Why every microwave sucks these days • Hacker News Board

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#71

Post by solardev » Thu, Oct 26, 2023, 1:22 AM UTC

armchairhacker wrote: post #56

How do we avoid this problem and sustain companies who make long-lasting products? - Subscription service? - Annual government funding? - Annual private funding for "best product in category"? Also how are some companies who make long-lasting tools which are apparently good quality (such as Lodge, PYREX, Patagonia) seemingly doing just fine?

Didn't Pyrex move to some cheaper glass formula? I don't use cast iron, but I heard that Lodge quality has declined a lot in recent years?

Patagonia also isn't particularly high quality (I own dozens of their clothes because I like their environmental activism, but many fray out of the bag, fit poorly, have crappy zippers, etc.). Arcteryx and European brands often make much higher quality clothing. Patagonia's on par with REI store brand clothing, IMO. But at least now they're wholly owned by a nonprofit!

I'm not sure any company can avoid this fate long term if they need to keep growing.

And these days, with everything from electronics to materials science to coatings to additives all changing so fast, maybe fast and cheap and easily replaceable is just what the market bears, for consumer and manufacturer alike?

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#72

Post by voisin » Thu, Oct 26, 2023, 1:23 AM UTC

ChainOfFools wrote: post #70

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…

The kind of review you're looking for is what Consumer Reports is, (or at least used to be, as I'm not sure of the current state of things,) famous for. Because it's a paid subscription, and all of the items they review are actually purchased from retail suppliers who have no knowledge that Consumer Reports is the buyer, they can take their time and do very thorough comparisons incorporating tests of real world usabi…

For those who don’t want to pay, many libraries allow free digital access to Consumer Reports.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#73

Post by ajdude » Thu, Oct 26, 2023, 1:24 AM UTC

furst wrote: post #67

Waterluvian wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just want a microwave with an analog dial for time and a switch for low, med, high. They can keep the computer.

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 wish I knew this existed when I was in the market for a new microwave oven. It's perfect!

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#74

Post by Eliah_Lakhin » Thu, Oct 26, 2023, 1:27 AM UTC

I moved to a new place around 8 years ago. In my kitchen, I have all the usual kitchen essentials, and perhaps even some less common items, such as a Cappuccino machine.

But I don't have a microwave and never consider buying one. I used to live without it. When I order fast food, couriers usually deliver a warm meal to me. When I buy prepared food at a local grocery store, I always ask the salesperson to reheat it right in their microwave at the store. When I cook food at home, it will be hot. If I leave something in the fridge, it's not a big deal for me to eat it chilled later. Chilled food does not lose its nutritional value anyway.

The reason I decided to live without a microwave is that I can't find a device without any built-in smart-scheduling functions; instead, I want one that would offer me complete manual control.

What I really need is a device with three simple features:

1. A manual knob to control the microwave power generator output.

2. A manual shut-off timer knob.

3. A manual grill spiral knob.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#75

Post by voisin » Thu, Oct 26, 2023, 1:30 AM UTC

hotnfresh wrote: post #60

udia wrote: post #45

Instant Pot died primarily due to private equity greed, not because of Instant Pot reliability. In 2017, Cornell Capital bought the company for a total $500M of which $300M was financed by debt. Then 4 years later in 2021, it refinanced and added on debt, bringing the total debt to $535M. $245M was immediately paid out to shareholders as a dividend. Cornell Capital got paid back all the cash it invested in the compan…

What are the magic words these people use to get a bank to give them millions of dollars, let them walk off with it, then eat the loss?

The debt likely wasn’t a normal bank, and the interest rate was likely quite high. The parties making the loan were likely fully aware of the risk and thought the interest rate appropriate compensation.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#76

Post by kyleee » Thu, Oct 26, 2023, 1:40 AM UTC

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…

What we really need is a project farm for microwaves

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#77

Post by function_seven » Thu, Oct 26, 2023, 1:41 AM UTC

notacoward wrote: post #17

I have a Panasonic "Genius" microwave that I actually like quite well. The "inverter technology" does seem to cook more evenly than previous microwaves I've had, and the "air fryer" (not really) mode works very well for a bunch of frozen things that should be a bit crisp on the outside (e.g. samosas or taquitos). Day old fries often come out better than they were when fresh. Is it an amazing indispensable life-changi…

Yeah I feel the same. I have an LG inverter and it’s absolutely fine. Definitely better than the 70s microwave I grew up with.

