What I wonder is why when I buy a microwave, I'm stuck with just one set of controls. My HVAC gives me a choice of thermostats. There's a standard "API" for ta

What I wonder is why when I buy a microwave, I'm stuck with just one set of controls. My HVAC gives me a choice of thermostats. There's a standard "API" for talking with HVAC's over a few wires and I choose my interface. If I'm feeling all Star-Trek, I get a NEST. If I just want something simple, I can get a gizmo with a slider, a spring, and a mercury switch that was made in the 60's from a thrift store. Now that touch screens are ubiquitous and practically free, (and in my pocket all the time) why I'm I stuck with some ridiculous amalgamation of knobs and buttons that seems to have no thought at all given to usability. Would it be so much harder to include a simple default that could be re-flashed, replaced, or augmented? Its not just microwaves, mind you. Cable set top boxes have been reliably irritating me for decades. I posted a rant, complete with tech demo a few weeks back. Here's how I want the world to work: http://www.thesinglestep.org/thoughts/qrcontrol/ http://www.thesinglestep.org/thoughts/qrcontrol/