E.g., any special mouse, keyboard, ring, headset, ... that has made a significant impact on your workflow.
Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?
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Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?
#2multi monitors, two mice/trackball.
Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?
#3I use a board with 32 RGB LEDs to show process status: https://github.com/shapr/bloohm
If you ever have multiple hour long builds and/or test suites running, this is is a big help.
Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?
#4I use a small USB switcher box to let me control my personal machine and my work machine at the same desk. I also use a keyboard that lets me flip a switch to change between Mac/Windows layouts. It has been very helpful to let me cleanly separate work from leisure, without having to give up the ergonomics of my desk setup. The friction to switch is low enough that I don't feel tempted to keep work related stuff on my personal machine.
I used to have dual monitors, but now I use a super ultrawide 32:9 monitor. It required learning to use window managers since most OS's don't support multitasking setups like that, but I can use layouts now that I couldn't before. I also use PaperWM[1] with it and it feels particularly effective on ultrawides.
Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?
#5Lighted USB volume knob - they're inexpensive, the large aluminum knob is on a sturdy base, can be pressed down for mute.
ReMarkable2 e-ink tablet -- okay, it's a standalone device, but interfaces to the computer in cool ways (like screen sharing), and it's changed my life as far as note-taking goes
Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?
#6Monitor arms freed up a ton of desk space.
Wireless noise cancelling headphones helped with concentration.
UPS saved me a couple times from losing work during power outages.
Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?
#7I use a trackball rather than a mouse. That improves my experience a great deal more than people expect.
I also use a homebrew macro keyboard. It's a 16 key keyboard with nice, clicky keys and two analog knobs. It's very convenient.
Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?
#8Left handed trackball (Elecom). Sits to the left of my Moonlander while my vertical mouse sits to the right. Not only is it convenient, as an old school Diablo player I get to tell people I duel wield.
I also have a cheap X-Pen graphics tablet that I use for ‘white boarding’ on zoom calls.
Almost forgot I also have a usb wireless numpad that I pair with a usb hid remapped on a pi zero to make hot keys for frequent actions.
Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?
#9multi monitors, two mice/trackball.
Two mice at the same time? Do you use one with your feet? Do have one for each hand? Tell us more!
Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?
#10Lighted USB volume knob - they're inexpensive, the large aluminum knob is on a sturdy base, can be pressed down for mute. ReMarkable2 e-ink tablet -- okay, it's a standalone device, but interfaces to the computer in cool ways (like screen sharing), and it's changed my life as far as note-taking goes
Just wondering, do you have good handwriting? I love the idea of hand written notes, but while my writing is legible, it’s unpleasant on the eye.