sadly most of the analogue models on the market lack a lot of accuracy. Some times even up to 30s-1min range. Enough to be the difference between cold or over-cooked food. The best are often a big knob controlling a digital LCD timer. Started with a single start button doubling as +30s.
- marssaxman 4y ago
  > The best are often a big knob controlling a digital LCD timer. That's exactly how this one worked. I wish I could recall the brand, but I don't; it felt more like an industrial device than a home appliance.

Zak 4y ago

Last time I had to buy a microwave, I intentionally sought out one with two knobs: time and power. It would be very hard to improve on the UX that provides.