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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?

#881

Post by TheGrassyKnoll »

MisterBastahrd wrote: post #788

Any cast iron piece of cookware. They're non-stick. They're durable. They will outlast your grandchildren if you take good care of them. Any gooseneck kettle. The water flows from the bottom of the kettle so you're assured a steady stream of water. Zojurushi electric grills. I've owned several of them. I usually buy one and then give it away when I move. They have all performed perfectly, and every single one is stil…

I should be flogged for it, but embarrassingly, I broke a cast iron skillet off at the handle once, whacking something in the yard with it. I guess cast iron is kind of brittle.

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

#882

Post by photonwins »

spade wrote: post #54

Zojirushi SM-SA48-BA Stainless Steel Mug, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HYOGTTG -easy to clean -great ergonomics -best heat/cold retention vs. other products

I have one of this and you will have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands.

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

#883

Post by tedmiston »

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).

The latest Kindle Paperwhite is pretty good, and I use mine every day, but it's not great yet.

Pros: Battery life, dynamic font sizing, convenience for attaining new books, the 3x3 grid view, and cloud synced notes and highlights are amazing.

Major cons from my experience:

1 - Reading progress time estimates are buggy. In one of my current books, it insists "1 minute left in chapter" for every chapter no matter what page I'm actually on or how far I've read.

2 - Highlighting is very broken. As an avid highlighter, the lag time from initiating a highlight to saving it is almost unbearable. Especially if you mis-highlight by a character or word. It seems to get worse the more highlights you have on a given page — this can make highlighting a few sentences on a page take longer than reading the page itself. Unfortunately I think it's an artifact of the e-ink technology and I'm not sure if it can be overcome today.

3 - I'd like for the battery life indicator to be more clear. Sometimes it says "plugin your Kindle immediately to prevent it shutting off" and then it'll last another hour or two.

4 - Loading non-book content to a Kindle, such as an article from the web is a slow, painful process. It's nowhere near the experience of Instapaper. Yes, I know they have blog subscriptions in the Kindle store, but paying 99¢ per blog for content that's free on the web feels broken.

5 - (Minor) It would be nice to have a collapsible table of contents for every book.

6 - (Minor) The front bezel scratches very, very easily. It happened to mine in the first week and now I notice it every time I read.

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

#884

Post by kem »

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.

So... I drink a lot of tea every day. I own this kettle, which was given to me as a gift. I had thought about getting an electric kettle, but then decided on the Sori Yanagi (the gifter found out about this).

I had the same reaction as the OP. Here's my thoughts in no particular order:

This kettle is amazingly well-thought-out. It's a perfect size and shape. The angle of the handle is just right, and the handle itself is incredibly ergonomic. So is the lid tightness, and the holes to let out steam. The thickness of the steel is just so: it heats quickly but is still sturdy. The spout is just the right shape and size. There's no whistle, but it's unnecessary because it heats so quickly and you can hear it well-enough (it rattles enough to hear it, and I don't want to rely on a whistle for safety anyway; the lack of a whistle is maybe the one thing about it that I can understand someone's objection to, but that seems to be a personal preference issue... although maybe it always is a personal preference issue).

Why not an electric? Basically, because an electric requires an outlet and takes up extra counter (as opposed to stove) space. With an induction stove, the Sori Yanagi is a beast, and can't really be beat even by an electric kettle. Even on a regular electric or gas stove it heats noticeably more quickly than other traditional kettles I've used. I can use the Sori Yanagi kettle on whatever heat source I want, and it still works. I don't have to worry about electrical components breaking down: it's just steel and plastic (or whatever the handle and knob are made of).

There's really only one reason why I'd want something else, and that's to have something where the water is held at a constant temperature throughout the day. I can understand that, which is why I had thought about a Zojirushi. But those typically take awhile to heat (this is part of the efficiency point) and serve a somewhat different function. I consider a Zojirushi water pot another example of design perfection, but it serves a slightly different function, one that didn't seem quite right for my needs.

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

#885

Post by bryanrasmussen »

roel_v wrote: post #560
cyxxon wrote: post #470

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My dad worked as a the head of an engineering department at Miele in Germany, and therefore my family would always get new appliances before they hit the market, to actually test them out. My mum hated it, of course, to always have to relearn new interfaces etc. And yes, one day our perfectly good microwave with just these two dieals was replaced by an abomination: tons of soft-touch buttons, digital clock, what have…

Well, I have one of those Miele soft touch things, and I'm ambivalent about them. I think about this several times per day, since the last 2.5 years, every time I use it; so this is not something I just came up with. First, the current implementation isn't rigorously thought out. For example, for most operations, you put in the food, then select time to cook, press 'start'; but for thawing, you select the food type,…

Well in the notepad vs. vim analogy it is because you can program just as well with Notepad until you can't and you don't know for sure when that can't state will be reached.

Is it like that with the Miele?

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

#886

Post by 6t6t6t6 »

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…

Nubuck is not a really well designed material. It's difficult to clean and maintain, and you can ruin your shoes in a rainy day.

But yes, Camper shoes are great. They even come with 2 years warranty and have a good customer service.

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

#887

Post by cossatot »

seanp2k2 wrote: post #413
MisterKent wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently purchased one after a few months of research. I was also impressed at the amount of engineering that went into this bag. Recently, I had someone notice just how well the bag hides how much stuff it is holding without looking bulky.

Mission Workshop Transit and their other stuff is also great https://missionworkshop.com/collections/shoulder-duffle-bags...

I got a 1st gen Shed in 2010(?) and use it daily. It is definitely a fantastic product, and well worth the money even though I was a grad student at the time.

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

#888

Post by wishinghand »

hkmurakami wrote: post #162
nunez wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not for me. I've tried this (quite expensive) keyboard for two weeks. It was awkward to use and really, really complicated. The best non-mechanical keyboard I've used is a $20 Anker 84-key Wireless keyboard. It's extremely comfortable, and extremely portable.

That keyboard took me 3 months to use (to be fair I was also switching to Dvorak). Luckily (?) this was while I was sidelined in a bike to car a collision. I have struggled with RSI and it really changed my life. But I agree it's not for everyone. For starters you definitely need large hands!

Do you think you can separate out which benefitted you more- the ergonomic keyboard or a Dvorak layout?

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

#889

Post by atombender »

george_ciobanu wrote: post #277

A dishwasher that only had one button: start. A dry cleaning service where they just told me to come back next day after 5p and never asked me how I want my shirts, what kind of treatment etc. For contrast most places ask several questions that I never know the answer to. The best UI is no UI.

In NYC, FlyCleaners does dry cleaning like that. They pick up, everything is organized through their app.

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

#890

Post by lobster_johnson »

Re writing and drawing materials, I love Kunst & Papier's minimalist sketch/notebooks [1].

Aside from having great paper quality, they have a rigid cardboard cover, and the spine is fabric and flexible, so you can open the book completely flat over and over without destroying it.

They come in all sorts of sizes, from small to absolutely huge, and the minimalist design makes them look very clean on a shelf.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index%3...

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