from Hacker News

Ask HN: Share a product you loved using in 2023

by vinniepukh on 12/26/23, 1:28 AM with 61 comments

Can be anything - physical, software, old, new.

  • by ethanbond on 12/26/23, 2:24 PM

    - For finding information: Perplexity

    - For finding websites or products: Kagi

    - For reading, annotating, journaling, daily planning: Supernote A5X (the only device I’ve ever purchased that lands in the same tier of usefulness as my MBP or iPhone)

    - For typing comfortably: A custom Corne keyboard (https://keebmaker.com/products/corne-cherry)

    - For note-taking at work: Obsidian (the graph-like organization scheme has paid dividends multiple times for me)

  • by martindbp on 12/26/23, 4:39 PM

    Steam Deck OLED. Runs much better than my 3 year old Dell laptop that cost $2k, for $500. Steam for gaming is great value as I already have a library of games, and you can play pretty much the entire switch library as well. Simple enough for my 6 year old to use, flexible enough to install mods and whatever. Don't do much gaming anymore due to life and kids, but this device makes it much easier to get started when I do have time.

  • by syndicatedjelly on 12/26/23, 6:21 AM

    mermaid.js - Excellent tool for creating architecture (and other) diagrams from text. Add to a markdown file with special syntax. Renders in GitHub natively. Has some bugs, but team seems to have a good head on its shoulders and should hopefully work them out soon. 8/10

    VSCode - One of the few things Microsoft hasn't totally screwed up yet. Plug-in ecosystem is enormous. 9/10

    Vim - At the other end of the spectrum. I forced myself to learn keybindings last year and now I can't not use them. I find myself unable to use text editors that lack a "vim mode". 2dWi" - fixed that missing quote! I find the extension ecosystem a bit puzzling still - extensions I install never seem to work quite right. Having to memorize extra keybindings for each plugin maxes out my mental load. 8/10

    DigitalOcean - A breath of fresh air compared to AWS. There are fewer services and quite a lot of abstraction, but I'm happy to pay for higher reliability than something I can self-host. Encountered some bizarre behavior/bugs at times, but DO support has been super prompt and helpful (even on the free support tier). If you need three+ 9's of reliability call AWS or GCP. For everything else there's DigitalOcean. 9/10

    Django - The first time I've enjoyed web development in quite some time. The abstraction level can get a bit silly at times, but I find that it's easy to peel back the layers of the onion, so to speak, and troubleshoot the inner workings. I really, really wish that a strongly-typed version of Python could be used. `mypy` and `typeddjango/django-stubs` just don't cut it. I want more compile time errors! 8/10

    Logic Pro - Technically started using it in late 2021 but really got more into it this year. Used to produce music for a group of friends that play together. Tons of keybindings. Interface can get confusing, but it's a powerful tool. 9/10

  • by muzani on 12/26/23, 10:59 AM

    https://github.com/npiv/chatblade

    Basically GPT on the command line. I had my own, but chatblade is just prettier. I thought with the ChatGPT subscriptions I wouldn't have to use it anymore, but there's just a lot of raw searches that the API does much better than the chat. Recent example is how to access new fonts from mac's Pages app, both Google and ChatGPT gave incorrect answers on top.

  • by nicbou on 12/26/23, 11:06 AM

    - ChatGPT to replace a lot of small Google searches made annoying by the current state of the web.

    - My Macbook Air M2 to replace my 12" Macbook. Best laptop I've ever used!

    - Syncthing just works. It's always a bit messy to set up, but then it syncs everything unfailingly across Mac, Linux and Android.

    - Obsidian is great. I only use it for journaling (with Syncthing synchronization), but I love the idea.

    - Sublime Merge. I use git in the command line, but since I edit markdown files for a living, diffing content changes so efficiently is a game changer. It works well with Sublime Text, another incredible product.

  • by solardev on 12/26/23, 6:23 PM

    GeForce Now. It's been amazing for being able to play AAA games for $20/mo. (Not so great for my social life.) I grew up building my own PCs with 3Dfx Voodoo cards, but honestly this is waaaaaaay better -- no heat or noise, and a way better GPU than I could afford. Combined with PC Game Pass or an Ubi or EA subscription, this is a great way to go through a bunch of great games for a month or two at a time.

    Microsoft To Do is a simple, free, multiplayer to-do list app that runs on all the things: my Android, my iPad, my Mac, my partner's Windows laptop. No ads, no bullshit, it just works (thanks, Microsoft, this is probably the single best software you've ever written -- even more than TypeScript or VSCode). We use it for sharing grocery and other lists, and it's great being able to check things off in real-time as we shop different aisles.

    My Airpods are still as comfortable and amazing as ever (even though I use Android). The M2 Mac is also awesome, but you knew that. The Magic Mouse is the only thing that doesn't give me cramps after a day of work.

    Jetbrains IDEs continue to be worth it (in my case, as a web dev, Webstorm and RubyMine), even as VSCode keeps getting better.

    ----------------------

    In the real world, probably my bicycles (Cannondale/Specialized especially, Canyon a little less so). All are great fun to ride. I wish I discovered this much younger (almost 40 now, didn't start cycling until my late 20s).

