Ask HN: Favorite Purchases of 2022? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Favorite Purchases of 2022?

64 pointssbolt58 comments

Wall mounted toothbrush holder. Doesn’t hold gross water like the cup holders, protects the head from dust with inverted cups, can hold tooth paste and other accessories on top

1. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B09MFK9K4Y?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_...

I have stone tiles instead of the glossy ceramic tiles on my wall. Will it stick on the stone tiles too? How strong is the glue? I am afraid it will fall down within a few weeks, then it will become useless.

I have it attached to a piece of drywall that has a bumpy painted texture and it's holding up fine after 5 weeks of use. The trick with these stick on things I've found is...

1. Clean the area thoroughly. You don't want any dirt or oils and stuff

2. Let the area dry fully after cleaning!

3. Put up the sticky mount and press firmly around all the edges and interior so it is making good contact with the surface

4. Absolutely do not put any weight on the mount until it has had a couple of hours to stick and "set"

Doing these 4 steps has greatly improved all the adhesive products I've used. Plus I've noticed that the tooth brush mount uses a similar (though much bigger) version of the box of adhesive metal hooks I use to hang up things like back scrubbers in the shower. And those can be removed without marring the surface underneath by gently heating and slowly peeling. It takes time but it works!

I like this down to earth answer :) Thanks for a gift idea.

I hesitate to go for such a stereotypical choice, but my Steam Deck has absolutely added value to my life. I found it hard to sit in front of a computer at a desk after doing that for 8+ hours at work, so I found myself just mindlessly scrolling more often than not. The Steam Deck was the right thing at the right time for me to spend those free hours in a more enjoyable way.

Ebike.

Bought a REI Cty 2.2 for my wife. Buying Yamaha CrossCore RC for myself next year.

Unless you are extremely fit, an ebike will literally change your life. It is so pleasant to just be able to bike for 30-40 miles at 20mph. I would recommend torque sensing mid drives without a throttle because you can still get some exercise.

I used to bike hard in teens. As I aged things got harder, I then had some mild nerve damage and my muscles now get tired quicker. Ebike makes me feel like I have teen legs again and it feels amazing.

Ebikes are great, they also let you go places in the summer without being a sweaty mess.

Definitely get a mid drive with torque sensing, otherwise your just riding a goofy moped. With a torque sensing mid drive it’s like riding a bicycle with bionic legs.

You can also build your own from a regular bicycle and a tsdz2 motor. Someone in Portugal wrote a much better and open source firmware for it that makes it really nice to use.

A monitor with native USB-C support and a built-in USB hub. It's basically a docking station, except the wear piece (the cable) is easily and cheaply replaced when/if it fails, and the increasingly-universal support of USB-C means it'll work with a laptop/tablet/phone/Steam Deck/etc.

The only improvement I can think of is monitors with multiple USB-C ports and a built-in KVM, but I haven't seen anything like that on the market as of yet.

[Ed: Clarified multiple USB-C ports; there are monitors already on the market with a single USB-C port and KVM functionality]

You’re in luck, the Asus FI32-U and M32U are 4k 144hz monitors with USBC PD and a built-in KVM. I can use several peripherals (keyboard, mouse, audio interface, webcam, and stream deck) and press a button to switch the display input (and those peripherals) between my MacBook (connected with a usb c cable) and my PC (connected with usb type A and DisplayPort)

It’s a dream honestly!

Dell also sells one (U2723QE, albeit limited to 4k/60Hz with 4:4:4) that theoretically can auto-switch between devices.

Aorus* which is gigabyte, a far shittier monitor (and everything else) producer.

a built-in KVM

My Philips 34" ultra wide has a built in KVM and it's great. Keyboard and mouse are plugged in to the monitor, my linux workstation is plugged in via HDMI and then I can plug in a laptop via USB-C and just switch between them by pressing a button on my monitor.

Hands down the Supernote A6X by Ratta. After having used styluses on phones and Apple Pencils on iPads, I thought that writing on a digital device would always be a gimmick.

The writing experience on the Supernote though has been incredible - I've started (and kept up) a journaling habit every day after 10 years of trying. It's my go to when it comes to brainstorming. They update the software with major updates routinely.

Easily my favorite purchase of 2022. My fingers are crossed for an A4X some time in the future as that would be incredible for brainstorming.

