[HN Gopher] Ask HN: What are the best-designed things you've eve...
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Ask HN: What are the best-designed things you've ever used? (2021)
        
       I'll go first. I think the Bialetti Brikka is exceptional:
       https://www.amazon.com/Bialetti-Stovetop-Producing-Crema-Rich-
       Espresso/dp/B08BR86LR3
        
       Author : whitepoplar
       Score  : 14 points
       Date   : 2021-11-26 20:50 UTC (2 hours ago)
        
       | elliekelly wrote:
       | I'm not really the type to fuss over wine glasses but I was
       | gifted a set of Veuve Cliquot champagne flutes (similar to the
       | glasses that come in this set[1]) and they really are beautiful.
       | The shape of the glass makes the bubbles fizz to the top in this
       | tiny perfect spiral in the center of the glass. You can tell they
       | were designed by someone who cares about champagne and pays
       | attention to its presentation.
       | 
       | [1]https://www.champagneking.co.uk/product/3904/veuve-
       | clicquot-...
        
       | wrycoder wrote:
       | A Gillette Pivot disposable razor.
        
       | freetinker wrote:
       | Actual physical books.
        
       | cc101 wrote:
       | US Forest Service picnic table. 3 kinds of simple flat cement
       | castings. Held together by their own weight. Easily carried and
       | assembled by two men. Cheap. Almost indestructible.
        
       | new_guy wrote:
       | A Fanta bottle ( https://i.imgur.com/TVZBewX.jpg )
       | 
       | The shape makes it really easy to hold compared to other soda
       | bottles.
        
       | jet_32951 wrote:
       | HP41C, s/n 2018A00505. Had it since the early 1980s, still works.
       | PPC ROM still works.
        
       | znpy wrote:
       | some random things without thinking too much:
       | 
       | - my regular Bialetti moka
       | 
       | - my texas instruments ti-86 (still rocking strong since 1997)
       | 
       | - thinkpads: T42, X220, w530, T440... they're just great.
       | 
       | - my wenger/swissgear carbon backpack
       | 
       | EDIT: actually my regular bialetti moka is replacing an induction
       | moka (still from bialetti) because the induction moka is hard to
       | open (due to the round base).
        
       | jfrd wrote:
       | The Kershaw Leek pocket knife. Flips open one-handed and makes a
       | satisfying "snick". I've used mine daily for 5 years.
       | 
       | https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009VC9YK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_...
        
       | moneywoes wrote:
       | Old can opener
        
       | krisrm wrote:
       | "Things" is pretty broad.
       | 
       | Thinking of software, probably early "beta" Gmail. There was so
       | much about the email experience that was improved by a stable web
       | client, with what felt at the time like unlimited storage.
       | 
       | Thinking of hardware, I've never been much for Apple products,
       | but the iPhone (particularly early models) is undoubtedly a
       | design marvel.
        
         | znpy wrote:
         | early gmail was just magic.
         | 
         | modern gmail is trash.
         | 
         | i switched my personal gmail account to html-only mode (no
         | javascript) and it's definitely better.
        
         | smoldesu wrote:
         | Things has a really good open-source clone called Planner[0]
         | that I quite like. Now, if only they'd package it some way
         | other than flatpak...
         | 
         | [0] https://github.com/alainm23/planner
        
       | wly_cdgr wrote:
       | You said things, so I am excluding software (like the original
       | version of the Square web app)
       | 
       | JVC Flats
       | 
       | GBA SP (the pocket clamshell one)
       | 
       | Retro microwave with the original-ipod style single knob controls
       | 
       | More generically, forks
       | 
       | Grand Prize Winner: wood Staunton chess set - beautiful, durable,
       | affordable, practical. The piece design is exquisitely balanced
       | between representation and abstraction
        
         | whitepoplar wrote:
         | Software is a thing too!
        
       | f0e4c2f7 wrote:
       | Crock Pot. Cheap and makes cooking feel easy.
       | 
       | https://www.amazon.com/Crock-Pot-SCV700SS-Stainless-7-Quart-...
       | 
       | OP-1. Expensive and makes music feel easy.
       | 
       | https://www.amazon.com/Teenage-Engineering-002-AS-001-OP-1-S...
       | 
       | LG Tone Flex HBS-XL7. The best earbuds with the worst name. I
       | really like this form factor. I often forget that I'm wearing
       | them and this particular model is the most comfortable of the
       | ones I've used over the years.
       | 
       | https://www.amazon.com/LG-HBS-XL7-Bluetooth-Wireless-Neckban...
       | 
       | Kindle Paperwhite. I have the older model. I've heard the nooks
       | are good too. The simpler the better. Nothing to break or
       | distract. Don't use the backlight and the battery lasts ages. I
       | know a lot of people are partial to physical books but I've read
       | hundreds more books than I might have otherwise read since I
       | started using my kindle. It's probably my favorite thing I own.
       | 
       | https://www.amazon.com/All-new-kindle-paperwhite/dp/B08N38WQ...
        
