Ask HN: What are the best-designed things you've ever used?

Post by raffraffraff » Sat, Nov 27, 2021, 11:06 AM UTC

joconde wrote: post #531

raffraffraff wrote: post #501

Garmin Fenix 5s Sapphire: notifications from my phone with custom replies, 6 day battery life, buttons. No touch screen (operate it "blind" and in the wet), waterproof, scratchproof. You do need to pay extra for the sapphire screen. Swiss Army knife (they're sooo well made) Under armour underwear: no seams, last ages, extremely comfortable. Darn tough socks: extremely comfortable, last forever, never smell. Altra Lon…

> Docker. People like to hate a winner, and they've gone the paid route, and they did just take already-available kernel features and wrap them up... But man, they did it well and they revolutionised software development and deployment. They made design decisions that prevent simple things like "installing a .deb package from the host filesystem without keeping the package in an image layer", then fixed some of these…

Post by akg_67 » Sat, Nov 27, 2021, 11:08 AM UTC

deckard1 wrote: post #475

akg_67 wrote: post #388

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It reminded me of my experience at a Japanese Onsen (hot spring) last week. While entering the Onsen, the sliding door is automated and slides to open on it’s own. While exiting, the automated sliding doesn’t work. It has handles with no indication of pull or push or slide. The design of handles suggest most probably pull. I kept trying to pull/push with no movement. Finally, realized I am supposed to use those handl…

That design is everywhere in Japan, and can be quite embarrassing for tourists. First time I went to Japan I walked up to my hotel late at night. I went to the door. There was no handle or obvious way to open it. I stood there like an idiot for a minute or two. I walked back out to the street to make sure I'm at the right building. I walked back to the door and finally got it. The trick... you have to wave your hand…

Post by Oddskar » Sat, Nov 27, 2021, 11:17 AM UTC

thih9 wrote: post #314

princevegeta89 wrote: post #298

Netflix. Amazing and consistent user interface on every platform

I cancelled netflix more than a year ago, maybe something changed since then. But at the time I’d list it as an example of user hostile UI. It had lots of unpredictability (few fixed UI elements). Also: autoplay and a search that never says if an item is not there but tries to offer alternatives. I disliked it so much that whenever I wanted to watch something on netflix, I’d first check whether they actually have it…

Post by feanaro » Sat, Nov 27, 2021, 11:17 AM UTC

stillblue wrote: post #166

The Apple Ecosystem. I've invested a lot of hard earned money into it. I have an ipad, iphone, a macbook air, an apple watch, airpods pro and a mac mini. Bought these over the years. Just the way these things work so cohesively to me is pure magic. The attention to detail on extremely minor things is pretty impressive. I haven't had to think about "doing" anything with tech ever since I bought apple products. You jus…

Post by rambambram » Sat, Nov 27, 2021, 11:22 AM UTC

rakwoelq wrote: post #609

extrapickles wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The plate also makes it easier to clean as without it peoples handprints will be in a wider area. For wood doors its even better as wood can be time consuming to clean well.

I always avoid touching that metal door plate, I've gotten 'stainless steel cleaner and polish' on my hands too many times for me to consider using it again.