Kinesis Advantage
- Ergonomic layout
- Cherry MX Brown mechanical switches
- Key remapping
- Keyboard layout switching (QWERTY/Dvorak)
The best keyboard I've ever used. Not cheap though ($300).
Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?
671–680 of 1001 posts
Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?
#672"technical friends" (which i believe was name given by the man who invented them, Ray Jardine). "Friends" is still the category name used by Wild Country, which i believe was the first shop to sell the devices. more generically, i believe they are known as spring-loade cam devices (SLCD). these simple devices transformed granite crack climbing from slow, rock-altering aid climbing that required pitons hammered into c…
Link cams are a marvel of engineering.
Thy operate on a simple concept of trisecting a cam lobe so that, as the device is retracted, the cam unfolds and permits an amazing range for a unit of its size.
Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?
#673- Hoodie. Really. For me it's the best type of top clothes. - Raspberry Pi. You can do everything with this guy. - My girlfriend's Mitsubishi colt Z30. It has great system of adjusting backseats (you can move it back and forward, so that either trunk or cabin have more space). It has also roof quite high (and I'm tall so that's important for me in small cars) - KitchenAid mixer classic. It's just rock-solid. - Karrim…
Was just thinking about how great Hoodies are for fall and winter wear. Comfortable and highly functional. Large pockets and if you live in a cold climate and always having head cover available to you makes life simpler and easier.
Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?
#674Any Kindle model with e-ink. The utiluty and simplicity of design of these devices has enabled me to read almost every night before going to bed for the past 6ish years without loosing my place or holding the weight of a book (finally read War and Peace).
+1 I have one older model with the big buttons on the sides of the device while my wife has a newer one with a touch screen. Sometimes I wish the contrast on my screen was better, but I will never trade those big physical buttons for a lousy touch screen.
Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?
#675HP 32SII scientific calculator. I had one in high school (not sure what happened to it), recently picked one up on ebay and haven't regretted it!
I'd suggest the HP-16c programmer's calculator. It was small, programmable, and did calculations and conversions in hex, octal, decimal, and binary. At the time I bought one, the early 80's, I was doing embedded programming in assembler the thing was a life saver. And what's cool is that I still have it and it still works.
Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?
#676Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've never seen someone that excited about pencils. Might this be satire? ;)
Oh no. Folk can get really obsessive about stationary. I have to have Mitsubishi Uniball [1] myself. [1] https://www.penaddict.com/top-5-pens/
Oh hell yes. The 0.38 Signo is my favorite pen ever, and the retractable version makes it even better.
Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?
#677Weber Kettle grill (love their smoker as well but points knocked off for cleanup). I have always found Microsoft keyboard and mice to be well designed.
I love the Weber as well but you need to take care of them. Look at one wrong and it starts to rust.
Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?
#678How is this kettle exceptional? I have an electric kettle that boils water ten times as fast (number made up, but it's really faster). As someone who drinks a lot of hot water every day, I find this odd that someone would recommend a non-electrical kettle.
Out of curiosity: why do you drink hot water? Is it because of something health related or just because?
Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?
#679I have been recently optimizing some of my wardrobe: Darn Tough socks! Seriously life is too short to have clammy feet. Yes they are expensive but they last forever. Carhartt USA made therma lined hoodies are also awesome. I have had one for 17 years and wore it all the time before hoodies became fashionable. To be honest all of their stuff is great for the price if you can get over looking like a construction worker…
I prefer carbon steel skillets (Lodge makes them too) to cast iron. They have the same cooking and seasoning properties of a cast iron but are significantly lighter.
I have De Buyer and a very large Matfer. I can't speak for the Lodge carbon steel but I do not think that carbon steel is as versatile.
I usually use carbon steel pans for searing meat or quick sauteing. I also use them basically as a griddle.
Carbon steel pans usually can't be easily placed in the oven. I mean you can do it but the handles are generally really long and get in the way. They also don't have the same characteristics that cast iron has for baking or stewing... e.g. I'm not going to make corn bread in a carbon steel pan.
Finally carbon steel pans seem to loose their seasoning quickly. I have never seen flaking of seasoning on cast iron but I routinely see it on my carbon steel pans regardless of how I season them.
Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?
#680First of all, this thread is fantastic. If I wasn't designing and building interfaces, I'd love to give industrial design a shot. There are so many seemingly mundane things that we take for granted. Here's a few favorites: YETI Rambler - 20oz http://yeti.com/rambler I've owned so many different insulated coffee mugs, but this is by far the best I've owned. What's particularly interesting to me about this one is the o…
RE: The Withings WiFi Scale. I bought one in early-2011, which I think is when they first came out. I have been using it almost-daily since then, six years ago. Zero issues whatsoever. I change the batteries about one a year or more it seems, and plug it in to change the wifi settings when I move to a new house or something. Absolutely flawless and now I have six years of weight data easily accessible. Withings even allows easy export of that data to a spreadsheet, so I do that every year or so just so I have a backup.
The newer Withings scales have some newer features, but I have been unable to justify the purchase because the one I have is indestructible.