I bought an iPad Air recently and I’m absolutely blown away by how good the handwriting recognition is. I bought a magnetic paper like screen protector for it and a silicone sleeve and nib for the Apple Pencil and in really happy with it so far and planning on writing the first draft of a book with it by hand rather than typing. This looks cool but the price is eye watering for a single use device, is the experience so much better over the iPad that it justifies the price tag and if so can you elaborate a bit as to why? I’m really interested in this space right now. Amazon seem to have jumped into it with the Kindle Scribe and there’s also several other device makers such as Remarkable so it seems pretty hot at the minute.

What paper like screen protector and Pencil nib did you get please?

I just got generic ones from amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09NQX2V19

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09Y3BSDPH

There's https://pen.tips if you want the 'proper' ones but I've been perfectly satisfied with the cheap stuff so far.

Brilliant thank you

A Boss RC-505. I've played synth for a few years with a punk-rock band. During lockdown, I tried to rehearse but without a bassist, a drummer and a guitarist, it was quite hard to practice. I recorded loops on a DAW and played over. I found out it was fun, so I went solo and did lot's of shows with live-loop-recording with my computer and my synth. More than unpractical, it sounded awful.

I wanted drop the laptop for live performances, so I bought a Boss RC-505. A cool loopstation where I could record my loops more freely with other functionnalities I couldn't think of before. It changed the way I played music and completely changed my identity as an artist.

I'll release a new tape in a month, I recorded two EPs, I started touring, fans are following me. It all stepped up when I decided to level my machines up.

Thermomix. It's a sous vide machine for my steaks. It cooks eggs perfectly. It makes bechamel without needing any babysitting. Asian food tends to be a little involved; a Thermomix handles all the tedious stirring and prep giving plenty of room to clean up or do other things. It also handles some dumb labor like making lemonade with just sliced lemons, or chopping the garlic. You also don't have to soak it before cleaning, there's a cleaning option.

It's a little like my GitHub for recipes dream - lots of little iterations. But it also plugs right into the recipe every step of the way.

It's a different kind of cooking skill. If the garlic is sautéed a little too brown, it's because I programmed it to cook too high or too long. It's one kind of fun to follow the instructions, and a different kind of fun composing and editing them. Some of the recipes turns garlic and ginger into paste, when the whole/crushed stuff is probably tastier.

Some reviews say it's a commitment, which is true. But if you're like me and do some very involved recipes, it's well worth it.

And considering the rising costs of food, it's actually saved money as I can cook something and pack it for work before sunrise.

A nintendo switch - countless hours have been put into this and it's still so enjoyable.

Jot coffee and alternate brands - pricier than brewing your own, but I'm back to drinking black coffee because of it, I've lost weight because I don't fill up the glass with creamer, and it's so much quicker/more portable.

My cats - technically adopted, but they've made my life a lot more entertaining.

One of those air pumps for my tires - my tires deflate often because of the very unpredictable weather (cold), and being able to fill'er up whenever/wherever has been very convenient.

Not a purchase, but a discovery: my Kindle (EDIT: Fire) 7 2017 can be rooted[0] and loaded with LineageOS[1]. Now, it's fast enough to be a pleasure to use. I read email newsletters with it, play music from my Funkwhale server, and watch some videos.

About 2 weeks ago, I re-flashed it without Google Play services. Last week, I put a slideshow app[2] on it to show pictures of Mom at her wake.

[0] https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/unlock-root-twrp-unbrick-...

[1] https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/discontinued-rom-unlocked...

[2] https://github.com/ScreamingHawk/android-slideshow

For the curious, this is referring to Amazon's 7" Kindle Fire tablet (which uses a traditional LED-based screen) and not Amazon's 7" Kindle tablet (which uses a reflective e-ink display).

D'oh, I forgot about those. I'll edit the post.

LineageOS is amazing, but my only quip with it is that casting doesn’t work. I wonder if future versions will fix that issue.

Some concrete bolts, drilled into my ceiling! Using those I can have olympic rings to exercise, and a good 3M climbing rope for similar purposes.

When they're not being used for that then being in a hammock-chair, gently swaying, is an awesome way to watch movies.

This sounds nice, especially the hammock-chair part. It's most likely not doable in a rented apartment though.

Bought a squat rack, a bench, a weight set, and a barbell. Has been awesome being able to just walk into my garage and workout. Makes it feasible to get a workout in before work. Super worth it.

I did the same thing in the beginning of the year. Saves so much time and I have been more consistent with my workouts because of this.

Bidet attachment [1]. No more repeated wiping, irritation, etc., a folded piece of tissue and some patting are the only things I need.

[1]: https://luxebidet.com/

HA! I was just going to write this. It's like my official 'old man' gift for Christmas. People laugh about it, but when you get one, it's amazing lol.

I myself was hesitant about it until I took the shot. It's the type of thing you don't know you need. And this is with a basic one since there are ones with hot water, drying capability, etc.

