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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?

#461

Post by sound1 »

ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #442

I've been using an Elecom EX-G left-handed wireless trackball (thumb operated) for ages: https://www.amazon.co.uk/ELECOM-Left-handed-Wireless-functio... I'm naturally right-handed, but learnt to use a mouse/trackball with my left hand ages ago when I figured out the twisting/ergonomic issues with a right-handed mouse and a keyboard with a numeric keypad. I was previously prone to hurting my right-shoulder blade (pull…

I use the same trackball and I love it. * can't even imagine going back to a regular mouse.

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

#462

Post by bierjunge »

theshrike79 wrote: post #283
ja27 wrote: post #15

I wouldn't have thought they were lesser-known, but I've been surprised how many people don't know about today's cheap portable external monitors. They're essentially laptop panels with a USB-C+HDMI board. $100-$150-ish and easily found in 15.6" and 13-14", 1080p or 2K. All the ones I've tried have 2 USB-C ports, mini-HDMI, and speakers. This all depends on what USB-C ports your machine actually has and the right USB…

I've wanted one for gaming on the go with the Switch and Steam Deck, but couldn't really justify the purchase. ...but if I can pretend I use it as a second monitor for work, then it's OK! :D

I've got a Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 (https://www.amazon.de/Lenovo-2160x1350-WideView-Tablet-PC-Sn...) for "development" purposes. It's a nice tablet with 2k screen and enough power for pretty much everything, Android 13 and the killer feature for me: a micro-HDMI input. It works like a charm with MacOs/Linux as a second screen, but you can also connect a Switch or SteamDeck, grab a controller and you can play everywhere on a 13' screen.

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

#463

Post by epakai »

ergvgdvgrd wrote: post #264
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…

I do this virtually with a piece od software called barrier. https://github.com/debauchee/barrier

It's not clear from the page, but there's an issue somewhere that points out barrier has been abandoned for a fork called input-leap.

https://github.com/input-leap/input-leap

Also recently learned about waynergy as a upcoming wayland client. Haven't used either yet as barrier still handles my setup.

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

#464

Post by veidr »

riceart wrote: post #90
Our_Benefactors wrote: post #56

Here’s an actual lesser known accessory: a mouse bungee. It is a small weighted disc with a spring arm that holds the mouse cord up and away from the mousepad. I don’t like the lag, connectivity, and battery issues of wireless mice, this fixes all of that! It feels _better_ than a wireless mouse, because it has no wires in the way also with zero lag.

There’s essentially no lag in a dedicated wireless receiver mouse - the additional latency is dwarfed by the baseline latency of the hardware and software. https://www.rtings.com/mouse/tests/control/latency Yes connectivity issues can be a problem in certain environments but luckily this has usually not been a problem with receivers not in close proximity to interference, including USB3. Battery wise I have had cheap…

The latency graph in the article you post actually shows sporadic but substantial lag of around 100% (12ms to 25+ ms) with the wireless dongle. The average of all the lag might be low, but the lag when it does occur seems quite high.

But in the real world, there can be even more lag.

I've tested a bunch of different high-end wireless mice that purport to have super-low wireless lag, and they all exhibit lag in my apartment.

Not constant lag, but sporadic occasional lag of like 600ms or more, every once in a while. For both clicking the mouse, or just moving the cursor.

Because I've seen it on Mac, Windows, and Linux, and with fairly pricey mice from Logitech, Corsair, Razer, and others, I think the reason is probably radio interference. I live in a dense apartment block in Tokyo, and also have kids with a bunch of wireless crap of their own.

Whatever it is, the only way I can have a mouse that doesn't ever lag is to connect it with a cable. I don't even play games, but the every-once-in-a-while lag is annoying enough when coding and web browsing that I now only buy mice that support wireless USB, Bluetooth, and USB-C wired connection.

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

#465

Post by heavyset_go »

barbs wrote: post #448
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.

Reminds me of this 2010 article: "micro heaters cut 87% off my electric heat bill" https://www.richsoil.com/electric-heat.jsp

Mini heaters are great, the portable ones I have make winter bearable.

But as far as I know, using heat lamps directly in your face can be a bad idea because they can emit IR radiation that can harm your eyes, cause cataracts, etc.

edit: it's actually just a normal lightbulb, nevermind

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

#466

Post by elorant »

I’ve got a wired button to turn on and off my PC without having to bend to reach the power button in front of the PC case. Cost me like $15 from ebay, and also has a reset button, and two usb ports which come very handy in case I want to attach an usb stick.

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

#467

Post by yodsanklai »

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.

When I was a kid, I used the power transformer of my C64 to warm up my feet

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

#468

Post by genericacct »

cal85 wrote: post #399
haunter wrote: post #378

An Elgato Stream Deck but for general purposes https://www.elgato.com/en/stream-deck-mk2 Basically imagine having 15 physical buttons to use with any kind of actions, shortcuts, macros etc. but you have a visual feedback too. It’s pretty great! I know there are alternatives like the Adafruit RP2040 https://www.adafruit.com/product/5128 but the visual knobs make the Stream Deck much better imo.

I bought one of these a couple of years ago with plans to use it for macros, shortcuts etc, but gave up using it because I found the system for writing your own plugins and generally configuring it was beyond awful, it felt like a designed-by-committee horror show. The complexity to just just set the button image and make it run a bash script when pressed was insane. But I really wanted it to work, I can think of ton…

I use a combination of a usb joypad + a 50 line C app for a similar effect

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

#469

Post by preya2k »

romanhn wrote: post #359
mikeevans wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you provide some more details about what you needed to do to set up your RX100 III? I have the same camera and would love to do the same.

Sure thing. Here are the specific items I ended up with: - Cam link 4K card: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B09XXBTBYB - Dummy battery kit: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B078PDCF7D - Micro HDMI cable: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08C2QMT4R In terms of camera settings, I think the main ones were switching the file format to XAVC and turning off the display icons so they don't show when I'm on video. Might be worth…

Or save yourself the cost and latency of the HDMI grabber and use it via gphoto2/v4l2 if you don't mind a little command line action. https://girishjoshi.io/post/using-dslr-camera-as-webcam-on-l...

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

#470

Post by zh3 »

A Crystalfont 2x16 LCD with 4 cursor and tick/cross keys which sits just below the middle monitor of my triple-head programming setup. Normally displays date, time, media volume and incoming email/voicemail counts. When a call arrives it shows the Caller ID (and contact name if recognised). The keys are used to adjust media volume and mute/unmute (and in hot weather, the left/right keys adjust the speed of a pair of 120mm PC fans that blow air over the keyboard).
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