Re:AmazonBasics Microwave: Accessible for People with Visual...
by hedora on Sunday July 16, 2023 @11:29AM
(#36748107)
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.
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.