Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#211

Post by corysama » Thu, May 20, 2021, 3:26 PM UTC

An OLED TV. I work in computer graphics and the image quality of my TV makes me smile every day. HDR is a much bigger deal than 4K. The pure blacks of OLEDs make them hard to beat. Not only for the global contrast level. The pixel by pixel contrast level and absence of light leaking at bright edges greatly improves the clarity of the image.

I picked up an LG C9 a while back. There have been two more generations since then. Not really big differences between them. So, go with what’s cheapest (currently them middle gen).

Other OLEDs are just as pretty. But, some other brands have obnoxious ads in their UI. And LG has good support for 120Hz and other gaming features. So, I’m still happy with my pick.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#212

Post by 101008 » Thu, May 20, 2021, 3:26 PM UTC

Jakobeha wrote: post #128

Material goods: Ear plugs (silicone). Don't waste your money on noise-cancelling headphones, I have $200 ones and they don't compare to simple ear plugs. If you live in a moderately noisy area and you want peace and quiet, get them. They basically just make everything quiet. 24 from CVS = $10. OpenMove by Aftershokz - Bone-conduction headphones. Perfect for running and just good for listening to music. They work, the…

I never heard of bone-conduction headphones. They seem very interesting and I'd love to try them. Are they OK for calls, or only music? And also - is there any health issue I should be aware?

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#213

Post by baby » Thu, May 20, 2021, 3:26 PM UTC

JacobDotVI wrote: post #89

Roost Laptop stand + bluetooth keyboard and trackpad Enormous impact on my posture when I'm using my laptop away from my desk. The stand collapses into a stick so it's easy to toss in my backpack. https://www.therooststand.com/collections/roost-laptop-stand...

Highly recommend the amazon knock off which is half the price and… well does the same job. It’s crazy how you don’t need anything fancy for a laptop stand :) been using it for a year and I’m happy I didn’t go full “let’s buy the most expensive thing just because”.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#214

Post by shireboy » Thu, May 20, 2021, 3:27 PM UTC

Jakobeha wrote: post #128

Material goods: Ear plugs (silicone). Don't waste your money on noise-cancelling headphones, I have $200 ones and they don't compare to simple ear plugs. If you live in a moderately noisy area and you want peace and quiet, get them. They basically just make everything quiet. 24 from CVS = $10. OpenMove by Aftershokz - Bone-conduction headphones. Perfect for running and just good for listening to music. They work, the…

Second cast iron. We use ours daily - and it's a handmedown from my grandmother who also used daily for 20+ years. Once seasoned properly, it is non-stick, cleans easy. We just be sure to put a little oil on it after each use. Really the only skillet you need.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#215

Post by 3pt14159 » Thu, May 20, 2021, 3:27 PM UTC

cryptofistMonk wrote: post #97

Airpods Pro. Not traditionally an apple guy so didn't expect to like them, but the guy talked us into them while we were upgrading my wife's phone. Wow. These things are just way better than any other earbuds and so much more convenient and comfortable than headphones. The Bluetooth just works even when switching between my Android and MacBook. The noise cancelling is great as well, way better than my Sennheisers.

I am a traditionally an Apple guy. Sure some VMs for linux development, but the gear is all Apple stuff.

I had Beats Pro headphones that got damaged after a good amount of use so I replaced them with non-Pro Airpods and have hated it. I have to constantly worry about them falling out while I'm exercising and the case gets all gunky. The handoff between the MacBook Pro and iPhone isn't reliable enough for me to trust it, so I always have to reconnect it if I'm at a quiet place like a co-working space. Also, within the first year one of them just randomly died and I had to send the whole thing back to Apple. Apple care covered it, but still.

I miss being able to do more with what's on my head. With Beats I could easily change the volume, pause, skip, rewind and they almost never came off. The only thing that kinda sucked was in the summer the skin around them would sweat.

Shrug. At least my MacBook Pro has been great.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#216

Post by silicon2401 » Thu, May 20, 2021, 3:28 PM UTC

Jakobeha wrote: post #128

Material goods: Ear plugs (silicone). Don't waste your money on noise-cancelling headphones, I have $200 ones and they don't compare to simple ear plugs. If you live in a moderately noisy area and you want peace and quiet, get them. They basically just make everything quiet. 24 from CVS = $10. OpenMove by Aftershokz - Bone-conduction headphones. Perfect for running and just good for listening to music. They work, the…

> cast iron skillet

Personally I think these are a waste of money unless you live in a house. Trying to season one of these smoked up our apartment for hours. Apparently we didn't do it right because it's still sticky even with oil, but there's no way we're going through the headache again until we have a house.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#217

Post by baby » Thu, May 20, 2021, 3:28 PM UTC

fogus wrote: post #76

My first Goban. https://cf.geekdo-images.com/EKPVOJLYCbMpRvtHBFTepA__imagepa...

This game is so much better than chess in my opinion. Have fun!

Bonus: here’s a tutorial to learn the game https://online-go.com/learn-to-play-go

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#218

Post by josho » Thu, May 20, 2021, 3:28 PM UTC

shivam-dev wrote: post #53

Logitech MX Master, I noticed wrist pain with the prolong use of the trackpad on my Mac. Instead of getting a generic mouse, I decided to take the leap and get the MX Master 2S. The ergonomics alone is worth all the hype and money. The extra buttons, excellent tracking is cherry on the top for me.

For those like me that love the mac trackpads, but experience wrist pain from the bad ergonomics I recommend a gel mouse pad.

The gel elevates the wrist to provide better ergonomics.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#219

Post by nfoz » Thu, May 20, 2021, 3:28 PM UTC

Light Dims! http://www.lightdims.com/index.php

Little sticky cellophane pieces, that you can put on the little LED lights on all modern electronics, so that you can still see them but they're not so bright.

Because I hate being surrounded by blinkenlights that are a bit too bright and hurt my eyes in the dark.

Re: Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?

#220

Post by baby » Thu, May 20, 2021, 3:28 PM UTC

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #48

Oculus Quest 2 - despite the whole Facebook thing, coupling it with awesome games and experiences, it saved me from going mental during the autumn-winter-spring lockdown in Europe combined with the depressing weather of that time. Worth its weight in gold for that. Roborock Robovac - also worth its weight in gold since the whole lockdown WFH turned my apartment into a permanent office, kitchen, cinema and gym, the fl…

Got the first quest and it was amazing. Now I’m wondering if I should hold out and wait for the quest 3 haha.