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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?

#651

Post by grungydan »

jrootabega wrote: post #574
modeless wrote: post #237

Gaming wireless headphones, not for gaming but for videoconferencing. Bluetooth headphones are universally terrible for videoconferencing because the Bluetooth standard sucks and requires downgrading to telephone audio quality whenever the mic is enabled. Plus terrible latency. Gaming wireless headphones that come with their own dongle completely fix these issues and are perfect for videoconferencing. Someday the Blu…

Headsets with a mic arm that auto-mutes in hardware also have the benefit that you can go to the bathroom, use the kitchen, etc. on mute, but still respond quickly if someone addresses you.

Unless it's a Logitech headset, in which case 90% of the time the functionality of the mic-arm-mute breaks at the software level requiring various troubleshooting dances before anyone can hear you again. How they can be such a leader in the peripheral space but still produce absolutely the worst garbage software will never stop being annoying.

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

#652

Post by jrootabega »

grungydan wrote: post #651
jrootabega wrote: post #574

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Headsets with a mic arm that auto-mutes in hardware also have the benefit that you can go to the bathroom, use the kitchen, etc. on mute, but still respond quickly if someone addresses you.

Unless it's a Logitech headset, in which case 90% of the time the functionality of the mic-arm-mute breaks at the software level requiring various troubleshooting dances before anyone can hear you again. How they can be such a leader in the peripheral space but still produce absolutely the worst garbage software will never stop being annoying.

When you're a leader you can just coast on your brand name!

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

#653

Post by measure2xcut1x »

Rearview mirror at the top of my 52" curved widescreen monitor. I work at home in limited space with family around and there's always activity behind me, doors opening, etc. I also work with noise cancelling headphones. Hard to explain why, but the mirror stops my constant need to turn around to figure out what's happening. It took me a minute to hang, with fishing line and zip-ties. Way less cognitive overhead and fewer self-made interruptions since implementing this. $13 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MFD7BT7

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

#654

Post by TheRealDunkirk »

shortrounddev wrote: post #538
cmpalmer52 wrote: post #22

I use a 60% keyboard that doesn’t even have dedicated arrow keys. My caps-lock is configured as the Fn key and, when it’s held down, the JKLI letters are the arrow keys. This (and other macros) are actually really convenient when you get used to them. Unfortunately, it’s hard for me to type on “normal” keyboards because when I end up tiYping thinks like that. My keyboard is a Mistel MD600 split. My favorite unusual a…

I feel like I could never get used to a keyboard like this. I use arrow keys all the goddamned time, along with home, insert, page up/down

It's either 60% or TKL for me. If I'm going to use arrows, they need to be where they've always been. Those bastardized 65% and 72% layouts are an absolute non-starter for me. That being said, I got used to my Vortex II very quickly. Surprisingly quickly. By default, it uses Fn-WASD, NOT Fn-HJKL (vim) like on the newer Vortex 3. I find this very natural because I hold Fn with my right hand, and, well, I've been a gamer for 40 years, and WASD is ingrained in my left hand. If you use HJKL, you have to remap Fn to Caps Lock, which I've used as CTRL or Command, depending on platform, for about 25 years now. (After seeing the light with Sun keyboards.)

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

#655

Post by lotam »

elric wrote: post #567
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 wish there were Thunderbolt 4 "KVMs". I have my laptop connected to my TB4 ThinkPad dock, which takes care of charging the laptop, attaches an external display over DisplayPort, has keyboard & mouse, external speakers, and has wired ethernet. When I switch to my desktop, I have to unplug the laptop from the dock and attach the desktop to the dock. It's a minor inconvenience, but it is an inconvenience, and it messe…

I had the exact problem, and found and expensive but clean solution: I bought a U2723QE Dell screen, acting as a Hub. All my devices and RJ45 are plugged to the screen.

My laptop uses the charging USB-C port. My desktop requires 2 cables: 1 DP cable (so I can chain another screen) and 1 usb-c cable to the usb-c upstream port.

Whenever I want to switch, I just need to change the input source on my screen, between DP (desktop) or USB-C (laptop). All USB devices and internet are automatically routed to the right computer.

It works like a charm, really happy with this (but once again, that's an expensive screen)

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

#656

Post by erremerre »

entropicgravity wrote: post #267

Mx Ergo (by Logitech) is far and away the best "mouse" for me and probably for you. It only takes about two hours to transfer your motor skills of regular mouse to the Mx Ergo. Because this "thumb ball" mouse only involves your thumb to work the mouse you won't get the full wrist, shoulder and neck pain that you can get from a normal mouse. If you have any kind of arm pain then check this out.

I have got a Mx Ergo, and to everyone else out there asking questions about this trackball. Let me tell you.

As long as you are not using the mouse to draw (photoshop, gis software, cad software etc...) you will adapt. And the thingy is comfortable to use.

If you need to do some of those tasks that requires drawing a polygon, snap vertex into other things etc... The MX Ergo is not for you. You can do it, but you will be significantly more slow, even after months of practice. Look something else. I wish someone would have told me this before.

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

#657

Post by Cerium »

jedberg wrote: post #258
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.

I keep mine down and to the right. About 8 inches from my face. Sounds good and stays out of frame since my camera is a little above eye level.

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

#658

Post by lotam »

nicolaslem wrote: post #373
modeless wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Did you know that some monitors have built-in KVM nowadays? I discovered that recently and switched to one. Basically I can connect my laptop with a single USB-C cable for display/charging/peripherals and instantly switch to my desktop PC that is connected via HDMI + USB. The fact that the monitor itself is responsible for display inputs removes all kind of problems that traditional KVM boxes have. In theory the moni…

I have the same setup, with some speakers, and it works great. So happy with solution. I also use a DP instead of HDMI, so I can daisy-chain multiple monitors

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

#659

Post by cbm-vic-20 »

jiehong wrote: post #374
xupybd wrote: post #154

I use a Kinesis advantage keyboard. It's expensive and ugly but comfortable. I would not go back to another keyboard ever again. Have a look at this review https://www.anandtech.com/show/7125/kinesis-advantage-review...

And now with the Kinesis Advantage 360, if you opt for the “professional” model, you can use it wirelessly and with QMK firmware by default.

The "Pro" model uses the ZMK firmware. And it's squarely aimed at programmers; the primary way to configure the keyboard is to edit the configuration files and rebuild the firmware- and their documented way of doing this is to fork the configuration files in GitHub and use the included GitHub Actions to actually run the build and generate the firmware blobs.

You can do it locally with Docker or Podman, if you don't want to be tethered to GitHub.

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

#660

Post by Karawebnetwork »

mmzeeman wrote: post #294

Some fountain pens and a notebook. This allows me to quickly write down notes before jumping into my editor. This makes a big difference.

If I may piggyback on this, I would recommend the "Uni Jetstream 4&1 4 Color 0.5 mm Ballpoint Multi Pen + 0.5 mm Pencil". It costs only $10 and is available everywhere. It's one of those pens that has 4 buttons to change colors but this one also has a 0.5 mm pencil built in and a tiny eraser in the cap. Having the option to add color to my notes easily made them a lot easier to read, especially for code.
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