- Thinkpad 701C(S) w/ butterfly keyboard
- Shouter (for Android)
- Amazon Kindle
- Leatherman Wave
- Collapsable Electric Kettle
- Esbit Stoves
- Merrell Hiking Shoes
- Moleskins
Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?
301–310 of 1001 posts
Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?
#302Happy Hacking Pro 2 keyboard
Fuji X-T1 & Fuji lenses with manual aperture rings (e.g. 23mm, 35mm..)
Eames chair
Slayer Espresso machine
ACME cups
Audeze LCD-3
MacBook Pro 2015
Emacs (especially org-mode, but the open-ended extensible design in general is genius)
Engineered Garments parka
Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?
#303Lately, the first thing that comes to mind is the ShuttlePro v2
http://www.contourdesign.com/US/product/shuttlepro-v2/
Recommended highly by other people editing video, and the first time I used it, I felt like an expert. Once I got the keys mapped that I like and started getting good with it, it's become an extension of my hand.
Best $100 I've spent on technology in a long time.
Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?
#304A maybe overly-broad category, but the style of ceramic coffee mugs that have handles big enough to get all four fingers in. I don't realize how easy they are to hold until I'm using a mug that only allows one or two fingers in the handle.
I believe you mean "bistro style" mugs and I emphatically agree.
Seconded.
Anyone ever tried Mazama Mugs? (made in Oregon, US).
Saw one on the shelf at a local coffee shop for $42! Had to pick it up and see what the fuss was about. I'm embarrassed to confess but I've never wanted a piece of crockery so bad! http://shopmazama.com/collections/coffee
I didn't give in, but wow, are they beautifully made (and heavy).
Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?
#305Moka pots.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_pot
It is simple and just works.
Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?
#306I don't have the reference at hand at the moment but at work we have a microwave that has one wheel to select wattage and one wheel to select duration (30 secs increment).
This UX fits every frozen/industrial food because it corresponds to the manufacturer's cooking information (eg: 3minutes at 700watts, 5 minutes at 500watts, etc.).
At home I have a monster with two different alarm settings, not wattage bug a 10 grade scale, a keypad but the only way to set up time is through the plus and minus button, etc.
Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?
#307iPod Shuffle, the little almost square ones. So easy to operate all of the functions on it that it can be done without ever taking it out of your pocket. Navigate through playlists without having to look at it all. Battery life lasts seemingly forever. It made commuting by public transport in the cold so very much better than fiddling with the UI on a phone. And training meant not having to carry a huge and heavy pho…
This device was one of the worst for me. A former girlfriend of mine got one of those for Christmas from her dad.
First problem - we didn't had any Mac or Windows at home. So no iTunes. But that's an iPod problem in general. Her dad didn't know this / didn't think of it.
I've tried to use the device - but it was unusable for everything we wanted to use it. She didn't like it for music - too little space (1GB), no full albums, just a Playlist (which was pretty hard to update if you don't use iTunes). Listening to music didn't work for me too (I like listening to whole albums). So I've tried to listen to Podcasts (30 minutes to 1 hour) with it. Didn't know where in the podcast I am, fast forward for 15 minutes was cumbersome.
Didn't work for me at all. It was small, it was robust, but it didn't fit any of our requirements.
Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?
#308emacs.
it's designed to grow and change, and it does so. It has the Quality Without A Name.
Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?
#309The Nexus Prime. I have been using this particular mobile phone for so long, because of its clean physical design and stock Android experience. https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-I9250-Galaxy-Nexus-Unlocked/d...
Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?
#310The Casio F-91W Digital wrist watch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_F-91W Keeps better time than a Rolex, and is a fraction of the price. Waterproof. Has an alarm, stopwatch, and timer; all things missing from traditional wind ups. Interface is easy to use and discover. The battery last almost forever. Now, if you're asking if it's aesthetically pleasing, that's a different story. But we were talking about design…
They might only claim to be splash proof but I have dived to 30m with mine over a 10 times and to 20+m probably over 50 times and it's still going strong.