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

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

#251

Post by eropple »

toomanyrichies wrote: post #155

One example of quality design which I gleaned from reading Don Norman's "The Design Of Everyday Things" is the metal plate I've frequently seen on doors which are meant to be pushed. The only affordance of such a plate is its push-ability, and the fact that someone actively installed a metal plate (instead of just relying on the door's natural flatness), as well as its location at the point of maximum leverage (all t…

I ran into a door today that had a handle on the push side. Not even a crossbar - an aluminum folded-over handle, one on each of the double doors. It is, unmistakably, a pull handle, and it had "PUSH" written above it and even underlined, and still it gave me pause.

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

#252

Post by bookofjoe »

iPod touch: for $200 you get an extra screen that looks great on a device that's almost ethereally thin.

RayBan Stories glasses: for $299 you get functional wearable normal-appearing glasses that take pictures and make 30-second movies. Wonderfully easy to set up and use.

Ultra Heavy-duty Scotch tape dispenser: https://www.amazon.com/Scotch-Invisible-Photo-Safe-Engineere...

Giant Foot doorstop — works with doors with up to 2" clearance: https://www.amazon.com/Giant-Foot-Heavy-Clearance-Yellow/dp/...

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

#253

Post by lostcolony »

dsizzle wrote: post #214
boomboomsubban wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kazaaa has nothing to do with torrents, but what do you mean by corrupted? Torrenting can cause a fragmenting issue, but defragging clears that up. And like anywhere else, random executables sometimes contain malware but there's nothing inherent in torrents that makes that more likely.

I meant “file sharing” more generally not “torrents” specifically (I edited my previous comment). I don’t know what exactly happened to my computer but I suspect malware. While not inherent to torrents, it does seem inherent in sharing of random executables. Have the trust issues improved? What are some good use cases of torrents?

So while Kazaa and the like eventually got the ability to actually download from multiple sources, and be able to see that a particular source is popular, as I recall from the early 2000 days, back then it was pure point to point. That is, if you chose to download something, you also were implicitly choosing what source to download it from. So even if five people had the file "Foo", you chose which one to download, and there was no way to know that 4 had the same file "Foo", and 1 person had something else, with no way to know which was what you wanted.

Torrents avoid many of those issues; you can see how many seeds a file has (though Kazaa and the like later added that). And you had to have gotten the magnet link from somewhere, which would have its own evaluatable trust. It's the difference between downloading file called "Foo" from random internet user's computer, and going to a website, that you know, and downloading a file called "Foo" that you also know has been downloaded, and retained, by X number of users.

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

#254

Post by ISL »

japhyr wrote: post #134

If you split your own firewood by hand, a Fiskars splitting axe is insanely better than any standard splitting maul you'd find in a typical hardware store: https://www.fiskars.com/en-us/gardening-and-yard-care/produc... For mechanical pencils, the Rotring 600 is the best thing I've ever written with: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AZWYUA4/

I recently borrowed a Fiskars x25 for the first time, after reading about them for many years. They really are better.

Splits better than my maul and weighs less. I was surprised to find that the latter was more important. If it takes less energy to cycle, you can split the same log more times without it feeling like a burden to do so.

The next time I need to split more than a trifling amount of wood, my first step will be to acquire a new splitting axe -- the overall time to completion will be faster.

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

#255

Post by ethbr0 »

Oxo's old style ice cream spade (apparently discontinued?) https://www.surlatable.com/oxo-ice-cream-spade/PRO-208926.ht...

Solves all the problems with an ice cream scoop. Critically, this version had a rounded front. They seem to have moved to a straight front, which I can't imagine being as effective?

40s/50s Gillette Super Speed https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/wiki/Gillette_40s_Style...

Shaving was a cheaply and effectively solved problem by the 1950s. Everything since then has been bullshit.

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

#256

Post by samsolomon »

jfrd wrote: post #17

The Kershaw Leek pocket knife. Flips open one-handed and makes a satisfying “snick”. I’ve used mine daily for 5 years. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009VC9YK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_...

Have had the exact same Kershaw knife for about the same period of time. It’s my go-to for opening boxes and things around the house. It’s a great product.

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

#257

Post by langcalvin »

kcplate wrote: post #70
wh313 wrote: post #61

My 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.

Honestly, I’d prefer my coffee maker to not do double duty as a butt washers, but maybe I am funny about these sort of things

I think in space it comes in handy. But best not make coffee again after that.

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

#259

Post by elil17 »

I love Pleco as a Chinese dictionary.

Most Chinese dictionaries have a different search bar for English words and latinized Chinese words (pinyin). Pleco let’s you toggle your search from English to pinyin and back again with a button. It also lets you navigate from words to their characters and from characters to words that use them.

Most importantly, it color coded characters so you can see how they’re pronounced more easily which is incredibly useful for beginners.

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

#260

Post by GhettoComputers »

Havoc wrote: post #59

Zojirushi rice cookers. Even though the shell is plastic it has a durable feel to it like you don't find it kitchen appliances anymore. It'll still work in 20+ years type feel

Personally hate them, they’re slow, can be replaced with an instant pot, and old crappy rice cookers still with decades later. Cute logo, good for keeping rice warm without drying it out. What appliances are you using that don’t feel durable?
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