I sympathize a bit with those who would like to have physical knobs and simplicity. I’m not a fan of the capacitive touch buttons. They are easy to clean, so I understand why they’re popular, but it would feel nice to just spin a knob to 3:30 and press the start button.

And it was 1/10th the cost of the “good old days” models. I appreciate the cost-cutting that went into my microwave.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#78

Post by logn » Thu, Oct 26, 2023, 1:50 AM UTC

armchairhacker wrote: post #56

How do we avoid this problem and sustain companies who make long-lasting products? - Subscription service? - Annual government funding? - Annual private funding for "best product in category"? Also how are some companies who make long-lasting tools which are apparently good quality (such as Lodge, PYREX, Patagonia) seemingly doing just fine?

I feel there's some thread that links the USPTO, Treasury, and FTC on guaranteeing the integrity of the dollar and commerce. We don't have a gold standard and the OPEC cartel is a weak substitute. It is some basis for the dollar that in the year 2020 an Intant Pot costs $150 and is designed and manufactured to certain specs and quality. If you look across the economy at all examples of this perhaps it's possible to create a new peg for the USD. Maybe that could even be accomplished without "blockhain" or "AI" :) and just USPS mail-in satisfaction surveys/warranties of some sort tied to corporate lending/insurance.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#79

Post by tzs » Thu, Oct 26, 2023, 2:03 AM UTC

peteforde wrote: post #54

I actually have one the the Panasonic microwaves whispered about at the end of the article, and it's been the best microwave I've ever owned. "Panasonic NNSC688S Mid-Size 1200W Inverter Microwave Oven, 1.3 Cuft, Black Stainless Steel" which Amazon sells for CAD$300, although I see one used is available for $180 - a steal, IMHO. The key word in the description is "inverter". I am very much in the pro-inverter camp. In…

I've also got one, although mine is the larger NN-SN946W model.

It has had one odd behavior that has me quite puzzled.

I was regularly having for breakfast a microwaved frozen breakfast sandwich and a couple hash browns cooked in a toaster. The hash browns took 10 minutes, and the breakfast sandwich 1 minute.

I'd program the microwave for a 9 minute timer stage, followed by a 1 minute cooking stage, and then start the microwave and drop the hash browns in the toaster.

I could then go do other stuff and when I heard the microwave beep I'd know it was time to go take the hash browns out of the toaster.

This worked great for weeks, then one morning the microwave would not start.

Some experimenting showed that it would still start as long as the first stage was not a timer stage of a multi-stage program was not a timer stage. E.g., cook stage + timer stage was fine. Cook + timer + cook was also fine, so it wasn't that timer stages could not precede cook stages. Timer only was fine, too.

This is not an internet-connected device, so it wasn't some sort of stealth firmware update. Reset didn't help, and neither did unplugging it overnight.

It was this way for a couple days (as a work around I'd do 1 second cook + 9 minute timer + 1 minute cook)...and then it started working normally again and has continued working normally ever since (about two years since the glitch).

I can't even come up with a reasonably hypothesis to explain this.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#80

Post by voisin » Thu, Oct 26, 2023, 2:12 AM UTC

solardev wrote: post #71

armchairhacker wrote: post #56

How do we avoid this problem and sustain companies who make long-lasting products? - Subscription service? - Annual government funding? - Annual private funding for "best product in category"? Also how are some companies who make long-lasting tools which are apparently good quality (such as Lodge, PYREX, Patagonia) seemingly doing just fine?

Didn't Pyrex move to some cheaper glass formula? I don't use cast iron, but I heard that Lodge quality has declined a lot in recent years? Patagonia also isn't particularly high quality (I own dozens of their clothes because I like their environmental activism, but many fray out of the bag, fit poorly, have crappy zippers, etc.). Arcteryx and European brands often make much higher quality clothing. Patagonia's on par…

> 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?