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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?

#251

Post by deckard1 »

zwayhowder wrote: post #8

Left 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 ac…

I have an XP-Pen as well. Works great in Linux. I'm still amazed at how high quality these non-Wacom tablets are today. I had one of those cheap 6" Wacom Graphites back in the early 2000s and that was the best you could get. My XP-Pen blows that thing away. Still haven't found a great place to put it though. I'm just stashing it off to the side but it's awkward moving it around all the time.

If you're on Linux, Gromit-MPX is a great companion app to annotate anything on your desktop. https://github.com/bk138/gromit-mpx

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

#254

Post by modeless »

dgunay wrote: post #4

I 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…

Oh yeah I have one of those no name brand USB switching hubs, they are great. Comes with several "illegal" USB-A male to male cables, which I find funny. If your monitor supports it you can also switch inputs from software, and you have a complete KVM setup without the ridiculously expensive KVM box.

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

#255

Post by monroewalker »

xupybd wrote: post #156
sleepybrett wrote: post #61

Kinesis Advantage 360 pro. Apple magic trackpad. Savant Elite2 Triple Foot pedal. Left Click, Right Click, ESC.. currently. Still playing with them. IPEVO DO-CAM USB document camera, doubles as my face camera, but I do a lot of 'whiteboard' sketches on paper which I later translate to lucid if it needs to be kept.

I use and Advantage but have not tried the 360. How do you find it? Have you used the older models to give a comparison?

I also bought the 360 and I love it! Haven't once thought about going back to the Kinesis Advantage I was using before it. I went with the wired / non-pro version since I've had too many bluetooth issues with peripherals to trust that it wasn't going to be an issue. Sure enough, I asked on the subreddit and some others have reported connection issues or flakiness.

The only issue I've had with it is that sometimes my laptop doesn't receive any input so I have to unplug the keyboard and plug it back in. This could just be due to my setup and unrelated to the keyboard, but I didn't have that issue before.

The magnetic snap-on wrist pads are really nice. They snap perfectly into place and haven't moved unless I want them to. The keyboard overall feels solid and ergonomic

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

#256

Post by modeless »

rr808 wrote: post #133
dgunay wrote: post #4

I 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…

How do you switch video? Just change inputs on the monitor?

Yeah, and some monitors can be controlled to switch inputs from software, so you can setup hotkeys to do it just like a real KVM.

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

#257

Post by n0zmer »

Brajeshwar wrote: post #224
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…

I didn't realize how much a difference the lighting makes until I got one. I got the Google dLight and it has both brightness and warmness sliders and can change it from computer or app (and has profiles) so it's really convenient.

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

#258

Post by jedberg »

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…

> Would sound even better if I were speaking directly into it, but I don't like having the mic visible.

I've found that the sound is better if I keep it off to the side out of frame instead of above. Especially if you have the setting to make it directional and aim it towards your mouth. You can speak directly to the camera and it picks it up.

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