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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?

#531

Post by drakonka »

solarmist wrote: post #367
drakonka wrote: post #160

* An ereader (Kindle, now Kobo) * Stadler Form George air washer. Not a full on humidifier, but does help keep humidity up in my dry bedroom. Also judging by the state of the water during my weekly cleaning it really does help to "clean" the air somewhat. * More recently, a high quality drying rack (inspired by the drying rack article linked here a few weeks ago). Helps me keep humidity up in my apartment and prevent…

Links? I use drying racks, but I'm curious what you consider high quality? Mine are just target specials I've put lock tight on the screwsto keep them from falling apart.

Here is the link to the drying rack: https://www.brabantia.com/int_en/drying-rack-tower-23-metres...

This is my first rack so not much to compare to, but so far I'm satisfied with it.

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

#532

Post by drakonka »

Calamitous wrote: post #408
drakonka wrote: post #160

* An ereader (Kindle, now Kobo) * Stadler Form George air washer. Not a full on humidifier, but does help keep humidity up in my dry bedroom. Also judging by the state of the water during my weekly cleaning it really does help to "clean" the air somewhat. * More recently, a high quality drying rack (inspired by the drying rack article linked here a few weeks ago). Helps me keep humidity up in my apartment and prevent…

I’m curious why you switched from kindle to kobo? I’ve used a few kindles over the years, what does the kobo offer that’s better?

Aside from the already great points made by others, I am trying to move away from the Amazon ecosystem a bit as both a reader and a writer, since I do not think Amazon is good for writers (in the long-term). Since I also plan to start publishing my fiction "wide" (ie on stores other than Amazon), it was a good time to get a non-Amazon reader to preview my books on.

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

#533

Post by drakonka »

ywain wrote: post #249
drakonka wrote: post #160

* An ereader (Kindle, now Kobo) * Stadler Form George air washer. Not a full on humidifier, but does help keep humidity up in my dry bedroom. Also judging by the state of the water during my weekly cleaning it really does help to "clean" the air somewhat. * More recently, a high quality drying rack (inspired by the drying rack article linked here a few weeks ago). Helps me keep humidity up in my apartment and prevent…

Is the Litter Robot really good? Most reviews I've seen said all those auto-cleaning litter boxes are meh at best, but man this is one chore I could really do without.

For me, yes. The price tag is exorbitant, but for me worth it to never have to scoop and know that my cats (one of whom has had urinary problems) always have a perfectly fresh box to go into.

Doing a monthly or bimonthly deep clean can be a bit of a hassle with such a big item, but for me preferable to daily scooping.

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

#534

Post by gpvos »

fomine3 wrote: post #500
Cr0s wrote: post #354

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see a lot of people praising tenkeyless but I use the numeric keypad so often I can't bring myself to buy one, even if my current keyboard uses more space.

I'm comfortable with dedicated keypad on the left of a keyboard rather than right, because of the right is where mouse locates. Don't you?

In the past I've often worked with my mouse to the left. But when I do that I like to switch the mouse buttons as well, and then it's a hassle when someone else uses the mouse. Nevertheless, it's an option.

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

#535

Post by EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK »

nicbou wrote: post #208

The latest iPad Mini. It was meant to be a Moleskine replacement. I draw a lot but I can't carry all sorts of pencils with me. I made it a dedicated drawing and reading device. No notifications, no emails, etc. Holy moly is it good. Procreate and Notability are incredible apps. Having different pens, layers and an undo button is fantastic. It replaced the paper pad next to my computer, as well as my Moleskine. The si…

I recently discovered a device ... weights just one gram, foldable, biodegradable, battery holds for 1yr+, costs 2 cents. Stylus is replaceable and costs $1/dozen.

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

#536

Post by indrora »

frogulis wrote: post #59
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…

> wired, I hate wireless things, I never want to think about batteries It's funny, I feel exactly the same. When friends have asked me to explain why, I struggle to justify it. It's just a minor feeling of security -- one less thing to maintain. The only piece of hardware I've considered moving to wireless is a headset for gaming with friends, but it hasn't happened thus far. Maybe if the End Times come and my ATH-M5…

My M50x's sit quietly awaiting the short spots where I use them for intense focus work.

There's two things I've made wireless on my desk: mouse and headphones.

I use trackballs, and the sheer donveni of being able to shift and adjust without worrying about a lead is mind boggling.

As for the headset: if you can swing it, pick up either the Arctis 7+ or Arctis 9 from Steelseries.

I have the 9 and absolutely make use of the split between normal audio and chat audio during calls. There is a quality of life improvement from my being able to walk in circles while I hear conversations go in circles.

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

#537

Post by shaky-carrousel »

klyrs wrote: post #473
shaky-carrousel wrote: post #443

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can I ask you which motherboard do you have? I'm thinking on building a PC, but the last time I did that was twenty years ago, so my knowledge is slightly obsolete.

