Removing an offensive buzzer or beeper or overbright LED is far more satisfying. Plus, nobody can trivially unmute the thing.
But that said, I wouldn’t mind a microwave that could be quieted without completely muting it. They could mute the buttons but still let it beep once when a timer or cooking cycle finishes. On the other hand I have a phone that I can time things with, so I’m not really looking to replace my microwave merely for that.
Microwaves that don't beep after 1930 so that $small_child doesn't hear you dinging a bag of popcorn and get out of bed to come downstairs for some to be confronted by whatever scary-ass film you're watching once they've gone to bed.
Edit: file under "design problems you didn't know you had until you became a parent"
Your last word brought to mind the science fiction short, "Come You Nigh: Kay Shuns" by Lawrence A. Perkins, which used exactly this technique as an encryption method!
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