As you say, microwaves are sold on the number of features they offer. I guess every 'program' is an extra feature (even though it's just a preset time and power). And if you have enough programs, then nobody will need the manual controls, so they don't need to be easy to use. At least, that's how the mind of microwave designers seems to work.
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.
A camera+OCR would be so painfully less reliable than a QR code or even a traditional barcode, either of which could represent a short string that could contain a power level, heating/standing times, and wait characters (like the special pause/wait characters traditionally supported by cell phones). It would take some hefty marketing muscle for a manufacturer to get the ball rolling for including this on food packages, though. Perhaps there's a professional organization within the food/appliances industry that could make this happen.
It would "just" require a manufacturer to offer a sufficiently good partnership to a handful of the largest supermarket chains. The large ones like Walmart, Carrefour, Tesco etc. have more than enough market power to simply tell their suppliers they'll suffer from marketing favouring their competitors if they don't add labelling following a certain standard.
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.