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

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

#711

Post by eric_b »

armandososa wrote: post #674
jwolfhn wrote: post #141

Any 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.

Yes! I will use my Kindle Keyboard until they discontinue it. The large page turn buttons are amazing. I am so surprised that they went away from these. Do people not realize how much better it is?

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

#712

Post by zeptomu »

angry-hacker wrote: post #361
zeptomu wrote: post #305

Moka pots. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_pot It is simple and just works.

What if you have a gas stove? :) But I agree, it's a good product and design. Never read wiki, I always thought it comes from Spain, not Italy.

As long as your cooking device subclasses AbstractHeatEmitter it should work - I tested two implementations, ElectricBurner and GasBurner and both worked very well.

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

#713

Post by ben174 »

ryen wrote: post #704
dcw303 wrote: post #209

The Casio F-91W Digital wrist watch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_F-91W Keeps better time than a Rolex, and is a fraction of the price. Waterproof. Has an alarm, stopwatch, and timer; all things missing from traditional wind ups. Interface is easy to use and discover. The battery last almost forever. Now, if you're asking if it's aesthetically pleasing, that's a different story. But we were talking about design…

My only complaint is the light is too faint. I need to hold it about 6 inches from my eye to see the whole display at once in the dark, and my eyes are still pretty good. Also, if the light button had a timed-release of around 4 seconds that would be a big usability improvement.

Check out the Casio F105W. Identical watch but uses an electroluminescent backlight instead of an LED to illuminate the display.

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

#714

Post by Tloewald »

My picks would be:

First hot water jug with a round base (so you didn't need to get a specific orientation).

Apple's MagSafe connector (even though it can occasionally be tough to clean grit out)

The Mercedes power seat controls (Don Norman devotes some space to them in The Design of Everyday Things)

The Leatherman (the Swiss Army knife done right)

The original Macintosh mouse

The PowerBook 100

Whichever PowerBook introduced the trackpad.

Whichever MacBook introduced the buttonless trackpad.

The iPhone 4

Google search

Google maps

Finder

WriteNow

HyperCard

Studio/32 (Deluxe Paint for the Mac, but better)

TiVo (series 2 before they lost the plot)

The Nikon FM2 (or pick a body in that era)

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

#715

Post by kar-ma »

CCTV Camera at Dutch train stations.

Yes, sounds crazy, but these guys designed a cctv camera that doesn't feel intimidating and big brother-ish but feels more friendly and pleasing. I absolutely love looking at them while at the station. It was designed by a dutch Design firm called Fabrique. You can read more about it here: http://designobserver.com/article.php?id=38335

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

#716

Post by baby »

armandososa wrote: post #678
baby wrote: post #509

How 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?

Spent a year in China and got used to it (they only serve hot water there in restaurants and such, tap water is not drinkable).

It feels good, it tastes good as well (not many people believe me when I say that), if your tap water tastes shitty it makes it good, if it's cold it warms you up, can even help your digestion :]

In the end, it's kind of like tea, but with a different flavor.

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

#717

Post by baby »

kar-ma wrote: post #715

CCTV Camera at Dutch train stations. Yes, sounds crazy, but these guys designed a cctv camera that doesn't feel intimidating and big brother-ish but feels more friendly and pleasing. I absolutely love looking at them while at the station. It was designed by a dutch Design firm called Fabrique. You can read more about it here: http://designobserver.com/article.php?id=38335

They still look like cameras to me :\ (not that I mind)

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

#718

Post by reitanqild »

nunez wrote: post #26

Apple MacBooks are the best laptops that I have ever used. Nothing comes close to them. Even my Surface. It's a great device (by far the best Windows laptop/convertible available), but it misses on some details (light bleed on the edges, kickstand doesn't align all the way)

The only major problem is the keyboard layout which IMO is close to inexcusable. Swapping fn and ctrl with no way of fixing it is thoughtless at a level that a company like Apple shouldn't tolerate.

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

#719

Post by shanusmagnus »

allan_wind wrote: post #210
chadcmulligan wrote: post #50

Dell ultrasharp monitors Logitech trackballs Macbook pro (2016) prismacolor pencils ikea furniture

I bought a pair of wireless Logitech trackballs for home and work. Both died at about the same time, and when the warranty replacements died (for a total of 4) I switched to Clear Superior Technology.

Came here to post about Clearly Superior Technology trackballs. So so so much better than anything else I've ever used. I'm actually sad that most people don't know they exist.

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

#720

Post by peckrob »

bungle wrote: post #504

Fiskars Axes: http://www.fiskars.eu/products/gardening/axes/splitting-axe-... Barbour Jackets: http://www.barbour.com/eu/categories/mens/waxed-jackets/barb... Camper Shoes: https://www.camper.com/en_FI/men/shoes/peu/camper-peu-17665-... Stihl Chainsaws: http://www.stihl.com/STIHL-power-tools-A-great-range/Chainsa... Genelec Speakers: http://www.genelec.com/8351 Desktops: Mac Pro 1st Generation Laptops: Macbook Pro Ph…

> Stihl Chainsaws

Can definitely speak to the quality of Stihl tools. When I bought my first house, for the first three years I ended up buying a new cheap electric $80 string trimmer every year. They would burn out, mysteriously fail, or the string would get twisted up in the drive shaft and you couldn't get it out without taking the whole thing apart.

After the third one I'd had enough and I bought the $500 Stihl gas Kombisystem [0] with the string trimmer attachment. That was eight years ago and it still works perfectly. Starts on the third pull every single time. I eventually added the blower and edger attachments as well, replacing several other yard tools with a single system.

The only real downside is Stihl is an extremely old school company. I don't think they sell online to this day and you can't find their stuff in your local big box hardware store. I had to go buy mine from an actual equipment dealer out in the county. So you may have to hunt around to find a place that sells them.

[0] https://www.stihlusa.com/products/multi-task-tools/

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