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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?

#811

Post by SwellJoe »

tonyedgecombe wrote: post #779
SwellJoe wrote: post #111

Zojirushi fuzzy logic rice cooker. I've owned it for more than a decade and made maybe hundreds of pounds of rice. Always perfect. Cast iron skillet. Lodge makes cheap, very high quality, pans that just work, forever (there are many brands, several are great).

I'm not really sure what the benefit of a rice cooker is over cooking it in a pan.

It's always right. When I'm cooking a whole meal, I can easily forget about the rice, and end up with burned bottom and mushy top.

It's always perfect. The variability of my stove burners means that my rice on the stove never comes out exactly the same. With a good rice cooker, you never have under or overdone rice.

If you eat rice every couple of months, a rice cooker is pointless. I eat it two or three times a week, and I want it to be good every time and without me having to think about it (because rice is what goes under the food I'm making on the stove, so I'm too busy chopping and cooking to worry about rice).

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

#812

Post by lisper »

Coral Common Lisp on a Mac Plus. Still viable today, over thirty years later, as Clozure Common Lisp.

The Sharp EL-5813 (http://www.rskey.org/el5813). I still have the one I bought in 1980. Works like a charm. I can't even remember the last time I changed the batteries.

The original Keurig K-10 mini (the one without the DRM).

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

#813

Post by icefo »

Steel_Phoenix wrote: post #636
i_don_t_know wrote: post #317

The ancient microwave in my first apartment. It had two knobs: one for time, one for power. It's immediately obvious how to cook something for how long, how to add more time, etc. All other microwaves that I've used I had to have someone explain to me what buttons to press in what order to do even the simplest things. And I've never seen anyone use all of those fancy buttons.

The last time I bought a microwave I had two feature requests: Two knobs, one for time, one for power. An inverter so it would run at that power instead of just turning on to full power for a while and then turning off and on again, which ends up scorching food and blowing fuses. Apparently, this was too much to ask. I get the impression one company has the patent on the inverter tech, and they refuse to put a simple…

I read somewhere that it isn't possible to not run a microwave at full power. I don't remember why.

I agree on the two knobs though. I noticed after I buying an expensive in wall microwave that the thing would randomly glitch (you have to power it off to use it again). You have to use a "race condition" to launch it at full power without having to set the power then the time and then press the start button.

I had no idea you could fail so bad at making a microwave.

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

#814

Post by mdip »

delegate wrote: post #428
mdip wrote: post #362

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Completely agree! The funny thing is the first thing I thought of was an old microwave I owned with a similar setup mainly because the microwave I own, today, is so awful [0]. I have a GE combination convection oven/microwave and it was clearly designed by someone who had their first experience with LSD that day. Every function requires a different, magic, set of key combinations to make it work. Want to set a timer?…

Obviously whoever designed it didn't get the 'good' acid. Had he gotten the real shit, it would have been a musical instrument... with wheels, which also microwaves... inside and outside... Because that's how you get to the aliens. Who wouldn't want his oven to roll around the house improvising some trippy music while the meal is being heated ? While at it, why not also vacuum clean the house ? Just hit the knob a ma…

OK, you got me there -- just sent milk from my cereal out my nose.

For real! It would also be the only microwave on the market that no matter what's cooking, it will make your kitchen smell like the color blue.

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

#815

Post by lobster_johnson »

Jura superautomatic coffee machines.

Jura is a Swiss brand that is like the Apple of superautomatics. Their range extends from small, somewhat expensive consumer machines to rather expensive, excellent machines for industrial use. They're really solid, stylish workhorses, with excellent availability of spare parts and repair shops (though I've never needed any).

I have the ENA Micro 9 [1], which comes with an excellent "cappuccinatore" frothing mechanism for milk espressos (unlike those frothers that spin a little whisk around in the milk, the frother uses pressurized air). The step-up model, the ENA 9 One Touch, is not worth the higher price (it's not even as good-looking), while the little brother ENA Micro 1 is only good for coffee (no hot water or milk frothing).

[1] https://us.jura.com/en/homeproducts/machines/ENA-Micro-9-OT-...

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

#816

Post by hayleox »

apankrat wrote: post #67

Aeron chair. Aeropress. EIZO monitors - http://www.eizo.com uTorrent, the older versions. Dead serious about uTorrent. One of the best designed and engineered pieces of software ever. Everything you need, where you expect it to be, doing exactly what it should be doing, and nothing more.

Nowadays, I use Transmission. It's extremely simple with no visual clutter, open source + no ads, has command line and daemon features if you're into that sort of thing. Can't recommend it highly enough.

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

#817

Post by PascLeRasc »

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.

Just have to be careful with a gas stove. My first time using mine I put it on high and melted part of the handle. But as long as you keep the flames medium-low it's fine.

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

#818

Post by mdip »

kogepathic wrote: post #479
mdip wrote: post #362

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Completely agree! The funny thing is the first thing I thought of was an old microwave I owned with a similar setup mainly because the microwave I own, today, is so awful [0]. I have a GE combination convection oven/microwave and it was clearly designed by someone who had their first experience with LSD that day. Every function requires a different, magic, set of key combinations to make it work. Want to set a timer?…

The Sharp designers of my microwave [0] couldn't even design the clock to keep accurate time. The built-in clock is fast. It will gain about 3 minutes per week. I'm honestly not sure how they managed to screw that up. 32.768kHz crystal was too expensive? Or just too incompetent to keep track of time correctly? [0] https://www.amazon.de/Sharp-Mikrowelle-Grill-Kompakt-Mikrowe...

Oh, good point - you made me remember the mystery we solved at my old office.

We were convinced that the microwave was a low wattage unit because it would require you to cook things about 25% more than whatever the package said. It turned out that the digital timer was fast. We started the thing for a minute against a stopwatch app and it was off by more than 10 seconds.

This thing didn't even have a clock -- it was basically designed to do two things: (1) Bombard food with microwaves and (2) stop bombarding said thing after a specified period of time. It did one of those things about as poorly as it could be done.

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

#819

Post by germinalphrase »

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #250
kagamine wrote: post #239

Land Rover Series I, II & III. Much like a Jeep, original Willys and CJ, the roof comes off, the panels come off, the body is aluminium, the engine and electrics are simple enough for most people to fix. Most of what can be mechanical like the fuel pump is mechanical, not electric. They are high enough up off the ground that they can be serviced without a jack, for oil and anti-freeze etc. Truly a utility vehicle.

>Most of what can be mechanical like the fuel pump is mechanical, not electric. At least the British engineers aren't in denial about British automotive electronics. >They are high enough up off the ground that they can be serviced without a jack Which is a good thing based on the reputation LR has gone out of it's way to build for itself over the last half century.

I was once extremely tempted to buy a half cab LR I saw on a side street in New Orleans but couldn't get over the thought of maintaining a vintage truck.

Are there any more modern vehicle that fit a similar niche (repairable, rugged, spare in design)?

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

#820

Post by teamonkey »

PascLeRasc wrote: post #737

Any coffee addict like me knows that some methods of brewing are impossible before you've had a cup. The AeroPress understands this and is really simple to use, and makes amazing coffee. Everyone in my family has one and some other method as well, like a Mokapot or French press, but for the first cup in the morning it's Aeropress every time. I also love Papermate Sharpwriter pencils. They feel so comfortable to hold,…

Every part of the Aeropress is well designed, not just because it's a clever way of making good coffee, but the way it all stacks neatly in a tower, how easy it is to clean. The stirrer is flanged and of the perfect length just not to touch the filter paper.
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