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Ask HN: What work/office purchase transformed your life?

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Re: Ask HN: What work/office purchase transformed your life?

#81

Post by aggieNick02 »

CompareIt! [1] - It's an ancient diff program last updated over a decade ago, but I've never found a diff program nearly as useful.

It is windows only, but it is fast, allows quickly setting manual anchor points (I miss this horribly when doing git diffs via vimdiff), and has converters for common file formats like doc and pdf (extracts the text and then does the diff).

I use it for both work and home. In addition to code diff, it's great for comparing things like PDFs of insurance renewals, to see what has changed.

It's the best $30 I've ever spent on software.

[1] https://www.grigsoft.com/wincmp3.htm

Re: Ask HN: What work/office purchase transformed your life?

#82

Post by jsamson12 »

washadjeffmad wrote: post #44

HM Embody. It's not "comfy", but after six months, a lower back condition that hasn't been corrected, only managed by years of PT improved enough for me to go off pain management. Bonus: It also solved a prostate issue I didn't know I had. RealForce R3S TKL, 30g. I returned a Kinesis 360 and got this instead. None of the reviews helped, and tbf, it's not easy to explain the difference or value of optical programmable…

> HM Embody. It's not "comfy", but after six months, a lower back condition that hasn't been corrected, only managed by years of PT improved enough for me to go off pain management. Bonus: It also solved a prostate issue I didn't know I had.

Was the prostate issue weak flow or something else if you don't mind me asking? I tried a HM Embody and returned it because it felt like it was pushing my shoulders too far forward / causing rounding. My 'pelvic issue' did seem slightly improved when I was using the HM Embody but I never seen anyone else mention the two together. Maybe I should try it again!

Re: Ask HN: What work/office purchase transformed your life?

#83

Post by blotato »

FFP999 wrote: post #68

An ergonomic split keyboard. Suddenly I can type without rotating my shoulders inward. Which in turn means more room in my chest for my lungs to expand. The difference was not subtle. Learning to touch-type on this thing took a while but was totally worth it.

Yes! Kinesis ergonomic keyboard changed my life then i moved to Moonlander so i could rest the split keyboard on each arm of my recliner

Re: Ask HN: What work/office purchase transformed your life?

#84

Post by blotato »

zeagle wrote: post #73

Standing desk with same USB C dock + jabra headset + ergonomic microsoft sculpt keyboard + similar dual monitors in my home and work office. It's been very convenient as I can grab and go to plug in my personal laptop, work laptop, or usb c the peripherals to to the gaming desktop pretty easily. Dragon medical dictation and now dragon one dictation. I don't agree with their frankly predatory end of life discontinuati…

I just replied this to another comment: Kinesis ergonomic keyboard or Moonlander split keyboard. I personally prefer Kinesis but needed a split keyboard for my recliner. Using the kinesis would've had my arms too high up.

Re: Ask HN: What work/office purchase transformed your life?

#85

Post by bluefirebrand »

benrapscallion wrote: post #35

Logitech MX Vertical mouse

Yeah, I went from lots of wrist pain to none by switching to a vertical mouse. I don't think I'm ever moving to a trackball though.

I think a split keyboard will be my next investment, based on the comments in this thread.

Re: Ask HN: What work/office purchase transformed your life?

#86

Post by speps »

aggieNick02 wrote: post #81

CompareIt! [1] - It's an ancient diff program last updated over a decade ago, but I've never found a diff program nearly as useful. It is windows only, but it is fast, allows quickly setting manual anchor points (I miss this horribly when doing git diffs via vimdiff), and has converters for common file formats like doc and pdf (extracts the text and then does the diff). I use it for both work and home. In addition to…

I always request a Beyond Compare [1] license every job I have now, for similar reasons.

[1] https://www.scootersoftware.com/

Re: Ask HN: What work/office purchase transformed your life?

#87

Post by blotato »

tomwojcik wrote: post #9

Would you be able to share a picture of your setup? I can't imagine a desk and a stress recliner, and I have similar problems with my posture. Also tried many chairs, including kneeling rocking chair.

I have the stressless recliner, standing desk, single large monitor, monitor arm to tilt my monitor towards me since I'm reclined, ergo split keyboard which I rest on the arms of the recliner, and a small table right next to my recliner where I put my trackball mouse, phone, and water. The standing desk isn't necessary, it's just what I've had all these years, but it's nice to precisely adjust the height of the desk based on comfort. The monitor arm is key so that my monitor remains parallel to me. Imagine sitting in a normal office chair, the monitor would be vertical - since I'm reclined, I need to tilt it accordingly.

Re: Ask HN: What work/office purchase transformed your life?

#88

Post by FFP999 »

blotato wrote: post #83
FFP999 wrote: post #68

An ergonomic split keyboard. Suddenly I can type without rotating my shoulders inward. Which in turn means more room in my chest for my lungs to expand. The difference was not subtle. Learning to touch-type on this thing took a while but was totally worth it.

Yes! Kinesis ergonomic keyboard changed my life then i moved to Moonlander so i could rest the split keyboard on each arm of my recliner

I've been meaning to get a longer TRRS cable so I can go s u p e r w i d e and release my shoulders even a little more. It's good suff.

Re: Ask HN: What work/office purchase transformed your life?

#89

Post by DamnInteresting »

cocoa19 wrote: post #79
menshiki wrote: post #21

AirPods Pro without a doubt. It's the only item in my life that if it broke, I would immediately buy a replacement. I used them in the office to isolate myself from other people and when I'm walking outside to isolate myself from cars.

I really wanted to like them. They kept falling out of my ear with all tips, and at almost $300, I didn’t want to have to buy aftermarket foam tips or ear hooks. The sound is great and the Bluetooth pairing is excellent though.

I had the same issue, so now I use them without any of the tips. The noise cancellation isn't quite as effective, but they're still better than average earbuds.

Re: Ask HN: What work/office purchase transformed your life?

#90

Post by sheepshear »

29athrowaway wrote: post #43
hardware2win wrote: post #42

Physical sticky notes Really! I never used them and after receiving them as a "gift" I started loving using em. They really help me manage both: job and private stuff!

Post-its from 3M, an awesome source of PFAS. Perfect to pollute your home in a permanent and irreversible way.

Hurry up and stock up on PFAS before they're gone!

https://pfas.3m.com/pfas_uses

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