The Fender Telecaster guitar. Simple, versatile, reliable. The design is essentially unchanged since it’s debut in the 1950s and still popular today.
Ask HN: What are the best-designed things you've ever used?
221–230 of 994 posts
Re: Ask HN: What are the best-designed things you've ever used?
#222I'm amazed no one has suggested Chromecast. It just works. Click a button on your phone or laptop and the video or song you were listening to or want to listen to suddenly appears on the TV. Even grandparents seem to get it. Maybe Apple TV is a similar experience but Chromecast is as good as it gets
Re: Ask HN: What are the best-designed things you've ever used?
#223BitTorrent is amazing. It just works. Anyone anywhere can create a torrent of their files, dump the magnet link somewhere, and everyone else can reliably retrieve it. It is self-reinforcing; the more people using a torrent, the better the robustness, redundancy and download speeds. You can often get better speeds from downloading something via torrent than from a web server. It's an open protocol that is relatively e…
Honest question: how much of the torrent content is corrupted in some way? I dabbled with file sharing back when Kazaa was a thing and I infected my computer to the point I had to reinstall the operating system and I "learned my lesson." But maybe I overlearned the lesson, and it can be used reliably?
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Re: Ask HN: What are the best-designed things you've ever used?
#224BitTorrent is amazing. It just works. Anyone anywhere can create a torrent of their files, dump the magnet link somewhere, and everyone else can reliably retrieve it. It is self-reinforcing; the more people using a torrent, the better the robustness, redundancy and download speeds. You can often get better speeds from downloading something via torrent than from a web server. It's an open protocol that is relatively e…
I'd assume he got rich off Chia - not nearly as elegant as bittorrent.
Re: Ask HN: What are the best-designed things you've ever used?
#225My Aeropress coffee maker. It feels more convenient than a french press, and much cheaper than an espresso machine. https://aeropress.com/ Also a bidet. Americans really need to start using it more.
Oddly enough, my answer would be Secura's french presses. All metal, no seals. Just works...seemingly forever.
I have a Secura french press, and while it works well, I seem to have to use so much coffee to make a reasonably strong brew. I've been sticking to some no-name steel version of a Bialetti moka pot for a few years now.
Re: Ask HN: What are the best-designed things you've ever used?
#226Been thinking about this a lot lately because I've been reading that Don Norman book, so I have several examples on the brain: - 2000 Toyota MR2 Spyder. For me, it's the perfect example of explicitly choosing qualities to sacrifice (straight line speed, utility, interstate ride comfort, safety) to maximize the qualities you desire (very affordable, zippy, perfectly balanced, convertible, charming, fun beyond belief i…
>Loaded Bhangra longboard
As someone who loves dancing and skating, this is mindblowing, I need this. Thanks for the recommendations!
Re: Ask HN: What are the best-designed things you've ever used?
#227Knipex Plier Wrenches ... so much better than an adjustable wrench and useful for all sorts of small tasks beyond bolts.
Park AWS-1 three way hex wrench. Makes working on bikes so much faster.
Dynafit Ski Touring Bindings... the patent has expired and there are loads of copy's based on the original idea now but they changed the sport of ski touring in a way that can't be overstated. (tlt5/6 boots and now the scarpa alien rs are up there too as well as modern powder skis)
Petzl Nomic Ice Tools. Again much imitated but they way they work with the human body to make climbing ice (or rock) easier was revolutionary and is something you can feel just by picking them up.
Leica M6 - or m series in general. what if we made a camera from a squished piece of pipe.
Re: Ask HN: What are the best-designed things you've ever used?
#228McMaster-Carr has the best shopping website I've ever seen. The UI is beautifully intuitive; even if I don't know exactly what I need, odds are I can easily find something that will work and they can have it at my doorstep in under 24 hours, no matter how obscure. Even if I don't plan on buying anything, it can be helpful to click through the site just to see what is available. Because most categories of parts have s…
> I hear they aren't very good outside the US though, which is a shame. I hope that this comment won't be interpreted harshly, but their familiarity with mainly American measurements really handicaps them elsewhere. It's not really their fault, but counterintuitively from where I am it's still miles better than other (domestic or international) suppliers for smaller quantities.
What do you mean familiarity with American measurements? Unit conversion is a solved problem.
Re: Ask HN: What are the best-designed things you've ever used?
#229Porsche’s.
Re: Ask HN: What are the best-designed things you've ever used?
#230Dyson vacuum products are pretty damn impressive. I have an 9 year old Dyson DC33 and every time I take it apart to clean it, I can’t believe how thoughtful the engineers were. Repairability is 9/10 and built like a tank.