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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?

#221

Post by kobalsky »

anonym29 wrote: post #173
kobalsky wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This might as be considered a law of physics - electromagnetic energy will always travel faster, more... through a conductive medium than through air. it actually travels faster through air (no vacuum necessary) than through fiber or copper as those transmit information at 2/3rd of the speed of light while air transmits it at 99% [1]. which is why starlink could in theory achieve better latency than a straight run…

Agreed and upvoted.

> Right up until you account for interference.

could you provide more info? the source I gave you has a real-world example of a wireless link used over fiber to achieve better latency.

Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?

#222

Post by vladvasiliu »

rektide wrote: post #182
j45 wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good to have both for different reasons. A good wired headset can be superior to wireless mic audio when presenting or interacting. If merely consuming, and hanging around wireless is good too.

I have some mid-grade Rode Wireless Go and nice >$100 Samsung lavaier mics I can use when needed, which is faultless, reliable, amazing prosumer gear no one could conceivably gripe about, but honestly the Actis Pro headset I have is probably a better choice for both cases. The Actis has better microphone positioning by far, which counts for so much. I'm interested to test the range versus the Rode, but given that I c…

> I continue to think there's a paranoia & level-of-concern that does not match what modern hardware can do.

I think this is related to the fact that most wireless headphones people have experience with are Bluetooth.

BT headphones have lag, and, when used in duplex mode, have terrible quality. And this lag adds to the one introduced by the conferencing software.

I've got myself a Jabra headset that communicates over DECT. This thing is spectacular. No discernible lag (as tested with games) and the mic quality is better than what I hear from people rocking Bose and Sony BT headphones. The range is great, too. Much better than what I get from my BT headphones.

Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?

#223

Post by a_e_k »

forgotmypw17 wrote: post #45

I wouldn't call it lesser-known, but I tend to use a full-size standard 104-key keyboard with my laptop. It's nice to be able to reach all the keys by feel and to have all those extra keys like Page Up and Page Down, etc. available without having to use a modifier.

I like my tenkeyless for that. Slightly more compact than a full-size, but still has PgUp and PgDn and such, and in the right place.

Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?

#224

Post by Brajeshwar »

romanhn wrote: post #38

After working for almost 3 years with a barebones work-from-home setup (standup desk + laptop), I finally invested recently in some equipment to improve upon my crappy laptop camera and a room with little natural light. The difference in my video call quality is night and day. This is what I got: - A key light (Godox ES45) to throw a bunch of bright, natural white light at my face. Attached to the desk and positioned…

Yes, I love this. Most people don't realize this setup but I feel it is very important. I have a normal soft & warm light (not flat white) that I can flick quickly (point upwards that bounced off the walls). An additional flood light in stand-by for interviews and other more important meetings.

A well mounted setup with a dedicated microphone is a time saver and no brainer. I'm not too keen on the video and think is lesser important than audio but have been thinking on that too. I invested in an extended mount for a separate display, mic, and lights. I has paid off pretty well.

Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?

#225

Post by jay_kyburz »

vorpalhex wrote: post #185
analog31 wrote: post #164

It seems like I'm the only person in the office or at home who uses a touch screen on my laptop. I like it, but there are some issues with software that gets too clever with UI widgets, rendering them unusable without a mouse. Routine things like web surfing are great, coding is almost impossible with a touch screen. So I wish I could say that it works better than it really does. And touch screen support for Linux di…

My current laptop I wanted a touchscreen so badly I custom ordered my laptop. Got it setup, works under PopOS and... I literally never use it. Works fine, just always less convenient than a mouse.

My laptop in not my main machine, I only use it when traveling. I will never go back to a laptop that I can not flip the screen and turn it into a tablet. Its a laptop when I need to do some work, and a tablet when I want to watch some TV.

Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?

#226

Post by noduerme »

Brajeshwar wrote: post #194
hipplec wrote: post #75

I have a heating pad under my keyboard which keeps my hands warm in the winter. Was like $20 on amazon, and I can't even begin to describe how amazing it is, since I was really tired of always having a mug of hot water / tea / coffee to hold and didn't want to keep the heat on my house super high when I could just wear a sweatshirt and be fine except my fingers.

Is there a device that does the opposite -- something to keep your hand cool? It is getting hotter and sweaty in India.

when I lived in Vietnam years ago, my Mac laptop fan broke and there was nowhere to repair it ... there are cooling pads with fans beneath them that you can buy, but my temporary solution was freezing a stack of Wired magazines in the freezer, then putting them under the laptop and changing them every 20 minutes.

Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?

#228

Post by jay_kyburz »

King-Aaron wrote: post #145

I've got a Yamaha RX-V863 running to some very nice custom built monitors I put together for the stereo channels, and just some yamaha 5.1 component speakers for the rest of my home office. Nothing sucks more than having to listen to crap music while you're working.

I had a giant Yamaha receiver under my desk for about 15 years, but not long ago I lost all sound out of the right channel. I couldn't bring myself to buy a new one so I have this tiny Fosi Audio amp on my desk now. Works fine, takes up a lot less space, powers the same passive speakers.

Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?

#230

Post by bhy »

Brajeshwar wrote: post #194
hipplec wrote: post #75

I have a heating pad under my keyboard which keeps my hands warm in the winter. Was like $20 on amazon, and I can't even begin to describe how amazing it is, since I was really tired of always having a mug of hot water / tea / coffee to hold and didn't want to keep the heat on my house super high when I could just wear a sweatshirt and be fine except my fingers.

Is there a device that does the opposite -- something to keep your hand cool? It is getting hotter and sweaty in India.

Yes. The keywords are "semiconductor cooling pad" or "thermoelectric cooling pad".
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