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Comment on The Worst Devices of CES 2024! By iFixIt

Macro wave, they put a fucking cavity magnetron inside a toaster oven? Or I guess you could also say they put a ceramic heating element inside a microwave? Ok so, consolidating counter top appliances is not the worst thing, I like my pressure cooker/crook pot and all that.

But WHY DOES IT NEED TO BE SMART!? Why would I want to control it from my phone? I’m going to have to go to it to put the food in to it anyways? So why would controlling it remotely be useful? Also, please, I’m so tired of the AI branding hype cycle and the manufactured consent around it.

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EinfachUnersetzlich@lemm.ee ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Yeah, combination microwave/convection ovens are pretty common in Europe, but they don’t need to be smart.

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- DdCno1@beehaw.org ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  We had one in 1992 already. Built like a tank, it lasted for almost 30 years. The cookbook that came with it became the source of many family staples.
  
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  - hagelslager@feddit.nl ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Yup, I have one of those. I’m not sure what the exact build year is, but I think it’s from the mid-90s.
    
    I got in 2006 or so from a thrift store and server me ever since.
    
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Moonrise2473@feddit.it ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I got one a decade ago. The steam from microwaving caused corrosion in the top heater element, so it shorted and I had to buy a new one

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- megopie@beehaw.org ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Want to bet this “smart one” has the same such issue? That they’ve done nothing but take an existing flawed idea and dressed it up with buzz words?
  
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jarfil@beehaw.org ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

they put a ceramic heating element inside a microwave?

It’s called a crisper. As in, to make the surface of food crisp, instead of using a crisper pan, or wasting single-use crisper sheets or bags. Pretty standard in medium range microwaves.

Add a $10 metal fan, and now it’s a convection oven too!

I’m surprised they haven’t added an extra $5 motor and a skewer to also have a roaster function… but maybe that would be pushing it too far?

SMART!? Why would I want to control it from my phone?

You may be thinking of “(id)IoT”, not “smart”. You have a “smart”-phone because it’s a phone-“with extras”; similarly a “smart” microwave doesn’t mean it has (id)IoT for your smartphone to use, it means the microwave comes “with extras”.

Why do you want a “microwave, convection oven, with a crisper” have any “smarts” to switch from one mode to the other? Well, for example to defrost, then cook, then crisp some piece of food… without having to stay over it and switch functions manually.

Ideally, it would also come with a thermometer and humidity meter (that’s another $5 in sensors) to detect when the food has defrosted, then cooked.

Having an (id)IoT function… well, you might have a particular recipe on your phone, or on the internet, or want to check on how it’s doing from the sofa. Adding a webcam to live stream an image of your food, would cost another whooping $20… but I would rather duct tape one that’s reflashable with a custom firmware, so that’s debatable.

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