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many of your "complaints" seem easily solvable. Rice washing is a fairly common practice in cultures that cook rice. You are likely from a culture where rice i

many of your "complaints" seem easily solvable. Rice washing is a fairly common practice in cultures that cook rice. You are likely from a culture where rice is not common so the solution is to look it up. My ten year old zojirushi rice cooker came with instructions telling you how to wash rice. A "cup" is a horrible measure of volume because there are so many definitions. This is clearly not zojirushi's fault. If you don't know what GABA rice is, may i suggest you look it up? Seriously, if you do not understand what something is, look it up instead of dismissing it as "unfriendly to a westerner".

solardev 3y ago
I think this sort of condescending attitude is what makes products hard to use. I did in fact look all of this up, but that doesn't make the rice maker easy to use. (Edit) Believe it or not, yes, I can RTFM too (and did -- it still wasn't very clear, and neither were the online videos). But that's not really the point. I was more curious about why a company that clearly values the design behind its products would make these design tradeoffs. Is it the result of careful user research? Japanese cultural traditions? Thoughtlessness (unlikely?). Etc. I find Japanese automobile dashboards easier to use than most American ones, for example. Japanese watches hellish to use. Sony anything pretty complicated. Is it a model/product/company/cultural/other factor? IMO the more interesting question here isn't "How to teach HN dumbass to use a rice cooker" but "Why does this famous Japanese rice cooker company design its interface this particular way?"
- fomine3 3y ago
  This is the most accurate explanation about current Japanese design I've ever seen. https://www.disruptingjapan.com/the-lies-myths-and-secrets-of-japanese-ui-design/ https://www.disruptingjapan.com/the-lies-myths-and-secrets-o... favorite quote: > So, one thing we learned about Japanese users is that people feel insecure of empty space and people feel insecure if they don’t see everything up front.
- eldaisfish 3y ago
  you are now moving the goalposts. Understanding how to cook rice is a very different thing from a sony TV remote being complicated. Meanwhile, a sony playstation joystick is among the easiest designs to use. I disagree that my reply was condescending.
ProfessorLayton 3y ago
>Rice washing is a fairly common practice in cultures that cook rice. In the US at least, many brands spray additional vitamins and minerals to increase the nutritional value of rice, and specifically state not to wash the rice right on the packaging. Because of this, there seems to be a pretty wide split on cultural lines on whether one should wash their rice, especially online.

solardev 3y ago

I think this sort of condescending attitude is what makes products hard to use. I did in fact look all of this up, but that doesn't make the rice maker easy to use. (Edit) Believe it or not, yes, I can RTFM too (and did -- it still wasn't very clear, and neither were the online videos). But that's not really the point. I was more curious about why a company that clearly values the design behind its products would make these design tradeoffs. Is it the result of careful user research? Japanese cultural traditions? Thoughtlessness (unlikely?). Etc. I find Japanese automobile dashboards easier to use than most American ones, for example. Japanese watches hellish to use. Sony anything pretty complicated. Is it a model/product/company/cultural/other factor? IMO the more interesting question here isn't "How to teach HN dumbass to use a rice cooker" but "Why does this famous Japanese rice cooker company design its interface this particular way?"

fomine3 3y ago
This is the most accurate explanation about current Japanese design I've ever seen. https://www.disruptingjapan.com/the-lies-myths-and-secrets-of-japanese-ui-design/ https://www.disruptingjapan.com/the-lies-myths-and-secrets-o... favorite quote: > So, one thing we learned about Japanese users is that people feel insecure of empty space and people feel insecure if they don’t see everything up front.
eldaisfish 3y ago
you are now moving the goalposts. Understanding how to cook rice is a very different thing from a sony TV remote being complicated. Meanwhile, a sony playstation joystick is among the easiest designs to use. I disagree that my reply was condescending.

ProfessorLayton 3y ago

>Rice washing is a fairly common practice in cultures that cook rice. In the US at least, many brands spray additional vitamins and minerals to increase the nutritional value of rice, and specifically state not to wash the rice right on the packaging. Because of this, there seems to be a pretty wide split on cultural lines on whether one should wash their rice, especially online.