Assuming this isn't a troll, I'm curious -- how dreadful can microwave UIs actually get?
* a picture of a whole chicken
* one ice cube
* two ice cubes
* something that might have been a burger or a slice of bread
* 3 x straight lines
* 3 x wavy lines
Never being sure, I ignored all of those buttons. But even the basic 'set a time, a power and go' method was awful.
* Choose a power. There was no default. You had to do this before you'd set the time, or the time would reset back to 0.
* Turn a wheel which increases the time. The first two minutes increment 1 second. After that they increment in 10 seconds. So to get to 5 minutes, you had to spend ages turning it.
* Press 'Go'.
Next to the 'Go' button there was a 'Cook' button, which reset everything.
There was a defrost mode, which seemed to heat the contents for 2 minutes and 10 seconds (couldn't change the time). The results were identical to just heating it on full power.
My solution was to open up the microwave and (after shorting the capacitor) I removed the damn beeper. I still have that microwave today and while it's still a terrible user interface it brings me happiness each day when I hear the microwave finish cooking something without beeping.
Instead, we all have stories like this about microwaves with dials, modes, stages, levels, pre-programmed jobs, and recipe databases, but that lack a simple way to microwave something for 30 seconds!
I assume this is because every microwave designer wants to invent some new feature they can tout on the box. I have often fantasized about enacting a law that requires designers of new interfaces to be forced to use said interfaces in their personal lives for a month. Hopefully this would promote better design; alternatively, it could be used as a form of penance.
In reality, most food that you want to microwave has precise instructions on it, so I really only need quick and easy to use manual controls.
Some ideas for my ideal microwave (should any manufacturers be reading):
* Small camera with OCR that can read the instructions and program accordingly
* Thermometer which checks whether the food is ready.
* A way of mixing the food, instead of relying on me to stop it halfway through and do it manually.
* Cover which goes over the food automatically, so I don't realise I forgot only when there's a load of food baked onto the top.
* Something which cooks the food without heating the container to an untouchable heat.
The best microwave UI I've used has several functions above the number pad, all of them completely optional. Typing a time on the number pad and pausing made the microwave start -- to rephrase, if you press 4 5 and didn't press anything for 3 seconds, the microwave would begin and operate for 45 seconds. Pressing 1 3 0 and walking away would run it for 1 minute 30 seconds. When it was done it beeped 3 times, then once every 10 minutes, until you open the door or press a button. At the bottom was a Power button which you could press to change the power level at any time, and a Start / +30 sec button which would add 30 seconds to the amount of time on the timer. And if the clock wasn't set, it would just display 00:00 solidly, not blinking.
Maybe this is a mis-remembered mix of the best UI elements from several microwaves, but to me it's ideal.
I'm also not a big fan of your "walk away while the microwave is off and it turns on after three seconds" model.
But even worse, it would only work if you input the desired time and power... AND YOU HAD TO PRESS BUTTONS FOR THOSE.
Yes, neither of them were default, you had to seek for a "time" button, press it, then turn the knob, then seek the power button, press it, turn the knob, and if you did it wrong it would get into some weird states of waiting for a certain input that it was not clear what it wanted, and it was not clear how you could cancel it (it does have a cancel button, but it took me a while to realize I had to press it several times in a row to reset the thing so I could try again).
The microwave is so annoying that in the end I gave up and don't used it anymore, I only relied on food that was palatable without heating, or I used the old fashioned fire.
EDIT: I remembered another one: also had no number pad, instead it featured the following buttons (that required some good force to register a press): +5 seconds, +10 seconds, +30 seconds. Wanted to make a lasagna that take 16 minutes? Good luck.
Clearly designed by an evil bastard.
Its not as annoying as it sounds. Just decide how long you want to cook for, subtract that number from 5, hit the '5' button, and open the microwave when the countdown clock gets to the number you calculated earlier.