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Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

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Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#391

Post by yabones »

Thinkpad X280, i7 quad w/ 16G memory and 500G SSD. It was on clearance since the model is a couple years old, but holy crap this thing is fast. And so much lighter than the last system I owned with a fast quad core (4-5 KG). My last computer lasted me almost a decade, so with the rate technological progress has slowed (barring M1), this system should last me 15 years or so.

Other than that it would have to be my Unicomp model M repro, or the plants I've filled my home office with. All together it has made the experience of being a technical human so much better.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#392

Post by bionhoward »

coldpie wrote: post #185
hairofadog wrote: post #154

* Shoes: VivoBarefoot Magna Trail II FG ( https://www.vivobarefoot.com/us/magna-trail-ii-fg-mens ). If you enjoy barefoot shoes, these things are fantastic. * For the table saw, this sawdust bag ( https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bosch-Table-Saw-Dust-Collector-S... ) does a surprisingly good job for $11, and this set of Dado blades ( https://www.homedepot.com/p/DIABLO-8-in-x-12-Teeth-Stacked-D... ) has saved me a ton of t…

I'm on the market for a pair of decent camping/hiking shoes/boots. I had been planning on getting some REI pair, but you've got me curious about these. It seems odd to me that something that claims to be thin and let you feel things would be good for hiking. Can you elaborate on that? I think I would want protection from rocks and stuff, so it seems bad for that?

Check out wolverine boots, depending on your needs you could get a slip on with a composite toe, they're much lighter than steel toes and waterproof

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#393

Post by bkeyes »

captaindiego wrote: post #328
coldpie wrote: post #177

A guitar. And then three more guitars. Never having held a guitar in my life before, I picked one up last September as a way to help keep me sane over Minnesota COVID winter, and I've completely fallen in love with playing guitar. I have played literally every day since I purchased my first guitar and I spend most of my workday excited to get home and play more.

Any recommendations for how to learn if you've never touched a guitar before?

Check out JustinGuitar.com - tons of free lessons, songs, etc from beginner to advanced and lots of extra, extremely good paid content as well.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#396

Post by kaypro »

owenversteeg wrote: post #280
kaypro wrote: post #30

Kobo Forma. I'm an avid eBook reader so the little things add up. Going from the Kindle to the Forma was a huge upgrade. Font rendering, warm light, larger form factor, and Pocket integration amongst a host of other little niceties make it pretty much a perfect experience for me. https://us.kobobooks.com/products/kobo-forma

Has anyone here tried both the Kobo Forma and the Kindle Oasis? The Forma is tempting, but apparently the lighting is more even on the Kindle, the fonts are better, and I think I’d even prefer the smaller size (more portable, fits in a jacket pocket.)

At the end of the day they're both good e-readers but for me the larger size Forma was actually the big reason I switched. Portability isn't a factor for me but if it was I'd go for their smaller Libra model. I find the Forma lighting considerably better and more even and the font rendering better as well. I'm also not a big fan of the Oasis cold metallic feel... much prefer the Formo plastic / rubbery feel. I think for most it's a preference thing.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#397

Post by lbhdc »

thom wrote: post #385

Got an Ooni pizza oven. Not quite as useful during lockdown as I might have hoped but it's given us something to do in the garden, and I can't wait to take it camping and to festivals. https://ooni.com/ I've really ended up liking my Moonlander keyboard. I wasn't initially sold onsplit keyboards at all, and it's taken me a while to end up with a layout I'm happy with, but I've just about caught up on typing speed and…

I have been interested in the Moonlander keyboard. What were some of the edge cases for you that made it more difficult to use than a traditional keyboard, and how long did it take you to get up to speed typing?

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#398

Post by meekins »

reMarkable 2. I was looking for a sketching and note taking tool and got a decent eBook reader as a bonus. The UX is very nice and distraction-free. It works surprisingly well for drawing as well.

My only complaint is the lack of Linux support for the app that allows mirroring the screen to a computer. Would be really cool for sketching stuff during online meetings.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#399

Post by PenguinCoder »

ultra-jeremyx wrote: post #299

Cold climate mini-split heat pumps * I live in northern New England and used to heat exclusively with wood in the winter time. Very cozy, but hard to maintain a consistent temp throughout the house. The new cold-climate models can operate at 100% capacity down to an ambient temp of -13F outdoors. One in each bedroom, the living area, and home office makes it easy to dial in the optimal temp for the space. No more loa…

So the heat pumps can also do cooling during the summer? What was the ballpark range for three of those, installed?

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#400

Post by samcheng »

100011_100001 wrote: post #228
enobrev wrote: post #201

Headphones: While Working at My Desk: Bose Noise Cancelling 700. Life-changing for me. While Working with Powertools: The ISOTunes SafeMax. Absolutely excellent for protecting my ears and they sound great when playing music through them. Slippers: Gecko-Man. The arch-support was very necessary. Turns out spending an entire year in regular slippers was bad for my feet. Bread Book: "Flour Water Salt Yeast". I've baked…

Bread Book...which one? Or is the name of the book "Bread Book". I have been making sourdough for about 2 years as well, but I am looking to expend to more baking using my starter.

I'd like to recommend "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" as a next-level bread book. Full of recipes, techniques, photos, and history.
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