A mousepad. I don't often see them used by people with mice any more and stopped suggesting them since almost everyone turned down the idea.
I think most people used mousepads so the mouse could work properly
Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?
701–710 of 853 posts
Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?
#702A mousepad. I don't often see them used by people with mice any more and stopped suggesting them since almost everyone turned down the idea.
I used to own the original 3M gaming mouse pad. It felt amazing, just a bliss to use everyday. Sturdy, it was abused everyday yet showed no sign of any damage. It just works - it does not move from its place, felt rock solid, yet very thin. It always looks clean; they say that there are microscopic ridges designed to trap dirt etc, so it stays clean, yet cleanable. Small things - but everything adds up, making it the…
Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?
#703Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?
#704Rearview 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 f…
Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?
#705An ancient 8 channel Mackie sound mixer to the left and slightly north of my keyboard. Other than inputs from the main computer, it pulls in audio from a bunch of other stuff/computers in the room, has a handy 1/4" headphone jack with volume control, and lets me instantly mute/mix any way I want without fiddling with keyboards or mice. Output is to the CD inputs on a Sony mini audio system I bought on my way through…
I have the same mixer but it doesn't work how I like. I can't get the phones to output unless I have the main turned up, so I can't go headphones only unless I turn off the speakers independently. Is that how yours works? Right now I have the headphones on main, and the speakers on aux, so I can set their volumes completely independently from the mixer, but the problem is the aux only outputs the left channel to the…
All inputs have MUTE ALT 3-4 selected. ALT 3-4 is selected for Control Room Source. Assign to Main Mix is selected. Ctl Room/Submix level is at the Unity detent. Main Out L/R send the final mix to the amplifier inputs. Headphones in Phones.
This keeps the headphones working independent of the Main Mix level setting.
Did I have to stare at page 26 of the manual for about an hour to figure this out? Well, yes. :-(
Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?
#706After 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…
Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?
#707Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?
#708Portable screen. Didn't know that such exists, till about few weeks ago. Have a small apartment and sometimes have to work at the dining table. Using a big screen is not an option. Portable screen is light, size of the laptop and charges/sends data through one cable. Perfect!
I've been looking at these. Any time I meet the team at a rented office space I really miss my dual monitor setup.
Re: Ask HN: What lesser-known accessories do you use with your computer?
#709It perches up on top of my monitor (taking up no desk real estate which was my original goal), runs on USB, and puts off a pleasant light.