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I have had a less technologically forward gripe with microwaves. The start button should not exist. Number pads should not exist. There should really only be on

I have had a less technologically forward gripe with microwaves. The start button should not exist. Number pads should not exist. There should really only be one main button that you press: “quick cook/add 30” that auto starts it. No one has a valid use case for setting their microwave to run for 1:37. Multiples of 30 are all the granularity you need. Some companies get this right but others it’s astounding how many buttons you have to press to get the damn thing to start. I very much enjoy my current microwave which has a quick start button which is also knob. So you poke it and it just goes, but once running you can granularity adjust time up or down by turning the knob. Very satisfying.

crazygringo 3y ago
+30 seconds quick start is pretty common already on microwaves. But it doesn't cover all use cases -- I regularly cook things for e.g. 15 minutes at 10% power, to defrost and warm them evenly. That's one of the main thing I use my microwave for, actually. I don't want to have to hit +30 thirty times in a row. If it's digital, I'm gonna need a number pad. I would be perfectly happy with clearly labeled time and power knobs, however -- but I'm not sure it's easy to make a knob that works accurately and intuitively for both 30 seconds and 30 minutes.
- SAI_Peregrinus 3y ago
  > but I'm not sure you can really make a knob that works accurately for both 30 seconds and 30 minutes. Not terribly difficult. An encoder and software to handle "acceleration". Move the knob slowly, and it steps by a small amount (say, 30s). Move the knob quickly, and it jumps by more per degree of change. My main camera lens's focus works like this, and it's great. This does require care in implementation, getting the acceleration curve right is hard.
  - Zarel 3y ago
    Yes, most microwaves with dials do in fact work like this. Compare the the distance between 0 and 1 with the distance between 5 and 6 on this microwave: https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-NE-1025F-Silver-Commercial-Microwave/dp/B00ZTVIPZ2/ https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-NE-1025F-Silver-Commercial-...
    - SAI_Peregrinus 3y ago
      That's a bit different, it's got graduations on the knob. I'm thinking of a pure encoder-based system, where the absolute position doesn't matter but the change in position (and rate of change of position) do. Think like a mouse scroll wheel, but with acceleration.
    - crazygringo 3y ago
      That only goes up to 6 minutes though. 30 minutes involves a much more extreme change in distances... and then of course in the speed of the knob as the timer runs back down.
Fatnino 3y ago
In the 90s we had a microwave where the only control surface was a knob like an egg timer. Turn the knob, oven goes whirrrr, knob winds down, goes ding, oven turns off.
- appplication 3y ago
  There’s this sort of perennial tragedy to perfectly simple consumer devices. They never last long until v2 comes out with more LEDs and buttons.
- korse 3y ago
  This is the way. I'd probably do four controls though. Higher end CNC-esque jog dial for control. ex. http://pico-systems.com/images/pendant.jpg http://pico-systems.com/images/pendant.jpg (10th of a second increments maybe. Sometimes putting in 3 seconds to warm a tablespoon of syrup is useful or 24 seconds to warm your teacup). Momentary switch to start. Seven segment display array for time setting and countdown. Sound cue to let you know when countdown has finished. Disabled via a prominent toggle switch. I'd say annunciator to keep with the industrial terminology but...
  - Fatnino 3y ago
    No need for a screen with countdown. The egg timer dial is also the display.
yencabulator 3y ago
I have a gripe about people who say "no one". My microwave heats a mug of water to the perfect temperature for tea in 2:10. I don't want to stand there to act as the timer myself. And knobs are rarely used today because they cost more and fail easier than flat buttons.
starky 3y ago
But there are plenty of applications where you only only need a few seconds (e.g. softening butter). I've seen a good application of this with a Panasonic microwave where it has a knob that starts by adding single seconds, and progressively increases the amount of time between notches on the dial as the time increases. That said, I hate the style, since punching in the numbers is quicker and requires less attention.
- aequitas 3y ago
  If you just need to cook a few seconds, stand next to it and open the door to stop it. It takes more time fiddling with the control to select just the right amount of seconds than it takes to actually cook for those amount of seconds, so your time is wasted anyways.
namlem 3y ago
I've used a microwave like this an I hated it. I like to put precise times into my microwave.

