Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)

news.ycombinator.com

421–430 of 618 posts

Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)

#421
I bought a table saw during the pandemic. Best purchase ever.

I always wanted to get into woodworking, but I always felt I had to take courses.

Endless hours of YouTube videos and convinced me I could just do it, and the pandemic presented the opportunity and the time.

And voila, I now have tables, desks, a fire pit, bookshelves, all done with the help of that table saw.

If I recall, it was like $450 on Amazon.

Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)

#422
post #75

Under $100: A used Instantpot, ideally the Duo Crisp if you can get one. The normal one can also make yogurt though, which might also be interesting. The great thing about these is that you don’t need to babysit them. Have a call or wanna go for a walk, and then eat? Just turn it on and come back anytime after it’s done. It will keep food warm until you turn it off. Bonus tip: Buy two and/or an air fryer to get more…

[dead]

Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)

#423

Under $100: - Ember mug - Why: lets me drink tea because I hate cold tea. Bleck. Under $1000: - 49" ultra-wide monitor to replace my dual monitor - Why: I use i3-wm. It works fantastically on it. - 5.1 Soundbar for computer - Why: I don't have to wear headphones constantly and also sound quality is so much better - Mount 50" TV above my desk - Why: Allows others to hang out in my office with me while I work / play ga…

> - EightSleep I would agree. Except that now they seem to make it so that it is pretty pointless without a subscription. Kind of sucks that you have to pay $15/month to actually use the product after paying close to $2000 for the product. I still use mine only because I was grandfathered in to be able to set temperature set-points without a subscription. If I were to need another one, I would look for an option with…

Yeah, am getting a little worried about that.

I am kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop because the company has been nothing but amazing when it comes to their support. It has sprung a leak three times, about once every 18 months, and they've always replaced it with no additional payment.

I have a feeling next time it's going to involve a lot of cash being exchanged and I'll be faced with a choice.

---

The subscription thing is very much a bummer. I hadn't figured out why they weren't shaking me down for it until I also put together the grandfathered in thing. It is extremely distasteful to have a required (?) subscription on a product that is this expensive.

I don't entirely get how spending $2k - $5k on a bed system (not a mattress!) isn't enough. Just pure fuckin' greed if I am being honest.

I get they need to make money and their product isn't a monthly or yearly re-purchase but it's just short-sighted.

Like let's be real honest here: their product almost certainly doesn't cost anywhere near $5k in materials. The margins on their product are likely already completely stupid. My guess-timate would be maybe $500 in parts. It's literally just a pump that heats or cools water that is app-controlled... not exactly anything crazy. If you look at something like Withings sleep tracker, it's $130 so even the fancy pants sleep tracking stuff isn't some crazy tech even if we take Withings' margins as the actual price.

Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)

#424

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How have they improved quality of life? Asthma?

Thankfully, none of us has had asthma. As far as anecdata: The device does have a what-appears-to-be-accurate AQ (air quality) sensor on the side. In the presence of smoke, it turns red, cranks itself up, and then returns to blue (clearest) through purple over the course of some minutes. As such, I'd say that the "response curves" looked legit to my programmer brain, besides that the air certainly smells better. I ca…

Interesting point. I have $cheap brand air purifiers, and the filters never get that dirty—but we have radiant heating in the floors and no AC, so no ducts, so maybe that’s why?

Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)

#425

Plastic deli containers for food storage: https://a.co/d/0ne7FfI ($26) Good for portioning leftovers. No more guessing which tupperware to grab - you either have a big one, a small one, or a combo. Only one type of lid. Stackable, freezable. Mildly disposable - easy to give food to friends or throw out forgotten fridge nasties. Good for holding ingredients during cooking, like a blend of spices or spare water. Not go…

Big +1. It’s like getting all the same socks, all the containers are just the same!

Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)

#426

I bought a table saw during the pandemic. Best purchase ever. I always wanted to get into woodworking, but I always felt I had to take courses. Endless hours of YouTube videos and convinced me I could just do it, and the pandemic presented the opportunity and the time. And voila, I now have tables, desks, a fire pit, bookshelves, all done with the help of that table saw. If I recall, it was like $450 on Amazon.

we had something about that tier - a dewalt. I watched my wife struggle with it, trying to hold square while building cabinets. It was so frustrating to me just watching her, that two years ago I went and bought her a nice saw stop deal. It cost me about $3k, but the fence holds square, its easy to adjust, quiet, and it just works.

Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)

#427

Under $100: - a non-stick pan (Tefal) - makes cooking much more enjoyable and likely, due to much less hassle while doing it and afterwards when cleaning up. - a search engine subscription (Kagi). No more bullshit results. It's nice to feel that your search engine isn't working against you! - a U-shaped pregnancy pillow - ideal for side sleepers - a preconstructed deck for a trading card game (Magic the Gathering Com…

>> - a non-stick pan (Tefal) - I threw out all my non stick surface pots and pans and all plastic kitchen implements because I don’t want chemicals or plastics in my food. Replaces everything with stainless steel.

cast iron mafia here - though I do have a nice set of copper cored all clad pots and pans.

Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)

#428

Under $1000: A MIG welder with gasless wire (decent quality). It's like being in control of actual magic. Under $100: cheating a bit, a Corsair K95 RGB keyboard from the local tip shop. Amazing to type on.

Just wait til you try an Inverter MIG w/CO2. OMG, so nice.

Yeah, a bit more than $1000 though, I paid $4k for my setup (but it does AC/DC TIG too).

Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)

#429

Under $1000: an oscilloscope, 4 channel 100MHz for about 500 EUR. I've been wanting to learn more about electronics but I learn best by doing and getting a feedback loop. What didn't work was reading books, watching tutorials on Youtube etc. Seeing the actual voltage change on the screen helped me understand circuits much better than before. I've since debugged amplifiers, i2s protocols, IR transmitters. Every time I…

Definitely something on my bucket list!

And I absolutely get the “theory doesn’t work” part, I’m the same, probably due to ADHD. Gotta give it a spin yourself at your own timing to understand how it works.

Re: Ask HN: Life-changing purchases since 2020? (Under $100 and under $1000)

#430

AirPods Pro Max I've had two Sonys (XM4 and XM5) and a bunch of Boses (QC 1x something, 25, 35II). These are by far the best ones for me. The fabric on the ear cups doesn't get sweaty, I have tactile buttons for every function (unlike the Sonys), ANC works even when the mic is on (Bose can't do this). And the best feature: I can charge them while I'm using them. Neither the Sony or Bose can do that, they just go offl…

I just went back to my Bose because the fabric o top on the max started sagging and were hurting my head. Totally bummed but something for others to know!

I experienced that and the following product solved it: AWINNER Headband Cover Compatible for Apple AirPods Max (https://amzn.eu/d/diJ2eXY)
Post reply on HN