I use pcpartpicker. It has a pretty good hardware compatibility matrix and pulls prices from a variety of stores online. Doesn't do a perfect job with packing hardware in small cases, but it warns you that it can't guarantee a fit. Your skills from 20 years ago will serve you well: download the manuals for the motherboard; they're more accurate than the specs listed on any other website.

Thanks for the advice, I'll check pcpartpicker out.

> Your skills from 20 years ago will serve you well: download the manuals for the motherboard; they're more accurate than the specs listed on any other website.

In ye olde times we didn't even had google, and the web was pretty empty. I had to buy the parts by shopping around in my neighborhood.

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

#538

Post by shaky-carrousel »

maccard wrote: post #526
shaky-carrousel wrote: post #443

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can I ask you which motherboard do you have? I'm thinking on building a PC, but the last time I did that was twenty years ago, so my knowledge is slightly obsolete.

I've got an asus rog zenith ii extreme. I had an MSI board before that had trouble with the RAM and had a back and forth with MSI on before just sending it bacj. As the other commenter pointed out, pcpartpicker is the way to go. My method was to find the CPU, chassis and amount of ram I wanted, enter them into pcpartpicker and pick out the test of the components with their help for compatibility except ram. When it c…

I'll try that out , thanks!

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

#539

Post by PhantomGremlin »

gnicholas wrote: post #487
notreallyserio wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not OP: I charge mine while I'm in the shower and eating breakfast. That gets me through the day with about 50-60% to spare. I do wear mine overnight. I have a relatively new series 7. It remains to be seen how it performs as the battery cycles hundreds of times. edit: Fixed percent remaining. It was much better than I'd remembered.

Could you get by if you just charged while in the shower? Also, do you think your current use is lower than normal due to COVID/WFH/lack of travel? I've considered getting one but hate the idea of having to charge my watch every day. My Pebble still gives me what I need, so I'm holding onto it for as long as the battery is in decent shape.

Could you get by if you just charged while in the shower?

How long of a shower do you take? :-) A very related question is just how intensively will you use it. Here are some guidelines from Apple: https://www.apple.com/watch/battery/

My Series 6 watch is on my wrist for up to 23 hours a day. My battery is usually above 50% after a full day of use. I charge every day but for less than 30 minutes. (I usually take it off the charger before it is completely charged.)

Depending on your work and living arrangement (e.g. I'm mostly home) it's also so easy to drop onto the charger for just a few minutes. E.g. I can top-off the watch while I go into kitchen for a cup of coffee or a snack. So no need to devote a 30 minute continuous block of time.

I have low battery use because I mostly use the watch for notifications and activity tracking. I keep the display off by default (which is probably the main power draw).

The aluminum watch with sport loop is very light and comfortable. It's easy to forget you're wearing it.

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

#540

Post by Arkanosis »

Yhippa wrote: post #373
Arkanosis wrote: post #311

The list could be very long, but here are a few things which I have started using lately and which have proved more useful than expected: - A dish draining rack: that's very inexpensive and I'm wasting way less time and space than before arranging dishes. - A vertical desktop file sorter: exactly the same thing, but for papers. - Thin, fingerless gloves I can type with: while this has not solved my dry hands problem…

> - A headset with ANC and multipoint Bluetooth: a real life changer for work, gaming and phone calls; the most expensive item in this list, but definitely worth the price for me. Ooh, have a recommendation for this?

I've spent countless hours weighting the pros and cons of many models back in 2018, and ended up buying the Jabra Evolve 75 for myself. I've been so happy with it that I bought it for my significant other, who enjoys it as much as I do.

Sound quality is good over USB and more than OK over BT; it's fairly comfortable; BT range is good; ANC is good (I use it in noisy open offices and public transportation); I've never run out of battery during my work day, despite using it sometimes for hours; there's a sturdy transport case that allows me to take it with me everywhere (and I move a lot). I'm using it mostly over BT with Linux, Windows and Android and it's very easy to pair.

That's an expensive item, but I've been using it pretty much every day for almost 4 years now and it's showing no signs of wear, so I'd say that for me at least it's worth it.

I must stress out that this is a very good work / gaming headset, but while it's very decent for music listening over USB, I wouldn't recommend it for a primarily audiophile usage (especially not over BT). Also I wouldn't recommend it for sports.

There have been new models since 2018, so I'm not sure if this is still the best value in 2022. On paper, the Jabra Evolve 2 85 looks great, but I haven't tested it myself. I'd definitely welcome an upgrade over the Evolve 75 with better sound quality over BT — it's really not that it's bad, but the difference with USB is very noticeable. It could also be more comfortable while wearing glasses, but I've yet to see a model that is.

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