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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?

#951

Post by Bud »

freekh wrote: post #207

I loved my Mini Cooper: it was surprisingly versatile, had arguably beautiful estetics (me and my wife felt cool while sitting in it at least), was fun to drive in the small alpine roads, etc For us: 2 (at the time) DINKs living in the middle of Europe, it was a thing of beauty. I bought one with 0 fancy gadgets and I loved that about it. By far the best purchase (albeit expensive) I've made.

I've got a 2003 Mini Cooper with 230,000 miles on it and I'd agree with the above. It's still fantastic to drive and has a lot of pleasing design flourishes—some practical, some whimsical—which continue to delight.

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

#952

Post by icc97 »

Bikes

- Cateye bicycle lights

- Cateye Astrale wired cadence cycle computer: all the information I need and nothing more

- '98 Specialized Stumpjumper: My balance is useless and this bike is the only one I can ride comfortably without holding the handlebars. I forever feel like I'm going faster that I really am. Solid steel frame made in Japan, zero suspension

- Brooks saddles

- Brompton folding bicycles. No other bike folds up so naturally.

Kitchen equipment

- My current Kenwood Kmix Kettle [0] is the best designed / most solid / prettiest I've used so far. The main down issue is that it's made in China. The handle is stainless steel - so won't break over the years. Very nice shape and lovely colours.

- Kenwood Major mixers. Especially old ones, but even the modern Chinese made ones are still good quality.

- Dualit stainless steel toaster [1]. Simple lever mechanism for putting the bread in, simple dial timer. Served as a toaster in my University halls and always worked and easy to use whilst hungover.

Other

- Pentel refill leads and the parellelgram shaped packets they come in. (Made in Japan still)

- I was a fan of the Pentel automatic pencils back in school - the black 0.5mm one, but I kept losing them.

- Maglite torches. Tried buying a fancy ass Thrunite mega-lumens torch, but I prefer the simplicity of Maglite.

  [0]: http://www.kenwoodworld.com/en-int/products/kmix/kmix-kettles/kmix-traditional-kettle-skm035a
  [1]: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dualit-2-Slot-Classic-Toaster-Stainless/dp/B00008BQZE/

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

#954

Post by Declanomous »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #297
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).

I second. The Kindle single-handedly increased my reading by like 6 - 10x. I commute with public transit, a lot, and an e-book reader is indispensable there. Many books I've read are big enough that I wouldn't bother carrying them around in paper form.

I use the kindle app on my phone, but I really like owning physical copies of my books. One of my friends recommended Infinite Jest to me, but told me to buy an e-reader specifically for that book. I got the book itself, and I wish I would have listened to him. It literally occupies half the volume of my backpack, and my arms get tired holding it in my usual reading position.

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

#956

Post by Sohcahtoa82 »

sjy wrote: post #502
mattkevan wrote: post #367

MUJI 0.5mm gel ink pens [0] - I've used these pens for so long that my handwriting goes haywire when using a different make. Perfect balance of smoothness and scratchiness - with fast drying ink, which as a lefty is vital. Harmon Kardon Soundsticks II – had mine for over a decade and they still sound and look great. Gaggia Colour espresso machine – looks great, built like a tank, simple to repair, and still produces…

> Chromecast – it just works. Feels like the future to use my phone to stream video from the Raspberry Pi to the TV. I wanted this experience, but the Pi was too underpowered to play 1080p or transcode my existing video collection, most of which wasn't in a Chromecast-compatible format. Trying to skip forward was also really frustrating and delay-prone.

Which Pi were you using?

I found the first gen Pi wasn't powerful enough for 1080p, but the Pi 2 is. I use my Pi 2 as a torrent box and media center just fine.

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

#957

Post by h1d »

sgt wrote: post #392
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 Macs are legendary for their design, but I have to say the winner is the MacBook Air. We have one at home, specifically the 2011 model MacBook Air. Such a fine piece of equipment and it still works pretty today as well as it did 6 years ago.

Have been using Air since its 1st gen.

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

#958

Post by h1d »

pcr0 wrote: post #219
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.

Asking out of ignorance, what sets EIZO monitors apart from other monitors?

They care for eye easiness.

I have a model from nearly 5 years ago (2 in use, 2 stocked) as I'd like to give less stress to my eyes for everyday work.

Those are one of last LCD models as I don't like LED ones.

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

#959

Post by h1d »

paleite wrote: post #435
hkmurakami wrote: post #140

YKK zippers. We never think twice about them and that's the proof of their genius.

Ever since I read an article about them posted on HN, I can never unsee them

I now regularly check for YKK symbols. Gets disappointed if one doesn't use it.

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

#960

Post by h1d »

UweSchmidt wrote: post #625
kalleboo wrote: post #174

* Chopsticks. One-handed eating is just convenient. * Palm Vx. At the time this thing has fantastic functionality (all that freeware!), the OS had great charm, and I still think it looks really handsome. * Sony Ericsson w580. One of the last really small cell phones before huge screens took over. And the slide mechanism was really satisfying - the ultimate fidget

I find the fork vastly superior to chopsticks on a technological level.

I'd say it's easier to eat vegetables with chopsticks.
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