For connected college students and singles, Amazon has introduced a microwave that connects to the Alexa speaker.
According to Cnet, the small, low-voltage microwave takes voice commands and remembers how many bags of popcorn you popped. Naturally, when you run low on popcorn, Amazon delivers some more.
The microwave can bake a couple of potatoes (but won't do four and undercooks three) and defrost all by voice command. There are challenges, though. How many ounces of peas do you have to defrost? You have to know.
Of course, it doesn't magically put the food in the microwave. So you are actually just saving time in figuring out defrost versus cook settings. But this genuinely does solve some problems.
The reasonably-priced $60 device is not for defrosting or cooking food for a family. But it's good for one person in a hurry.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
