Re: loud, shrill "BEEP"s
As a lad in the early 80s, we had a microwave with that exact way of notifying you when it was done. My teenage ears were much more sensitive than they are today, and I did a bit of disassembly and snipping to quiet the monster.
I now have a microwave with a similar feature, but my hearing has got to the point where the shrill BEEPs don't bother me as much. But I've no idea why a less piercing tone, somewhere around middle C, could not be used... surely, someone has done a careful study to determine the optimal alert tone frequency, and I have every confidence it is a few octaves below both the '80s microwave and my current microwave.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
