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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?

#811

Post by me-vs-cat »

vxNsr wrote: post #275
Turskarama wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bigger, yes, but much lower resolution.

Yea, I've been really temped to try something like this for travel but I don't wanna spend the $500 for potential disappointment, what is the real resolution?

If you're interested in VR in general, the Quest 2 is a great option today.

However, I can't recommend any current option specifically as a monitor replacement when traveling. https://simulavr.com/ will be interesting, when it eventually becomes available.

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

#812

Post by me-vs-cat »

Turskarama wrote: post #97
me-vs-cat wrote: post #69

VR headset, swivel chair, and 270° of screens. What's bigger than ultra-wide? I use both a Quest 2 (running Immersed on Linux) and a Valve Index (running Virtual Desktop on Windows).

Bigger, yes, but much lower resolution.

Both higher and lower resolution, since resolution can colloquially mean either pixel count or pixel size. I have more pixels available since rotating my view reveals more screen space, yet all of that screen space is at less pixels-per-degree. For some, less PPD is intolerable. What I have works for me most of the time.

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

#813

Post by me-vs-cat »

daveidol wrote: post #150
me-vs-cat wrote: post #69

VR headset, swivel chair, and 270° of screens. What's bigger than ultra-wide? I use both a Quest 2 (running Immersed on Linux) and a Valve Index (running Virtual Desktop on Windows).

Do you actually work in there? I have an Index but have never tried Virtual Desktop with it.

Yes, but not all the time. Over the long term, VR definitely averages less than half, though some days I use it all day.

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

#814

Post by m-p-3 »

noobyme wrote: post #789
m-p-3 wrote: post #764

I have the (now discontinued) Logitech G13 gameboard. I mainly use it for gaming, but it's also useful for creating hardware-macros and have these be linked to the application in focus.

Hey mp36 can I ask you about offline Wikipedia kobo? How do you split the zim files to fit?

https://web.archive.org/web/20170809101047/http://wiki.kiwix...

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

#815

Post by coder4life »

matthew28845 wrote: post #23
coder4life wrote: post #5

Lighted USB volume knob - they're inexpensive, the large aluminum knob is on a sturdy base, can be pressed down for mute. ReMarkable2 e-ink tablet -- okay, it's a standalone device, but interfaces to the computer in cool ways (like screen sharing), and it's changed my life as far as note-taking goes

The ReMarkable is so tempting but so expensive. It's just hard to stomach spending $500 at a minumum for the tablet + folio + stylus when I could have an iPad (a gimped base model one, but still) for the same price

Got mine for $279 refurb on their site, $299 new. Get a third party pen w/eraser, I think they can be had for $40.

It syncs to Google Cloud

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

#816

Post by klyrs »

ninjin wrote: post #340
ramg wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the camera mounted on? Do you have a picture of the setup?

Most document cameras come with their own stand. I have an IPEVO VZ-R [1], which you can route through your capture card with an HDMI switch if you already have that kind of setup. Being able to draw on a piece of paper to explain a concept feels amazing compared to whatever drawing tools one otherwise would have in software. [1]: https://www.ipevo.com/products/vz-r

That looks amazing; I just use a $50 webcam on a DIY arm with lots of zip ties, and I'm pretty happy with it.

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

#817

Post by archarios »

theshrike79 wrote: post #272
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 use an external touchpad instead of a mouse for the same reason. Zero wrist problems + I get the extra efficiency from gestures.

touchpads are literally the worst kind of mousing interfaces ergonomically

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

#818

Post by jhugo »

randallsquared wrote: post #503
rektide wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wireless headphones. Because sometimes I really have to go and it's literally no problem to walk to the bathroom. Or to go make tea. Or to do whatever. Freedom to not be chained up is amazing. Try it. I too don't feel like I've had to mess with audio settings. I have some SteelSeries Actis Pro's I bought a long time ago. They have bluetooth, but there's also a nice usb-based head-unit I use with higher quality, lower…

I use wireless headphones because cords get in my way, but the “step away to make tea” seems like an unlikely use case to me. It isn’t as if you don’t have to see the screen anyway… more than half the time someone is sharing a window and saying things like, “what do we do about THIS?” while waving their pointer over something.

Your meetings must be much better than the average. It's been quite a while since I had meetings regularly, but I'd guess that on average I needed to see (or think about) maybe 20% of the meeting.

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

#819

Post by jhugo »

luckystarr wrote: post #608
shortrounddev wrote: post #533

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tried getting a couple arms for my desk, but they required 8 inches of clearance behind the desk for the monitors to be at a reasonable distance from my face and my desk is backed up to a wall

Just mount the pole off-center, then you can get around the clearance problem somewhat. I only have one monitor mounted centrally, and my laptop to the side on the second arm. The desk is almost flush to the wall at 2cm (~1 inch) and the monitor and laptop are around 15cm (~6 inches) away from the wall.

Yeah, I had 3x 32" monitors mounted on arms (one twin arm and one single arm) on a desk pushed almost right up to the wall this way. The arms can go sideways in one direction and then sideways in the other right behind the monitor, as long as the base is not centred.

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

#820

Post by prawn »

shortrounddev wrote: post #533
ornornor wrote: post #308

Dual arm monitors to free up lots of space on my desk and more easily hold displays at eye level so I don’t get pain. A split ortho homebrew keyboard (helix) that I can program with qmk so that I have shift esc enter space and special keys on other layers right where I want them. Or a dedicated Ctrl-a key for tmux. It virtually eliminated my pain. The OLED screens are useless though and I retrospect I should just hav…

I tried getting a couple arms for my desk, but they required 8 inches of clearance behind the desk for the monitors to be at a reasonable distance from my face and my desk is backed up to a wall

This is my problem also. I have a shallow desk (2') and then the mount intrudes the displays enough that I can't push my laptop back or tilt it as far as I sometimes need. Further, the riser isn't tall enough so my screens hang about an inch below my laptop display.

If I was more confident that my work area wouldn't change in the future, I'd try an extendable wall mount. I probably should do that anyway.

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