This fabric shaver [0] was an absolute life shaver (sorry for the pun). I have many jumpers that looked really ugly and now have a new life. My wife also uses it for her jumpers. Take it everywhere we go.

[0] https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00E3862DE?th=1&linkCode=ll1&tag...

Black Diamond Hiking Headlamp. I use it all the time puttering around the garage and in the yard. I was just turning off my sprinkler's main valve with the headlamp on and spotted two baby grass snakes. Without the headlamp, I would never known they were there. Not that it matters, I left them alone.

A high-end PC, a childhood dream I waited a decade for(then another year for the GPU prices to drop).

I no longer have to:

- wait for minutes for the OS to load

- limit the number of chrome tabs open

- choose a lightweight code editor

- play games at minimum resolution

- trade dark mode explorer(Windows 10) for less resource usage(Windows 8.1)

My new (to me) desktop, an i7 with lots of cores and 32GB of RAM. I've hard-wired my internet, so I'm not on WiFi any more. 8)

The laptop got weird, and the HDMI output flaked out, so going though a USB based video card was laggy as heck.

A tiny 65W GaN (gallium nitride) USB charger. It is a fraction of the size of the MacBook's charger and can charge practically everything I own, even 2 or 3 (devices not laptops!) at a time.

Anker/Soundcore Motion+ bluetooth speaker, even though I use it at home as a soundbar for my computer. Sounds way better than others I have, like the much larger Sony SRS-XB43.

An actual linear tracking mouse and config. The ASUS/TUF M3 wired has the right size/symmetry for my hands. The config software can be used specifically for programming the DPIs and doesn't need to be installed.

I’ll second the charger. I recently bought the Shargeek Storm 2 battery and bought their recommended charger (100w GaN) on a lark. This turned out to be much more useful than the battery itself (although the battery has been great too).

I’m able to charge MacBook, iPhone, Watch, AirPods all from one brick at the same time, which means I only have to carry one brick.

I will say, I don’t believe it will charge at 100w on the main port when other ports are in use, 100w is the max across all ports. Still, I’m considering purchasing their new 140w option now to take full advantage of MagSafe.

Solar panels. Took about 6 months since starting the process and still need certificates before I can sell on a smart tariff but it's been fun seeing electricity generated even in December!

Been Looking into it and seems uneconomical (in CA) to pay equivalent of 16 years worth of electricity cost upfront just to set up panels.

How did you come around to this ?

If someone is quoting you 16 years for ROI on your panels, get another quote. Even a decade ago I was able to get an ROI of 7 years. And panels are cheaper now. (Labor is not.)

Actually got 3 quotes all in the same range. The economics did not make any sense. Makes me believe somethings off with this vendor ($1500 per 350 Watt panel + $2500 install).

Factoring in the NEMS3 change [1], and that we just bought our house draining our reserves, it's close to getting dropped.

[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34028583

Net metering got scrapped and subsidized rates are out so it’s not a good deal anymore

I'm in the UK and spent a little over £10k for 6.5kW and batteries. Expected payback is < 7y, depends on (UK) electricity prices and possible smart reselling power.

Really been happy with my convoy S2+ flashlight great deal for under 20$ and great light. So much so that I bought a S21E as well from them.

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/group/S-series/1100591265_5...

Got some books written by Dr. James Stanier. They have been very enriching and were well worth the money.

PS5. Sold PS4 and Quest 2, so PS5 is essentially free. Wasn't using Quest 2 at all, so don't miss it.

I cannot tell difference between PS4 and PS5 graphics but PS5 loads faster and hasn't crashed at all.

The logitech MX ergo trackball mouse, a kinesis advantage keyboard, the asus rog x13 flow laptop, a PS5 and a spare controller.

Cheap smart bracelet https://a.co/d/i2Eugie

Water cooling

Now that it's perpetually cold, my Ryzen rarely exits its 5.8 GHz boost state and the result is that Pop!OS feels incredibly responsive.

What about power usage though? Isn’t the point of lower states also to save on electricity?

Yes, but when I'm using the machine, I prefer peak performance. And those CPUs rarely exceed 100W anyway. It's typically the GPU that pushes you into pricey territory.

Where I live, a kWh is 0.27$ on average. I tend to watch my power usage closely :/

Tushy bidet, amazing purchase for being under $100

A cashmere hoodie

Any brand in particular you like?

This was from banana republic [0]

Has a strong Bruno color and vibe [1]

Refs: 0: https://bananarepublic.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=5020670...

1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRpvIiz9G8A

earphone

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