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Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

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Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#121

Post by dbg31415 »

azemetre wrote: post #91
dbg31415 wrote: post #69

Just about anything Razer. Razer Taipan & Razer BlackWidow are wonderful. Totally reliable, precise, and pleasantly tactile. I've had a few Razer mice over the years and the earlier ones had a rubberize finish that would wear off eventually... had my Taipan for 4 years or so and it still feels like it's brand new. Trackpads will work in a pinch, but after you get used to a high-DPI mouse it's hard to use anything els…

Really? I find Razer products to be cheaply made and "flashy." When it comes to mice I prefer Logitech, they are the only company whose mice have lasted me more than 5 years. I use to own a MX518 until it died on me after nearly 8 years. Now I own a G502 since they no longer make the MX518. For keyboards I've been using a Noppoo Choc Mini with blue switches at work and at home I have a Pok3r with red switches. Both h…

You bring up a good point about the lights... I turn all those off, only light on my keyboard is a subtle backlighting.

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#122

Post by lucideer »

grogenaut wrote: post #118

Just about any good kitchen knife. Pen/Pencil and Paper. A Book. A Cup A Towel A Blanket A Pillow What do these have in common, they're so well designed (over the years) that you don't even think about them.

Knife, pen, pencil, paper, book I can get behind. The rest seem to be less a case of being "so well designed you don't even think about them" and more a case of being "so elementary there's nothing to think about". A cup is a receptacle. So is half a coconut. A pillow is a soft thing to recline on.

Also, I really wouldn't conflate/group pencil and pen just because of their similar purposes. They're very differently designed objects with a good deal of complexity to each.

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#123

Post by ClassyJacket »

gjstein wrote: post #39
tradersam wrote: post #7

My jet black iPhone 7. A bit of a cop-out answer, but I'll be damned if it isn't the best looking, most comfortable (I use it without a case, and enjoy it), and best overall designed thing I own.

I almost completely agree with this. The camera is fantastic, but if it didn't stick out from the bottom (or if there were something to balance it on the other side) the iPhone 7 would be the perfect product. I don't like that it doesn't lay flat, and I can't fathom why the iPad Pro's were made in the same way.

And considering battery life is nowhere near a consistent full day, to the extent that people are regularly using portable batteries, there's no excuse for making it so thin the camera has to protrude.

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#124

Post by traek »

Pentel Graph Gear 1000: https://www.jetpens.com/Pentel-Graph-Gear-1000-Drafting-Penc...

Best mechanical pencil I've ever used. You can tell a lot of thought has been put into every aspect of its design. The Rotring 800 is similarly well-designed, but I prefer the grip of the Pentel.

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#125

Post by gajomi »

grogenaut wrote: post #118

Just about any good kitchen knife. Pen/Pencil and Paper. A Book. A Cup A Towel A Blanket A Pillow What do these have in common, they're so well designed (over the years) that you don't even think about them.

I came to write pen and paper myself :). I think cups and books definitely belong here too.

But I have always had serious issues with pillows. I don't mean the basic concept and coarse design of pillows, but rather the details of the design and manufacturing. For example different kinds of pillow case may hide or expose seems, that latter be far inferior to the former in my opinion. There is also the question of firmness and size, both of which are the subject of many a pillow focused infomercials. There is a huge variation in overall pillow quality. I could also rant about blankets, but maybe all of this is just my deficiency :)

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#126

Post by Raphael »

apankrat wrote: post #67

Aeron chair. Aeropress. EIZO monitors - http://www.eizo.com uTorrent, the older versions. Dead serious about uTorrent. One of the best designed and engineered pieces of software ever. Everything you need, where you expect it to be, doing exactly what it should be doing, and nothing more.

Deluge and qBitTorrent look much the same.

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#127

Post by davidgould »

FreakyT wrote: post #27

Another odd one, but my Honda Fit 2nd Generation. So many things about that car are so well thought-out, and even more expensive/luxurious cars miss things that the Fit designers included. Some examples: - Cup holder on the dashboard to the left of the steering wheel. As a left-handed person, this is amazing. - Window power remains on after turning off the car as long as doors haven't been opened, allowing you to clo…

This. The controls design on this car is essentially perfect. And the interior space use is amazing. When we moved my son to go to college in another city we had the whole living room piled with his stuff, yet some how it all went into the Fit. The TARDIS of small cars. Pretty nice to drive too.

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#128

Post by Kluny »

86 Tercel station wagon. Most comfortable seats ever. Every position works. The wiper and blinker controls are nice and clicky. All the adjustment controls are clicky and located exactly where you expect them to be when you reach blindly. The A and B pillars don't block your vision. There's a little spot between the e-brake lever and the seat that's the right size for a can of pop (handy because there's no cup holders). The trim is impeccable. After 30 years of driving, the weatherstripping doesn't peel off, the handles and latches aren't broken, the upholstery hasn't faded. It was amazing in the snow even the 2WD version. I could go on... I loved that little car.

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#130

Post by shripadk »

1. Macbook Air 2013.

2. Herman-Miller Embody Chair (best chair if you have lower back problems).

3. Apple Airport Time Capsule (best backup device + router).

4. Epson L565 + WiFi. Absolutely great printer/scanner. Easy to configure and use.

5. Merkur-33C Classic (best safety razor in my opinion).

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