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AmazonBasics Microwave: Accessible for People with Visual Impairments (2019)

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Re: AmazonBasics Microwave: Accessible for People with Visual Impairments (2019)

#41

Post by jdiez17 »

wincy wrote: post #22

Interesting to see this here as the more expensive version of this microwave with convection baking nearly burned down my house on Thanksgiving. It was a hectic morning and we were getting ready, and I had my kid put something into the microwave/oven. She put in the metal rack and the food on top. We’d done this dozens of times before. I then used Alexa from another room and said “Alexa, bake at 400° Fahrenheit for t…

That sounds really scary. FWIW, cooking appliances are not allowed to be started remotely in Europe, presumably for this same reason.

Re: AmazonBasics Microwave: Accessible for People with Visual Impairments (2019)

#42

Post by ck2 »

fun-fact:

Most microwaves sold in the USA are made by just one company and rebranded like mad: Midea

(toasters too)

We will never, ever, be able to cut off China no matter how even worse their behavior becomes towards their own people or other countries in the future.

Re: AmazonBasics Microwave: Accessible for People with Visual Impairments (2019)

#43

Post by poulsbohemian »

HeroCC wrote: post #37
poulsbohemian wrote: post #36

While we are talking about improvements to household appliances, my partner had a moment of genius yesterday: Sodastream in the fridge. Since many refrigerators today have a water dispenser, why doesn't it include an option for a carbonated water dispenser? You'd think the manufacturers would love this as they could get recurring revenue same as water filters and air filters in the form of the co2 cartridges.

Sodastream and Samsung(?) had a partnership which did just this a while back! I told myself that when my current fridge died I would get one, and was actually a bit too excited when it finally passed. Unfortunately, I scoured the market and wasn’t able to find a single one for sale, only references and manuals from models last produced several years ago.

When the repair guy told us yesterday morning that our LG was dying, it meant a day of research to replace it... I still have a bad vibe for Samsung from a crappy experience 20 years ago, and I gotta say none of their refrigerators stacked up well by comparison in my grid. Not at all happy with LG at this point given that this fridge is barely 5 years old as the experience has been the opposite of what I had with my very still functioning 15 year old LG washer and dryer. Thinking Bosch, but then when I quizzed several friends the reviews were mixed there too.

Re: AmazonBasics Microwave: Accessible for People with Visual Impairments (2019)

#44

Post by shagie »

The toaster oven that I use is Tovala as part of a prepared meal service... and they're fairly good.

It uses QR codes on a recipe sheet to set up a sequence of events for the toaster oven. That is, if you scan the "chicken and bacon ranch Swiss melt" it will bake at 400°F for 15 minutes, steam at 425°F for 3 minutes, and then broil for 2 minutes.

It can also do some groceries from the barcodes on there. I was pleased to find that the corn dogs that I occasionally got had a pre-programed recipe as do the single French bread pizzas.

When its all done, the toaster oven beeps and I get a haptic feedback on my iWatch.

It does have buttons and display for a regular sighted person too - its not a slave to the app and barcodes.

I'll note that I don't know how the iPhone app fares for accessibility. However, I do know that someone could set up index cards with barcodes (QR or regular) on them and have it either run from its (limited) set of store bought grocery meals or run a recipe sequence associated with that barcode in the app. Those index cards could also have braille on them for instructions and identification.

With some assistance and initial setup, it would be possible to that toaster oven to be a fairly accessible device for a set of meals (that can be extended with assistance).

Re: AmazonBasics Microwave: Accessible for People with Visual Impairments (2019)

#45

Post by poleguy »

Detrytus wrote: post #2

Forgive my ignorance, but isn't an old school microwave with knobs and button even more accessible, thanks to tacile feedback? Why do they need to put AI in everything?

Buttons on a microwave are like features on a car (or in a software program). Great for comparative marketing, but do you really need all those features? Do they make it better?

I bought this microwave, currently $74.97 and even my six year old could use it. I'm not blind, but I can't imagine why anybody needs all those buttons. I bought this because it saves me a couple seconds every time I use it. It is a better, simpler design, cheaper, and appeals to my favorite design principle: "what can we remove to make this better?" The only downside is that the electronics and mechanical parts are not built to last. But that's generally true of the expensive microwaves too, and they have more things that will break rendering the whole thing useless. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BGTNY8O/

Re: AmazonBasics Microwave: Accessible for People with Visual Impairments (2019)

#46

Post by ttepasse »

poulsbohemian wrote: post #36

While we are talking about improvements to household appliances, my partner had a moment of genius yesterday: Sodastream in the fridge. Since many refrigerators today have a water dispenser, why doesn't it include an option for a carbonated water dispenser? You'd think the manufacturers would love this as they could get recurring revenue same as water filters and air filters in the form of the co2 cartridges.

A new, upmarket trend here in Europe is building carbonation, filtering, cooling and boiling water directly into the tap. Which is rather nice.

https://watersystems.grohe.co.uk/en/

https://www.quooker.nl/international

Re: AmazonBasics Microwave: Accessible for People with Visual Impairments (2019)

#47

Post by gymbeaux »

ck2 wrote: post #42

fun-fact: Most microwaves sold in the USA are made by just one company and rebranded like mad: Midea (toasters too) We will never, ever, be able to cut off China no matter how even worse their behavior becomes towards their own people or other countries in the future.

And Whirlpool owns Maytag

Re: AmazonBasics Microwave: Accessible for People with Visual Impairments (2019)

#49

Post by hedora »

Detrytus wrote: post #2

Forgive my ignorance, but isn't an old school microwave with knobs and button even more accessible, thanks to tacile feedback? Why do they need to put AI in everything?

Microwave user interfaces are incredibly frustrating.

My parents had one of the earliest commercial microwaves when I was growing up. It had:

- two radio buttons (they were big plastic things, exactly one sticks out and is ready to be pressed at a time) to toggle between cook and defrost.

- a timer knob that had a fin on the front. Turning the fin to 2' o'clock set it to one minute; noon meant "zero / done".

- a paddle switch that opened the door.

- a nice (internal) physical bell that the knob rang when it reached zero.

It was completely accessible for blind people, and was infinitely easier to use than any of the digital models. It took one arm movement to close the door, and push the fin to the right angle.

It also lasted at least 30 years.

Re: AmazonBasics Microwave: Accessible for People with Visual Impairments (2019)

#50

Post by jibe »

poleguy wrote: post #45
Detrytus wrote: post #2

Forgive my ignorance, but isn't an old school microwave with knobs and button even more accessible, thanks to tacile feedback? Why do they need to put AI in everything?

Buttons on a microwave are like features on a car (or in a software program). Great for comparative marketing, but do you really need all those features? Do they make it better? I bought this microwave, currently $74.97 and even my six year old could use it. I'm not blind, but I can't imagine why anybody needs all those buttons. I bought this because it saves me a couple seconds every time I use it. It is a better, s…

Great for comparative marketing, but do you really need all those features? Do they make it better?

Depends what you value. Sounds like you are optimizing for speed of input, so a couple dials are going to be the best option. I like digital for the precise input. I throw a slice of cheese in for 8 seconds because I know that’s how long it takes to get it from cold to to room temperature. It’s a little harder to pick exact, short times on a dial. It is more of a trade off than one type of control is inherently better.

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