crazygringo 3y ago

+30 seconds quick start is pretty common already on microwaves. But it doesn't cover all use cases -- I regularly cook things for e.g. 15 minutes at 10% power, to defrost and warm them evenly. That's one of the main thing I use my microwave for, actually. I don't want to have to hit +30 thirty times in a row. If it's digital, I'm gonna need a number pad. I would be perfectly happy with clearly labeled time and power knobs, however -- but I'm not sure it's easy to make a knob that works accurately and intuitively for both 30 seconds and 30 minutes.

SAI_Peregrinus 3y ago
> but I'm not sure you can really make a knob that works accurately for both 30 seconds and 30 minutes. Not terribly difficult. An encoder and software to handle "acceleration". Move the knob slowly, and it steps by a small amount (say, 30s). Move the knob quickly, and it jumps by more per degree of change. My main camera lens's focus works like this, and it's great. This does require care in implementation, getting the acceleration curve right is hard.
- Zarel 3y ago
  Yes, most microwaves with dials do in fact work like this. Compare the the distance between 0 and 1 with the distance between 5 and 6 on this microwave: https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-NE-1025F-Silver-Commercial-Microwave/dp/B00ZTVIPZ2/ https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-NE-1025F-Silver-Commercial-...
  - SAI_Peregrinus 3y ago
    That's a bit different, it's got graduations on the knob. I'm thinking of a pure encoder-based system, where the absolute position doesn't matter but the change in position (and rate of change of position) do. Think like a mouse scroll wheel, but with acceleration.
  - crazygringo 3y ago
    That only goes up to 6 minutes though. 30 minutes involves a much more extreme change in distances... and then of course in the speed of the knob as the timer runs back down.

Fatnino 3y ago

In the 90s we had a microwave where the only control surface was a knob like an egg timer. Turn the knob, oven goes whirrrr, knob winds down, goes ding, oven turns off.

appplication 3y ago
There’s this sort of perennial tragedy to perfectly simple consumer devices. They never last long until v2 comes out with more LEDs and buttons.
korse 3y ago
This is the way. I'd probably do four controls though. Higher end CNC-esque jog dial for control. ex. http://pico-systems.com/images/pendant.jpg http://pico-systems.com/images/pendant.jpg (10th of a second increments maybe. Sometimes putting in 3 seconds to warm a tablespoon of syrup is useful or 24 seconds to warm your teacup). Momentary switch to start. Seven segment display array for time setting and countdown. Sound cue to let you know when countdown has finished. Disabled via a prominent toggle switch. I'd say annunciator to keep with the industrial terminology but...
- Fatnino 3y ago
  No need for a screen with countdown. The egg timer dial is also the display.

yencabulator 3y ago

I have a gripe about people who say "no one". My microwave heats a mug of water to the perfect temperature for tea in 2:10. I don't want to stand there to act as the timer myself. And knobs are rarely used today because they cost more and fail easier than flat buttons.

starky 3y ago

But there are plenty of applications where you only only need a few seconds (e.g. softening butter). I've seen a good application of this with a Panasonic microwave where it has a knob that starts by adding single seconds, and progressively increases the amount of time between notches on the dial as the time increases. That said, I hate the style, since punching in the numbers is quicker and requires less attention.

aequitas 3y ago
If you just need to cook a few seconds, stand next to it and open the door to stop it. It takes more time fiddling with the control to select just the right amount of seconds than it takes to actually cook for those amount of seconds, so your time is wasted anyways.

namlem 3y ago

I've used a microwave like this an I hated it. I like to put precise times into my microwave.