       | guidovranken wrote:
       | BitTorrent is amazing. It just works. Anyone anywhere can create
       | a torrent of their files, dump the magnet link somewhere, and
       | everyone else can reliably retrieve it. It is self-reinforcing;
       | the more people using a torrent, the better the robustness,
       | redundancy and download speeds. You can often get better speeds
       | from downloading something via torrent than from a web server.
       | It's an open protocol that is relatively easy to implement, it
       | has a diversity of lightweight clients for all OSes and is fairly
       | resistant to censorship. To me it's pretty much perfect tech that
       | solves a real problem. I hope Bram Cohen got rich off of it
       | somehow.
        
       | slipwalker wrote:
       | a bic (cristal) pen
        
       | EMM_386 wrote:
       | Samsung T5 SSD.
        
       | jimmies wrote:
       | Zorijushi rice cooker. It can cook rice perfectly and can hold
       | cooked rice for days.
       | 
       | Facebook portal. Yeah Facebook privacy and all that but that's a
       | good product that allows me to call people without having to mess
       | with the phone. The audio and video is super clear. I use it
       | despite it's from Facebook.
       | 
       | Work sharp knife sharpener. It's superior to sharpening the my
       | knives with the stone.
       | 
       | Apple airtags. I often forget where I put my keychain so this is
       | really well executed. Apple airpods. They just work and they are
       | nice enough.
       | 
       | Hakko soldering station. I don't know if the recent Chinese usbc
       | ones are better but the hakko one I have work well enough for
       | everything I want to do.
        
         | pedalpete wrote:
         | I'm curious about your thoughts on airtags. Had you tried Tile
         | before? Are the airtags really better, and not just a knock-off
         | product?
        
           | otterley wrote:
           | I have owned both. AirTags are superior to Tile tags in
           | several major ways: (1) the batteries are replaceable
           | (although I understand newer Tile tags also have them); (2)
           | when you get close enough, the Find My app can give you
           | directions to the tag; and (3) there are far more
           | iPhones/iPads out there than Tile users, so if you leave your
           | tag somewhere, its location is much more likely to be found
           | with pinpoint accuracy.
        
       | muziq wrote:
       | A 2011 era 27" iMac, that never booted to OSX, instead was
       | installed from new with Windows.. Sheer, and unexpectedly, pure
       | blissful experience..
        
       | ruslan wrote:
       | Atari 130XE - manufactured in 1986, works till this day (with
       | some SIO mod), brings joy to me and to my kids.
        
       | MildlySerious wrote:
       | In terms of physical things, my Audio Technica ATH-M50x
       | headphones. I have been quite literally wearing them all day,
       | every day for the past three years and got no complaints.
        
       | madengr wrote:
       | HP 8566B spectrum analyzer and 8510C network analyzer. HP RPN
       | calculators. Really any late 80's and early 90's HP test
       | equipment. Built like tanks and designed by engineers for
       | engineers.
        
       | I_complete_me wrote:
       | bic biro, light switch, mouse, calculator, bulb, fingers,
       | bicycle, curtains, sheets, armchairs, roads, cars, glasses,
       | floorboards, radio, computers, forks, toilet paper, books, steel;
        
       | drakonka wrote:
       | A Huskee Cup. Low maintenance, made from coffee husk, great seal
       | with the lid, and I love that it can hold hot coffee but not burn
       | your hands due to the fins running along the body. Many local
       | coffee shops also give me a discount on takeaway coffee if I
       | bring my own takeaway cup, and some offer a Huskee Cup swap
       | program where you can leave your dirty cup with them if you've
       | been carrying it around after drinking your last coffee and get a
       | clean one for your next order (personally I prefer to just keep
       | my own though).
       | 
       | https://huskee.co/huskeecup/
        
       ___________________________________________________________________
       (page generated 2021-11-26 23:01 UTC)