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

After experimenting for many years with many kinds of mice, trackballs, touchpads, trackpoints etc. in the search for the most comfortable graphic pointing device, I have settled to use, instead of a mouse, a small Wacom Intuos graphic tablet (usually with Linux), configured in its "mouse" mode, i.e. with relative coordinates, not with its default absolute coordinates.

At least for me, using a stylus has proven to be much more comfortable, much faster and more precise than using any kind of mouse or any other pointing device.

Now I regret that I did not have the idea of replacing the mouse with a small graphic tablet many years earlier.

I’m looking for exactly something like this. What KVM switcher do you use? Does it support USB-C?

Tried to use it for 3 months, couldn’t adapt, had to sell it.

Also, it has Cherry MX brown switches, which are not my favorite to say the least, with their middle-of-the-ground sort-of bumpiness. I much prefer either fully clicky or fully linear ones.

Toslink switch. A kind of device that can switch a path between multiple inputs and multiple outputs. Mine has 4 inputs and 4 outputs and a remote that lets me select current input and output separately with two button presses.

My inputs:

- laptop with external Behringer audio interface with optical output,

- bluetooth receiver/transmitter with optical output

- PS4 (through toslink output)

My outputs:

- DAC (with optical input) into headphone amplifier into headphones

- "large" amplifier (with optical input) for my bookshelf speakers,

- bluetooth receiver/transmitter with optical input

The bluetooth receiver/transmitter is a funny device that can perform one of two roles and has separate remote to toggle. It is connected to the switch twice, once for output, once for input. I use this to send signal to up to two pairs of bluetooth headphones (for example for watching movies on external monitor). I also use this to capture output from my phone or laptop when the laptop is not connected to the docking stotion.

What all this does is it allows me to send any listed input to any listed output, except bluetooth into bluetooth -- that device can only operate in one selected mode. For example I may play PS4 on my speakers and with one button press send it to my bluetooth headphones or my wired headphones. Or I can use my bookshelf speakers with my laptop on my lap. Everything without connecting any cables at all -- just up to three presses on two remotes.

I had non-optical solution before but this caused a lot of interference. Rather than try to debug and fix this I decided to just not have any copper between devices. Optical cables fixed it all for me.

I have an ARTcessories mixer and amplifier stacked on top of each other. Very compact, both are 4-channel stereo. I don't really use the mixer as much anymore, but it used to be connected to my desktop, laptop, phone and guitar amp. The (headphone) amplifier I connected to my headset, desk speakers and for a short time to a second headset and some recording device (I know, bad idea). When I was playing Rocksmith (think of it as Guitar Hero with real guitars) this was my contraption for routing the guitar sound through a real guitar pedal and maybe playing with a friend now and then who could also wear headphones. Nowadays it's mostly so I can switch between headphones and speakers quickly by basically just turning the speakers on and off.

The other thing are the lights that light up the walls behind my screens. I don't have a window there so it's easier on the eyes when the lights are on while I'm at my PC. They are controlled by a wi-fi power socket running Tasmota. On my NAS I got Node-RED running which pings my PC. I have an "automatic" setting for my lights so they are on if the PC is on, or when it's dark and before midnight. The "dark" part is currently determined by the time when the sun starts to set, but I'm planning on using a light sensor I already have somewhere else in my apartment instead. And I still need a better trigger that turns it off for the night - I think the humidity data from my bathroom might be the one, since the last thing I do before going to bed is showering.