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

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

#601

Post by hawski » Thu, May 20, 2021, 5:50 PM UTC

Disclaimer: I'm generally cheap.

Pilot G2 pen - I bought it after someone recommended it and it is indeed a pleasure to write with it.

Ryzen 5 2400G - it has a good enough GPU to play some nice games with Steam Proton. In future I would like to make a Mini-ITX build for it.

Canon EOS M100 with pan cake lens - it's almost as small as a compact, but has big APS-C sensor. I bought a used body. I noticed lately how my old photos are so much better then later ones. The difference between a compact and a first gen Pixel is noticeable. With this it's even further. But with pandemics there was no much use of it lately.

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

#602

Post by boomka » Thu, May 20, 2021, 5:50 PM UTC

Bone conducting headphones for running: Titanium AfterShockz. Love them, and not just because they don't block ambient sounds, but also the sound is almost unaffected by the wind, whereas all the other headphones would get completely drowned out by the wind whistling.

Vaccum: Henry. Don't know if you can buy it outside UK, but it is the perfect vacuum. I tried robotic one a few years back (Eufy) but my floor is full of obstacles like stools, shoes, backpacks, etc, so the poor thing would get stuck all the time.

Home computer: Airtop from CompuLab. I am very annoyed by fan noise so quiet or silent computer has always been a must for me. Airtop is by far the best one I could find or build. Expensive though...

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

#603

Post by princevegeta89 » Thu, May 20, 2021, 5:51 PM UTC

Hardware: I bought a pair of Kef LS50 bookshelf studio monitors for my desk. I can't live without these.

Beyerdynamic DT 770 pro 250 ohm. Another legendary pair of headphones which I use everyday.

Also bought a Samsung 32 inch 4K monitor that made a huge difference in my life in terms of productivity

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

#604

Post by axegon_ » Thu, May 20, 2021, 5:51 PM UTC

Strictly material: after a decade and a half of laptops only, a workstation takes the win by a very long shot. And with 2x 14-core xeons and 64 GB memory I feel like a new man. GPU is a bit on the low side but now is not the time for GPU's so I'll stick to this one until there's some sanity with the GPU prices.

Otherwise dog.

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

#605

Post by csteubs » Thu, May 20, 2021, 5:51 PM UTC

tomcam wrote: post #37

1999 GMC Savanna passenger van (seats removed) for use as a farm truck. It’s huge inside and easily holds 4x8 sheets of ply. Here in Seattle it gets wet a lot so I never have to worry about transporting or storing in the rain. Has 8 cylinder engine that will last forever and is easyish to maintain. I get an surprising amount of sheepish interest/envy from dudes who had the same idea but who bought pickups (which seld…

Ditto on the large vehicle purchase. I've been spending more time out in the wilderness and my 2WD Volvo sedan wasn't cutting it on dirt roads and with little-to-no suspension, so I bought a 2005 Yukon from a good friend. He bought it from the original owner last year for $1100, used his employee discount at CarMax to fix a bunch of small issues, and I picked it up for $2000. It's a beast of a truck, has tons of options even with its age, and the V8 Vortec engines in these cars are known for their longevity. The Volvo has become the long-distance runner while the Yukon is more of a utility truck. With the used car market looking like it is, I could probably unload it for $5k-$6k. Right now it's basically a mini-shop/storage shed/camp site on wheels.

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

#606

Post by apexalpha » Thu, May 20, 2021, 5:52 PM UTC

A new LG OLED TV. I usually don't buy into hypes, but I got a great second hand deal on a 55" OLED and it has BLOWN me away. It's picture quality is insane. If I could only watch 4K Planet Earth on it and nothing else it would still have been worth it.

I also bought a $200 robovac by Xiaomi, which is really convenient, especially if you have pets.

Based on experience I will probably also splurge on a new MacBook is they release the rumored one with ports again.

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

#607

Post by jedberg » Thu, May 20, 2021, 5:53 PM UTC

Wifi light switches. They have a physical switch so "normies" can still turn on the lights, but being able to say "Alexa, all lights off" at night makes me feel like a god.

Also, comma 2 from comma.ai. It adds Tesla-like autopilot to my Honda Odyssey. Works exactly as advertised. I just got a few weeks ago, but it drove my car most of the way between SF and LA and back. It's kind of pricey, but a lot cheaper than a Tesla! Also, Tesla still doesn't make a minivan (and Honda doesn't make an all electric yet!).

And I'm not sure, but I think I first heard about the comma 2 right here on HN.

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

#608

Post by aantix » Thu, May 20, 2021, 5:54 PM UTC

barrkel wrote: post #498

baby wrote: post #248

Instant pot. This thing is magical, everything taste so fucking good in it. I bought a crockpot and never used it, but the instant pot was a game changer for me: ramen, couscous, stews, etc. The meat tastes so good when cooked there, vegetables are the same.

My partner got an Instant pot but I don't like the meat that is made in it. Maybe it's overcooked? Tomato-based ground meat (e.g. ground lamb) sauces are tolerable. I generally prefer my meat fried (seared) in a cast iron pan and finished in an oven (if necessary, e.g. a big piece of beef).

Try an air-fryer.

Steaks or hamburgers are surprisingly amazing.

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

#609

Post by sircastor » Thu, May 20, 2021, 5:54 PM UTC

thom wrote: post #385

Got an Ooni pizza oven. Not quite as useful during lockdown as I might have hoped but it's given us something to do in the garden, and I can't wait to take it camping and to festivals. https://ooni.com/ I've really ended up liking my Moonlander keyboard. I wasn't initially sold onsplit keyboards at all, and it's taken me a while to end up with a layout I'm happy with, but I've just about caught up on typing speed and…

I got my Ooni (an Uuni 3) a few years ago and I use it almost weekly during dry weather. If you like making pizza, this is a fantastic investment. I will say though, it take a lot of practice to figure out the right temperature and timing for baking. Even though it goes up to 915f, doesn't mean you should go 915f.

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

#610

Post by satysin » Thu, May 20, 2021, 5:54 PM UTC

madhadron wrote: post #283

baby wrote: post #233

The ipad pro. It’s just my favorite device, and has been for the last 2-3 years. I draw and take a lot of notes on it, I read a lot of pdfs and epubs, I watch movies and videos, etc. I like that it allows me to focus, as the os is limiting, and I like that it’s so portable that I can easily take it with me anywhere. I can also hold it well when I’m in bed, in the plane, etc.

Seconded. I got one of these and was surprised at how much I love it. The input latency is unnoticeable. I intentionally don't connect my email, calendar, or anything interruptible to it and it is a wonderful notepad, reader, etc.

Not connecting email, calendar, social media, or anything else that produces notifications is the best thing I ever did with a tablet.

Email, social media, etc. is a productivity black hole due to notifications. At first I tried disabling notifications but it isn't enough. I had to remove the accounts as I just can't be trusted to not check manually.

I used to hate my iPad because I never got anything done on it but since removing all that crap it is a fantastic device for when you want to focus on one task and not be distracted.