    And good boxing gloves... I love my Hayabusas with their integrated wrist straps. I don't fight competitively or anything, just do it for a workout, but it's saved my wrists so many times. They make great training shin guards too. Perfect for this big ol' softy with fragile bones.

    My Costco membership? After 2020, I'll never take toilet paper for granted ever again, lol. edit: oh yeah, and of course, my bidet!

  • by VoodooJuJu on 12/26/23, 2:39 PM

    Plumbing - fresh water piped directly to me, available on demand, and dirty water shipped away. Relatively simple technology and more useful than any other tech I've ever used.

  • by derwiki on 12/26/23, 4:47 PM

    I see a lot of love for Obsidian, so I want to offer an alternative that I loved this year: Joplin. It has become my go-to note taking app, and the main feature in my opinion: I give it AWS keys for a bucket I provisioned just for Joplin. My keys, my data, and someday if I want to build RAG on top of my notes database, I know it’s just a few S3 calls away.

  • by rozenmd on 12/26/23, 8:07 AM

  • by DamnInteresting on 12/26/23, 8:20 PM

    An air fryer. I was a skeptic, thinking that an air fryer is unlikely to outperform my conventional convection oven in any meaningful way.

    When my pressure cooker died, I replaced it with a multi-purpose machine that also included air frying capabilities, and I gave it a try. I was pleased to discover that my prior skepticism was misplaced. It's not perfect for everything, but it heats up fast, and it really shines in a few areas (e.g., making fries, reheating fries/pizza, cooking seasoned chicken, etc).

  • by stonecharioteer on 12/26/23, 10:34 AM

    The OnePlus Open - I was on the fence about foldables and was saving up for the next generation of the Samsung Galaxy Fold. I didn't know OnePlus was going to release one until I saw a newspaper ad. I'm so glad I bought one and traded in my Nothing Phone(1). This is the best tech device I've used in the last few years and I've not been this excited about a device since I first bought my friend's used Nexus S.

    Samsung Galaxy S9 Ultra - No brainer when my S7+ screen died. I love the form factor. It's not for everyone but I love it. I might get the S6 Lite sometime next year for use during travel, but perhaps not.

    Boox Tab Mini C - Bye-bye Kindles. I'm in love with this device. Color in an e-reader is great and this device allows me to use an app of my choice to read. I'm not locked into reading on one app. Tachiyomi also works flawlessly. Love it.

  • by kungito on 12/26/23, 5:27 PM

    StrengthLog - for tracking gym progress. Such a fluid and satisfying interface with various interesting utilities/calculators/result visualisations.

    BeReal - a very cool new take on close group social networking.

    exercise - climbing gym and regular gym helped me improve my mental health drastically after years of not enough exercise

  • by 0xdeee on 12/27/23, 3:22 PM

    - Raycast (with List Repos, Snippets & Window Management Extensions in it)

    - Logseq (Wasn't able to use Obsidian due to licensing issue, accidentally found this amazing alternative with a supportive FOSS ecosystem)

    - vscode (with Github Copilot, Better Comments, Error Lens, GitLens)

    - iterm2 + zsh + fzf

  • by max2 on 12/26/23, 5:49 PM

    Kindle Scribe. I'm reading a lot more books on it because I find experience much better compared to the small ones. Don't really use handwriting notes functionality because I rely on pen and paper for notes.

    Armytek Wizard flashlight. Joy to use on the runs and for walking around neighborhood in the evening.

    Pacsafe Metrosafe X Urban Sling. Kind of expensive but has a very thoughtful design. Now I have my wallet, notepad and bunch of other small things in one place instead of being spread out across various pockets.

  • by samelawrence on 12/26/23, 10:40 PM

    Monarch as a financial management tool / Mint replacement.

    Ref link: https://www.monarchmoney.com/referral/chszg37bgv Regular link: https://www.monarchmoney.com/

  • by d4rkp4ttern on 12/26/23, 12:47 PM

    UHK Ultimate Hacking Keyboard.

    https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/

    I’ve tried several split keyboards but this is the one I finally stuck with. Amazing config software, I have several Mac and PyCharm shortcuts setup.

    ChatGPT iOS app with voice.

    Ninja Air Fry Digital Oven

  • by fullofdev on 12/26/23, 3:23 AM

    Obsidian! perfect for me so far!

  • by hschne on 12/26/23, 2:27 PM

    Honesty I had a blast with Midjourney. Takes some getting used to, and it's not actually that useful (I think) but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't great fun to use.

  • by adityar on 12/26/23, 4:19 PM

    Space efficient exercise gear

    - foldable pullup bar - bullbar. I have the 1.0 but 2.0 looks much easier to setup - Bowflex adjustable dumbbells

  • by constantinum on 12/26/23, 7:34 PM

    Pikapods - host open-source apps

    Pages app - word processor

    Proton mail

    Bose quite comfort

    Day one

  • by palashkulsh on 12/26/23, 5:01 AM

    Chatgpt Paper & pen Educative.io

  • by ackatz on 12/26/23, 3:26 AM

    * Apple M1 Pro

    * Noteplan

    * PyCharm