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Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?

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Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?

#141

Post by riceart »

anonym29 wrote: post #132
riceart wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buddy, I posted a link - the actual difference in latency in time to click and movements with wireless mice with dedicated receivers. Some do better than wired models - in any event the latency of the RF link is on the order or hundreds of microseconds and the wired part of the peripheral bus (ie USB) and the software is at least a couple milliseconds. It's very well possible my wireless mouse setup has lower latency…

Couldn't agree more. Upvoting for visibility.

Why do stage musicians use wireless microphones? Is it because they have a hatred strictly for aesthetic reasons?

Nobody said you can’t use your damn wired mouse if it makes you happy - but latency is not an actual reason to prefer a wired mouse.

> Again, wireless can be superior, but only when you are deliberately cherry-picking the least efficient wired setup to compare to the most efficient wireless setup, just like your argument for mice.

But earlier I thought you said it was a law of physics that conductive mediums were always superior to air. Also that the speed of light in air is slower than a “conductive” medium.

You don’t seem well.

Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?

#142

Post by kjs3 »

arvinsim wrote: post #134
tehnub wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>two external mechanical keyboards How do you make use of two keyboards?

Actually I am thinking if we one could use 2 keyboards to have a makeshift "split" keyboard setup.

That actually works, at least in Windows. I haven't tried it on Linux or BSD.

Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?

#143

Post by KennyBlanken »

anonym29 wrote: post #112
riceart wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s essentially no lag in a dedicated wireless receiver mouse - the additional latency is dwarfed by the baseline latency of the hardware and software. https://www.rtings.com/mouse/tests/control/latency Yes connectivity issues can be a problem in certain environments but luckily this has usually not been a problem with receivers not in close proximity to interference, including USB3. Battery wise I have had cheap…

No question about it, wireless is the GOAT.

> Let's be honest here, you're either prejudiced against cables or you don't really care about performance.

Let's be honest here, you clearly have never used a decent or good wireless mouse, and have little or no knowledge of the marketplace (and oddly have a lot of opinions about them...)

> Having to change batteries several times a year is objectively more expensive, wasteful, worse for the environment, and burdensome than never having to change batteries.

Rechargeable batteries (either built-in li-ion or nimh AAA/AA) exist. Before you start going on about the inconvenience of charging: when I see my mouse dock's LED ring glowing orange as opposed to a more greenish color, I know I've got a couple of hours before I should go through the incredibly arduous process of...placing it on the dock for a bit.

> Wired is ALWAYS the objectively superior option in all metrics except for superficial & subjective "aesthetics", all else equal.

Not having a cord is substantially nicer from a usability and feel standpoint, and not just for gaming.

> "Essentially no lag" is objectively not the same as "no lag".

Go look at rtings or any other site that reviews mice, and you'll see that just like wired mice, wireless mice can vary in latency, but there are plenty of mice (even non-gaming ones) with latency matching or so close to wired mice it's within the realm of measurement error and the difference could not possibly matter even in competitive gaming.

You have a lot of opinions about wireless mice for someone who clearly has never used one.

Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?

#144

Post by daveidol »

idontwantthis wrote: post #65

I recently ditched my external monitor and I’m finding myself less distracted. 16 inch MacBook Pro screen is all I really need. Anyone else prefer working with minimal peripherals?

I went with one ultrawide external monitor that I use in “clamshell mode.”

Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?

#145

Post by King-Aaron »

I've got a Yamaha RX-V863 running to some very nice custom built monitors I put together for the stereo channels, and just some yamaha 5.1 component speakers for the rest of my home office. Nothing sucks more than having to listen to crap music while you're working.

Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?

#146

Post by TylerE »

arvinsim wrote: post #118
TylerE wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Battery adds significant weight. The mxMaster weights almost 50% more (141g vs 97g) than the wired mouse I use (Zowie EC1, NOT a small mouse, it's like the glorious old MS Intellimouse)... and the 97g is counting the cable. Also, from my experience USB-C likes to giggle itself loose under really energetic movement.

I just use a wireless mouse that accepts AA batteries. Just buy 2 sets of rechargeable batteries then I won't have to worry about battery life ever again.

Yeah, on the work laptop I've got...some sort of logitech thing. 2 AA batteries last over a year.

Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?

#147

Post by ecliptik »

cmpalmer52 wrote: post #22

I use a 60% keyboard that doesn’t even have dedicated arrow keys. My caps-lock is configured as the Fn key and, when it’s held down, the JKLI letters are the arrow keys. This (and other macros) are actually really convenient when you get used to them. Unfortunately, it’s hard for me to type on “normal” keyboards because when I end up tiYping thinks like that. My keyboard is a Mistel MD600 split. My favorite unusual a…

I have a similar setup with QMK. Where holding down the space bar with my thumb switches to the NAV layer and hjkl become arrow keys and other keys functions change too, like m and n to PGDN and PGUP.

Agree it is difficult at first switching back to a "normal" keyboard.

Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?

#148

Post by rektide »

habosa wrote: post #68

Wired headphones. I’ve never had to start a meeting by trying to mess with my audio settings, or had to think about charging another battery.

Wireless headphones. Because sometimes I really have to go and it's literally no problem to walk to the bathroom. Or to go make tea. Or to do whatever. Freedom to not be chained up is amazing. Try it.

I too don't feel like I've had to mess with audio settings. I have some SteelSeries Actis Pro's I bought a long time ago. They have bluetooth, but there's also a nice usb-based head-unit I use with higher quality, lower latency, and no pairing concerns. It shows present battery level quite clearly (which is highly enduring). The head unit also has a battery charger built in, and the headphones come with a secondary battery. I don't feel like I have to think about charging batteries either; if I have a slammed day of non-stop talking, it's easy to see at the end of the day I have half a battery left & I swap it (which takes <10s). People selling you Fear Uncertainty and Doubt about batteries seem misguided & silly to me. The freedom is amazing. Letting yourself get bothered & concerned enough to trap yourself into a narrow situation is dumb: be skeptical, at least.

Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?

#149

Post by j45 »

hipplec wrote: post #75

I have a heating pad under my keyboard which keeps my hands warm in the winter. Was like $20 on amazon, and I can't even begin to describe how amazing it is, since I was really tired of always having a mug of hot water / tea / coffee to hold and didn't want to keep the heat on my house super high when I could just wear a sweatshirt and be fine except my fingers.

Mine died in 6 months of light use, looking for a better one. They work well on the floor too if you have a basement.

Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?

#150

Post by daveidol »

me-vs-cat wrote: post #69

VR headset, swivel chair, and 270° of screens. What's bigger than ultra-wide? I use both a Quest 2 (running Immersed on Linux) and a Valve Index (running Virtual Desktop on Windows).

Do you actually work in there? I have an Index but have never tried Virtual Desktop with it.
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