I just noticed the microwave at my office has a record a message feature. I noticed this because it said to press ‘Message’ to listen to a message.
This actually seems like a cool feature. If you want to leave instructions for loved ones that they’ll have to microwave their own damn Lean Cuisine tonight, you can just record it instead of leaving a note with that chicken scratch you call hand writing.
However, since this is a novel feature, something no sane person would actually assume comes with a microwave, the interface needs to emphasize that it’s even there. I’m not saying add a huge read button, but it needs to be conspicuous without detracting from the microwave’s usefulness.
First, there’s no visible microphone. One might feel ridiculous talking at a microwave. (What if the toaster hears you?) IF it’s going to record your voice, it has to look like it’s able to. A little grille like at drive-thrus would work.
Second, the record button is actually labeled ‘Message’ which could very well be a message from the microwave to you. In fact I was expecting it to show me an error message, just like when the laser printer tells me “PC Load Letter
Finally, it could use a blinking red light, which universally means “message waiting”.
Of course, since no one would expect a microwave to record your voice, it probably shouldn’t. If people want to leave messages for others in the house, that’s why God 3M invented Post-Its.
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