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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?

#431

Post by katbyte »

silicon2401 wrote: post #216
Jakobeha wrote: post #128

Material goods: Ear plugs (silicone). Don't waste your money on noise-cancelling headphones, I have $200 ones and they don't compare to simple ear plugs. If you live in a moderately noisy area and you want peace and quiet, get them. They basically just make everything quiet. 24 from CVS = $10. OpenMove by Aftershokz - Bone-conduction headphones. Perfect for running and just good for listening to music. They work, the…

> cast iron skillet Personally I think these are a waste of money unless you live in a house. Trying to season one of these smoked up our apartment for hours. Apparently we didn't do it right because it's still sticky even with oil, but there's no way we're going through the headache again until we have a house.

Live in an apartment and it’s not been a problem, if it was still sticky you probably used too much oil. And once seasoned you can just quickly wash with soap, dry, very lightly coat and with oil and toss on the burner till it starts to smoke.

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

#432

Post by ketamine__ »

Bragi Dash. Although not made anymore they have onboard storage so you don't have to run with a phone.

* Not the best product

* Slow transfer speeds (oh well)

* Waterproof

I'm actually loathe to post this. I know some of you might start buying what is left of the supply.

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

#433

Post by favadi »

mellosouls wrote: post #340
tinybear1 wrote: post #256

- A New Model M keyboard from Unicomp. I was initially skeptical of spending >$100 on a keyboard but those doubts quickly evaporated, typing on this keyboard is true bliss. Every keystroke has excellent auditory and tactical feedback. - Uniball Jetstream: One of the best pens that I have used, extremely smooth and smudge resistant. - A Kindle, renting books through Overdrive saves a physical trip to the library and m…

I've had a Kindle (the proper one I mean, not the "Kindle" Fire) since early days and its been genuinely life-transforming.

I still use my Kindle paper white from 2013 daily. The battery life is pretty bad now, but otherwise, I'm very happy with it and see no reason to update.

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

#434

Post by rootusrootus »

MediumD wrote: post #360
alanbernstein wrote: post #339

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to think noise-cancelling headphones were a gimmick. I'm also pretty indifferent to audio quality, so I never expected to buy expensive headphones. But I had an opportunity to try out one of the best options available right now, and the noise cancelling performance blew me away. With the closed-back cups sealing over my ears, and the noise cancelling active, I can only just hear normal-volume conversation next…

Which headphone did you try? That sounds amazing

Can't speak for OP, but I recently bought a pair of Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones and I'm pretty impressed. They don't make me feel the pressure in my ear like some do, and the noise suppression is just about magic. My wife has to text me from downstairs to tell me my kids are fighting even when it's just outside the door to my office, because I can't hear them at all (and I don't turn up the volume on my music). Just turning them on without any music makes it hard to understand someone talking in the same room.

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

#435

Post by smoldesu »

ricardobayes wrote: post #309
nunez wrote: post #282

The AirPods Max have been incredible for music and Zoom calls. The Tesla Model 3 is an amazing car that completely ruins all other cars for me. I can't imagine driving anything else right now. The MacBook Air M1 really does live up to the hype. You can do all-day Zooms on this thing and still have battery to spare. This was impossible on my Intel MacBook Pro. The Air is also insanely fast. It's literally the perfect…

Solid picks but I just can't justify 650€ for headphones that are arguably worse than a midrange Sennheiser. If you want to enjoy lossless audio just grab a HD58X for 160 bucks (re-run of the mighty Sennheiser HD580 from 1995).

Yep. You're welcome to own anything you want, and form any kind of opinion you want on it, but defending Airpods Max is like trying to tell Mormons about the glory of God. Having tried the Max's for myself, I must have missed what justified their price point...

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

#437

Post by Humdeee »

nfoz wrote: post #219

Light Dims! http://www.lightdims.com/index.php Little sticky cellophane pieces, that you can put on the little LED lights on all modern electronics, so that you can still see them but they're not so bright. Because I hate being surrounded by blinkenlights that are a bit too bright and hurt my eyes in the dark.

Such a simple solution... I have some aggressive LEDs covered in black tape around the home. Especially terrible if you have electronics in the bedroom before sleep

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

#438

Post by basch »

shireboy wrote: post #214
Jakobeha wrote: post #128

Material goods: Ear plugs (silicone). Don't waste your money on noise-cancelling headphones, I have $200 ones and they don't compare to simple ear plugs. If you live in a moderately noisy area and you want peace and quiet, get them. They basically just make everything quiet. 24 from CVS = $10. OpenMove by Aftershokz - Bone-conduction headphones. Perfect for running and just good for listening to music. They work, the…

Second cast iron. We use ours daily - and it's a handmedown from my grandmother who also used daily for 20+ years. Once seasoned properly, it is non-stick, cleans easy. We just be sure to put a little oil on it after each use. Really the only skillet you need.

Youll probably want stainless steel or enamled cast iron for anything with fond.

Anytime you are cooking something acidic, tomatoes, vinegar, wine. I try not to deglaze meat brownings into sauce in cast iron.

A stainless steel dutch oven is a great universal pan as well. For a "first pan" I'd probably suggest tri ply stainless over cast iron. The main thing I like about cast iron more is the pan temperature not dropping when I put something on it, so its great for reverse searing baked steaks inside the house. Most other things I find functionally equivalent in stainless and cast iron, including browning meat before I cube it or break it apart. (brown cuts of meat and ground meat whole!)

https://www.target.com/s/tri+ply+clad?Nao=0

https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=tri%20ply%20clad

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

#439

Post by strictnein »

Apple Airpod Pros - I hated the idea of Airpods when I first saw them, now I carry them with me everywhere. A very significant upgrade from the standard Airpods (imo)

Oculus Quest 2 - VR the way it should be: without wires

Xbox Series X - I'm an Xbox guy, so I'm biased, but there is no better deal in gaming than Xbox Game Pass/Xbox Live Ultimate.

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

#440

Post by smoldesu »

colinplamondon wrote: post #333
nunez wrote: post #282

The AirPods Max have been incredible for music and Zoom calls. The Tesla Model 3 is an amazing car that completely ruins all other cars for me. I can't imagine driving anything else right now. The MacBook Air M1 really does live up to the hype. You can do all-day Zooms on this thing and still have battery to spare. This was impossible on my Intel MacBook Pro. The Air is also insanely fast. It's literally the perfect…

Cosign on the AirPods Max. I'll easily use them daily for 4 years, and then someone else will enjoy the hell out of them. It makes music even more beautiful. The noise cancelling is absurdly good. Mic quality is great. They're incredibly comfortable for long work sessions. The little buttons and dial are a joy to click and press. The case everyone made fun of? It's awesome. By being forced to put them away, it always…

Can I use the included cable to play lossless audio over the headset, or will it only receive audio input over Bluetooth?
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