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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?

#271

Post by kemayo »

clktmr wrote: post #234
clarkdave wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Very well, in my experience. Apple has been doing what it calls "retina" display for a while now, whereby it keeps the display's actual resolution at a high native level but scales everything it renders so the screen is effectively a lower resolution... but really smooth because of it.

Here's an album with a pair of screenshots from my own 4k display: https://imgur.com/a/7AHZZZv -- the scaled one is how I normally use it.

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

#273

Post by nokya »

preommr wrote: post #226
aqme28 wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I only watched the first video, but I really can't see the difference between his experiment (with the soap at the beginning) and his control. I'm not convinced.

Did you just skip to it or did you watch it with audio and pay attention to what he's saying? Becaue he mentions that the difference might not be super obvious but still makes a pretty good case for it.

Why don't you just come to the point?

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

#275

Post by messe »

thebean11 wrote: post #261
lucumo wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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. MacOS in particular gets amazingly slow when you don't use a 1:1 or 2:1 scaling. I too have have two 27" 4k screens and they made the machine unbearably slow. It got so bad that I now treat them as 1440p screens and let the screens do the scaling. It's not pretty…

The new MacBook pros can handle it

I've a 2019 16" MBP that I use for work, and it handles it fine as well; probably due to the discrete GPU kicking in once an external monitor is connected. Likewise, my M1 air sees no issues.

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

#276

Post by tetha »

cik wrote: post #29

I've spent a long time engineering, and adapting my workspace. It's at the point now that going to an office is a horrible experience, compared to my home office. Here's my setup * Ikea Standing desk (I never sit). I know plenty of people who use these for sitting, simply because the height of the desk is finally suited to their specific frame. * As many monitors as will make you happy (to each their own, but I'm hap…

> * Kinesys Freestyle 2 keyboard (wired, I hate wireless things, I never want to think about batteries)

I very much second that choice in keyboard, I had the freestyle 2, and now I also have the new mechanical version of it. I have really long arms, seemingly and most keyboards, even ergonomic split ones mean I either have to push my elbows together, or angle my wrists weirdly, or sit really far away.

With the Kinesis Freestyle, I can just arrange the halves wherever it feels right for them to be. And I tend to move them around relative to each other over the day, which apparently is a good thing, since it causes me to hold my wrists and elbows differently across the day, just like a dynamic sitting or standing posture.

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

#278

Post by stevezsa8 »

dlhavema wrote: post #146
khaledh wrote: post #118

The switch from a mechanical HDD to a SDD was the biggest gain in performance I've seen from any piece of hardware. I still remember the time when HDDs were the norm and the agony of waiting on loading/accessing something from disk was real.

I cannot agree more. This switch breathed new life into my home ( Windows 10 ) computer. If only i did it with a larger drove though... Im atruggling through my system drive on a 90gb ssd...

Given how cheap SSDs are now, unless you are living below the poverty line, buy a 500GB MX500 for ~60USD. You deserve it :]

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

#279

Post by kemayo »

tzs wrote: post #137
dkobia wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Second this. I was highly skeptical of the watch until I received it as a gift for Christmas. It has made me more acutely aware of how sedentary I’ve been during a typical work day. Closing the rings is now an obsession and I’m better for it.

Mine too. I currently have a streak of 1004 consecutive days of closing all three rings going on. > Closing the rings is now an obsession and I’m better for it So far I've not become obsessed about it. It is more that I've changed my habits so that I'm more active. There have been a few times where before the watch I might have skipped my morning walk due to something like waking up with a sore ankle, without even ch…

I'm on day 1,805 of my streak. I find that this is well past the level where people just make fun of you if you tell them about it. ;-)

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

#280

Post by gottebp »

A whole house steam humidifier, if you live in cold climates. That feeling you have getting off a plane in a tropical zone, escaping the winter; you can bring that home. Sinus and allergy issues go down, mucus membranes stay healthy, and skin stops cracking.
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