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Ask HN: What are some good gift ideas for hacker types?

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Re: Ask HN: What are some good gift ideas for hacker types?

#41

Post by flueedo »

Piromancer wrote: post #19
ladybro wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see a lot of people mention mechanical keyboards on here. What's the hype around them? What makes them preferable to another external keyboard?

In a conventional keyboard, the point at which the switch closes is also the point where the key bottoms out, plus or minus the amount of give that the rubber spring-membrane provides. The typing feel they provide is both impactful and gummy - you push a key until it stops abruptly, like mashing a finger down on your desk directly, and then you have to lift your finger off the key entirely to let it release. Trying t…

If I may ask, do you play any pc games while using this keyboard? I'm not a gamer myself but someone I might buy this to is.

Re: Ask HN: What are some good gift ideas for hacker types?

#42

Post by xradionut »

honzzz wrote: post #40

I think it's a good idea to give something that the person would never buy, something totally different than the things they encounter on daily basis. I got an art book once - 'woman as an inspiration', a collection of famous paintings depicting women. I loved it and I am pretty sure I would never ever buy that myself. I also love gifts that you do - I got a trip to Valencia once, that was pretty cool.

This often backfires. My MIL got me scented candles. WTF?!

Re: Ask HN: What are some good gift ideas for hacker types?

#43

Post by natch »

jerryr wrote: post #17

Some things that came quickly to mind. =Computing= * Clacky keyboards and clacky keyboard accessories: http://shop.daskeyboard.com , http://elitekeyboards.com * Liquid cooling kits: http://koolance.com * Lattice ECP3 Versa (PCI-E FPGA kit): http://www.latticesemi.com/en/Products/DevelopmentBoardsAndK... =Tools= * Stuff from Jetbrains: http://www.jetbrains.com * Sublime Text: http://www.sublimetext.com * Reveal and/or…

Nice list. But ugh no on the digital cutter unless it uses free and open source patterns.

Re: Ask HN: What are some good gift ideas for hacker types?

#44

Post by jerryr »

natch wrote: post #43
jerryr wrote: post #17

Some things that came quickly to mind. =Computing= * Clacky keyboards and clacky keyboard accessories: http://shop.daskeyboard.com , http://elitekeyboards.com * Liquid cooling kits: http://koolance.com * Lattice ECP3 Versa (PCI-E FPGA kit): http://www.latticesemi.com/en/Products/DevelopmentBoardsAndK... =Tools= * Stuff from Jetbrains: http://www.jetbrains.com * Sublime Text: http://www.sublimetext.com * Reveal and/or…

Nice list. But ugh no on the digital cutter unless it uses free and open source patterns.

I don't actually have one, but I think the Silhouette allows you to convert stuff from Illustrator format. I think it also appears as a printer. So, you should be able to create cuttable content in Inkscape.

http://blog.concertkatie.com/2011/04/tutorial-for-creating-c...

http://enchantart.com/blog/?p=827

Re: Ask HN: What are some good gift ideas for hacker types?

#45

Post by dyadic »

My favorite gift to receive is really just spending time with the gift giver, going out to a restaurant, maybe a show or to see a band, or a day out somewhere.

Hacker types also have a great interest in how things are made, if you can combine eating with a cooking class, or drinking with a trip to a brewery then that would work well.

Re: Ask HN: What are some good gift ideas for hacker types?

#49

Post by tcpekin »

flueedo wrote: post #41
Piromancer wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a conventional keyboard, the point at which the switch closes is also the point where the key bottoms out, plus or minus the amount of give that the rubber spring-membrane provides. The typing feel they provide is both impactful and gummy - you push a key until it stops abruptly, like mashing a finger down on your desk directly, and then you have to lift your finger off the key entirely to let it release. Trying t…

If I may ask, do you play any pc games while using this keyboard? I'm not a gamer myself but someone I might buy this to is.

People who play games (I for one) like mechanical keyboards. I'd say the three main key switches provided by Cherry are the Cherry MX Blue, Brown, and Red, in that order from typing oriented to gaming oriented. The Blues are loud and have a clicky feel, while the Browns are quieter, but still have the clicky feel, and the Reds are simply linear switches without any sort of tactile click. I personally have browns and love them but reds are more gaming oriented, due to the lack of tactile feedback impeding the switch and the lightest force to actuate. There are several other types of Cherry switches, as well as high end options (Topre, etc. ). This was a long answer, but yes, mechanical keyboards are great for gaming as well as general use.

[1] http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/mechanical-keyboard-guide

Re: Ask HN: What are some good gift ideas for hacker types?

#50

Post by bliti »

jerryr wrote: post #17

Some things that came quickly to mind. =Computing= * Clacky keyboards and clacky keyboard accessories: http://shop.daskeyboard.com , http://elitekeyboards.com * Liquid cooling kits: http://koolance.com * Lattice ECP3 Versa (PCI-E FPGA kit): http://www.latticesemi.com/en/Products/DevelopmentBoardsAndK... =Tools= * Stuff from Jetbrains: http://www.jetbrains.com * Sublime Text: http://www.sublimetext.com * Reveal and/or…

I must second the Dremel as a good gift idea. It is the one power tool that I use weekly. Its a saw, drill, sander, and more in one. I use it for many different types of projects. Bought it in the year 2000. Its still going strong.
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