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Ask HN: Any piece of hardware that was more of game changer than you expected?

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Re: Ask HN: Any piece of hardware that was more of game changer than you expected?

#231

Post by falcolas »

notreallyserio wrote: post #100
esun wrote: post #10

I finally gave in to reality and got reading glasses for coding. Didn't realize how much I was suffering.

How did you decide which brand to get and at what strength? I wear glasses every day (nearsighted) and have been thinking about getting reading glasses for work but the ones I tried at the grocery store were way too strong. I somewhat recently upgraded to a larger monitor and have scaled up my fonts but I still feel like I am straining a bit.

I recommend a sub 1.0 strength. It will let you read a screen comfortably. They’re effectively a consumable for me, so I have pairs scattered throughout my house.

Re: Ask HN: Any piece of hardware that was more of game changer than you expected?

#232

Post by bikingbismuth »

maxwelldone wrote: post #219
bikingbismuth wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Totally agreed. My main keyboard and macropad are both QMK programmable.

It was QMK that actually motivated me to build my own macropad (well, it was a rotary controller) which was ton of fun even though I was just following simple tutorials. But as a software guy, building something physical sourcing all the parts myself opened a new realm of pleasure.

I totally understand the joy of building something. I made a bunch of “sensor turns on an LED” projects, but nothing scratched my maker itch like building something I actively use everyday.

Re: Ask HN: Any piece of hardware that was more of game changer than you expected?

#233

Post by parkingrift »

Air purifiers and air monitors. It is shocking and disgusting how much dust and particles these air purifiers suck out of the air. The air monitors detect when to open windows for CO2, among other things.

My allergies no longer exist.

Edit: A few people have asked for recommendations. I recommend the Coway Airmega AP-1512HH for larger spaces and Blueair Blue Pure 411 for smaller spaces. For the air monitor I have the Qingping.

Re: Ask HN: Any piece of hardware that was more of game changer than you expected?

#234

Post by clktmr »

clarkdave wrote: post #161
nickjj wrote: post #95

A 2560x1440 monitor running at its 1:1 native resolution. The screen real estate improvement over 1080p is substantial. You get so much more vertical space and you can easily fit 4 side by side code windows at 80 chars. At 24" or 25" the PPI is also quite nice for reading text. I wrote up a very big monitor selection guide at https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/how-to-pick-a-good-monitor-fo... , I try to keep it up to dat…

I've tried a lot of different monitor setups for productivity - ranging from three 24" 4k displays to a single 49" ultrawide, and ultimately have found the best setup for me is dual 27" 4ks, each running at a "scaled" 2560x1440. MacOS in particular does an excellent job of rendering 2560x1440 to a 4K screen, and the increased DPI over a regular 1440p 27" screen is very noticeable. Another option if you're not a fan o…

> rendering 2560x1440 to a 4K screen

How does this work? Will it just upscale or is e.g. text still rendered at 4K? Rendering not at native resolution results always in blurred edges in my experience.

Re: Ask HN: Any piece of hardware that was more of game changer than you expected?

#235

Post by mateuszf »

logicalmonster wrote: post #125

Open ear headphones that use what they describe as bone conduction technology really added some value to my life. It's tough to go running in normal headphones because you can't hear danger (cars, animals, people, etc) but it's a lot easier to push yourself with some good background music. This gives the best of both worlds.

> It's tough to go running in normal headphones because you can't hear danger

There are some noise reducing headphones (like Airpods Pro or Sony Wh-1000xm*) which have ambient mode - mixing music with external noises which also work great for that scenario.

Re: Ask HN: Any piece of hardware that was more of game changer than you expected?

#237

Post by hutzlibu »

diego_moita wrote: post #111
AussieWog93 wrote: post #15

If a microplane counts as "hardware", then I can't not bring up my whetstone! Cost all of around $40, is a genuine joy to use, and keeps all of my knives sharper-than-sharp. I started out with a very expensive knife (Wusthof classic 8", around US$150 or so at the time) but nothing to sharpen it with, and this was a mistake. If I could do it again I'd recommend young cooks on a budget start out with a $20 IKEA knife a…

> start out with a $20 IKEA knife and a stone to keep it sharp. You'll get better long term results than you would with an expensive knife on its own any day of the week. This is very, very smart advice. The only thing I'd add is to learn proper knife techniques: how to hold food keeping your fingers away from the blade. Never take risks with a well sharped knife.

"Never take risks with a well sharped knife."

I developed the habit of cutting myself once, with every new knive I buy. (Now I am hesitant to buy a new one)

So far I was quite lucky, but you can easily loose a finger or worse, if you do not pay attention.

Re: Ask HN: Any piece of hardware that was more of game changer than you expected?

#239

Post by nullwarp »

CodeGlitch wrote: post #209
j4yav wrote: post #67

The Apple Watch surprised me in how much awareness of my health it generated - mainly how much and what quality sleep I was getting, but also other general signals. It helped me pay more attention and make some good health improvements. Presumably any other smart watch offers similar benefits.

I have a Garmin and feel the same, definitely more aware of my health. Battery lasts about 2 weeks which is impressive.

Yessss I have a Garmin Instinct and I love it, easily my favorite Smart watch. It's got just enough smart stuff that I'd use without a bunch of extras I'd never use.

And I charge it once a week if I'm biking a lot and using the GPS.

Re: Ask HN: Any piece of hardware that was more of game changer than you expected?

#240

Post by koala_man »

throw0101a wrote: post #65
adhesive_wombat wrote: post #25

A good dishwasher. I resisted getting one for years because the one I had growing up was pretty bad. Nothing would dry, items would come out dirty all the time and it was loud and would "chug" for hours. However, a good (not even fancy, just mid-range from a competent manufacturer) modern dishwasher is night and day. Doesn't even need special tablets, it just gets things clean, even on the eco mode, which is the only…

> Doesn't even need special tablets […] A thirty minute video explaining why tablets are bad and that you should simply use powder: * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rBO8neWw04 Also, a follow-up video: * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll6-eGDpimU

I always ran my dishwasher on the three hour power wash program because nothing would get clean otherwise. Then I watched this video and started using powder. Now the normal program works fine every time.
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