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Why every microwave sucks these days

moth.monster

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Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#311

Post by voisin »

rrr_oh_man wrote: post #224
voisin wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm not sure any company can avoid this fate long term if they need to keep growing. I wonder why “if they need to keep growing” is so important to literally everyone? I’d die for a meaningful business that predictably spit out cash due to extreme customer loyalty. Why did growth itself become the prize everyone reaches for?

> Why did growth itself become the prize everyone reaches for? That's literally capitalism. The hamster wheel. A closed loop. If you take out a loan from a bank, the bank expects 5% annual return on that loan. Where do you get the additional 5% that you owe? You need to take it from someone else (who themself took out a loan, maybe even from the same bank). While the bank can and will almost literally create (digital…

> If you take out a loan from a bank, the bank expects 5% annual return on that loan. Where do you get the additional 5% that you owe?

This has a lot of implicit assumptions which don’t hold true in reality. The 5% would have to be the same as the return on equity prior to the loan, and the loan would have to be for the full amount of the equity.

What I said above is that you can have a stable business with a decent return without needing to grow the business.

Say you have a business with $10 million in sales, and a net profit margin of 15%, so you take out $1.5 million per year. In my mind this is a great business.

1. To your specific point re a loan, this could easily support a $4 million load at 8% without demanding the underlying business grow revenues at all.

2. Lots of people would be tempted to grow the top line to $100 million even if net margins shrank to 5%. This is the point I don’t understand. Is it just greed? The consequence is that, in the aggregate across the economy, businesses and people rarely become businesses like OP points out and usually end up doing a lot of shitty things that destroy any lasting brand value or loyalty. I’m looking at Google Search and Facebook, and a million other businesses in and out of tech when I say this.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#312

Post by MarkusWandel »

foundart wrote: post #121
furst wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depending on how you feel about IKEA, their TILLREDA model microwave is two dials for time and power, and a button to open the door

I like the concept, but the rotating turntable for the food and plate is silly. I have a Panasonic NE-1022F (sadly, no longer available) and it rotates the antenna under the floor of the unit. That approach enables use of a smaller motor, requires fewer moving parts, and makes the interior very easy to clean.

Commercial microwaves often don't have turntables. What they have - based on observation of a single one I took apart once - is a "scatter wheel" in the roof of the chamber, that spins just by air movement from the cooling fan, and reflects the microwave energy this way and that.

But that produces a stationary pattern (averaged over a rotation). Depending on where your food item is, some spot in it may never actually get high power energy if the overall scatter pattern is weak there. Actually rotating the food through a stationary pattern is likely to provide better coverage.

This is not proved. It is possible to set up an experiment to prove it. But it's reconciled me to the idea of the turntable. Also, consumer microwave turntables have, in my experience, been reliable.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#313

Post by silverlake »

There has been plenty of innovation in microwaves. Commercial kitchens use speed ovens, a combination oven + microwave. The oven cooks the outside of food as expected, the microwave cooks the inside faster than normal. See your local Subway sandwich shop for an example.

And Instapot was killed by private equity.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#314

Post by rat9988 »

samplatt wrote: post #237
gobins wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Samsung microwaves, although with good build quality, are notorious for having a very bad UX. - The buttons don't give have tactile feedback. - Setting time is very confusing. - You have to press multiple buttons just to start. - If you want to cancel/clear timer, you have to press multiple buttons again.

How is Samsung so bad at software in every single division they own? It's amazing.

I quite like their software on my phone. Usually better than their google counterpart, and samsung dex is a little gem.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#315

Post by graywh »

stevage wrote: post #149
ForkMeOnTinder wrote: post #11

As a chronic comparison shopper, this is a first-world problem that's near and dear to my heart. I think the reason microwaves (and appliances in general) suck is because comparison shopping is so hard. I wish I could get a list of all microwaves and filter by criteria such as: - Does the +30 seconds button start cooking immediately, or do you have to also press "start" afterwards? - Does it beep every 30 seconds aft…

My ideal microwave would have two buttons. 1: The first two times you push it, it sets the timer to 0:30 and starts cooking. The next time, adds 0:30. Each time after that, it adds 1 minute and starts cooking. 2. Reset the timer to 0. And a door latch which stops cooking. I don't need power levels, or more precise timing, or any of that other stuff.

but power levels are amazing for reheating (around 50%) and defrosting (around 25%)

and I would argue these are two of the major reasons to use a microwave

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#316

Post by Tagbert »

crazygringo wrote: post #310

There's a big innovation I'm looking for in microwaves and I simply do not understand why nobody sells it yet: An interior IR sensor/camera that will cycle/adjust power until my food is fully cooked to a certain temperature but not above it. I don't want to pick a duration and I don't want to pick power levels and I don't want hot spots and I don't want to have to check the food every 30 seconds or 3 minutes or whate…

My microwave has "sensor" modes for cooking various things but you don't have any control over the temperature it targets.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#317

Post by Tagbert »

theshrike79 wrote: post #206
Arainach wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dare I ask why? Analog dials for time are imprecise, frustrating, and I've seen far more of them break than any electronic component in home appliances.

It really doesn't matter whether you heat your food for 28 or 32 seconds.

there are things that I heat for 11 seconds. If it is in there for more than 12 seconds, it starts to overcook. An analog dial is a poor choice in this case.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#318

Post by leephillips »

When I moved a few years ago I decided to try existing without a microwave oven to see how it went. I haven’t bothered to buy one, and I don’t miss it. I don’t eat crap like frozen TV dinners, so I have little use for this appliance. My point is, try going without one for a while. You may find it’s one of those things that you think you need because everyone has one, but in fact has little utility, and is just something else that you need to clean. Then, get rid of your garbage disposal.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#319

Post by appplication »

crazygringo wrote: post #310

There's a big innovation I'm looking for in microwaves and I simply do not understand why nobody sells it yet: An interior IR sensor/camera that will cycle/adjust power until my food is fully cooked to a certain temperature but not above it. I don't want to pick a duration and I don't want to pick power levels and I don't want hot spots and I don't want to have to check the food every 30 seconds or 3 minutes or whate…

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.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#320

Post by crazygringo »

Tagbert wrote: post #316
crazygringo wrote: post #310

There's a big innovation I'm looking for in microwaves and I simply do not understand why nobody sells it yet: An interior IR sensor/camera that will cycle/adjust power until my food is fully cooked to a certain temperature but not above it. I don't want to pick a duration and I don't want to pick power levels and I don't want hot spots and I don't want to have to check the food every 30 seconds or 3 minutes or whate…

My microwave has "sensor" modes for cooking various things but you don't have any control over the temperature it targets.

Yup, that's a humidity sensor. It's entirely useless in my experience -- the steam generated by food tells you that something is cooking to some degree, but you're still just as likely to wind up with rubbery overcooked hot spots while half of your item is still frozen.
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