DC87 Longitudinal Review: GoldStar Microwave Oven Model MA65111W

The GoldStar MA6511W microwave oven is a triumph of kitchen
appliance interaction design. Featuring only two mechanical
controls that are all too rare in an age of overly-complex
digital designs, the MA6511W deserves as much praise as can be
put into this 16 minute episode. The adjective "intuitive" is
often over-used, but it applies to this small microwave oven.


Microwaves are functionally simple devices often made difficult
to use by manufacturers who put frivolous features and buttons on
something that doesn't need to be complex. A mad dash for
"features" at the expense of audience needs and usability is
common in microwave oven design, but GoldStar's design team
tightly focused this oven for a particular audience (re-heating
in space-cramped kitchens) and did NOT try to please everyone.
The result is a wonderful appliance that has also proven very
durable--7 years of trouble-free service at the time of this
episode's publishing.


The How Stuff Works website referred to in the episode has some
podcasts you might be interested in:
http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/hsw-shows/hsw-podcast.htm