Ask HN: What did you buy accidentally that added so much value to your life? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What did you buy accidentally that added so much value to your life?

13 pointsjulianpye15 comments

There are two devices I bought on a hunch and today I am so glad for buying them, since they really add so much more value to my life than I anticipated when I bought them. A logitech R400 Presenter, which I use even when I am showing someone slides on a laptop because it just lies so easily in your hand and makes the flow of <i>any</i> presentation just so much better and the Logitech G930 wireless headset which frees me from the desk and allows me to do errands all around the house while on conference calls, following the news or listening to music. Which devices did you buy not anticipating how much value they ended up adding to your life?

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For me, there are two things that immediately stand out:

An Amazon Kindle, and a subscription to Audible.com.

When I bought a Kindle, I really did so on a whim (they're cheap!), but they're actually incredibly awesome devices. Ever since I've gotten one, I've read far more books, learned a lot, and have greatly improved my personal satisfaction. I've always been the sort of person who feels 'guilty' when I don't read frequently, and having a Kindle around has really solved that problem for me. It makes it very easy to swipe, read a few pages, and set back down (while code is compiling, whatever).

The Audible.com subscription has also been really amazing. If you're not aware, Audible is an Amazon company that sells audiobooks. You can listen to them on your mobile device (Android, iOS, etc.), and it's a great companion for running errands, commuting, doing chores, or working out (unless you're lifting weights, in which case you may want some real music >:)).

Audible has essentially helped me read through an extra ~40 books last year, all of which were really educational / helpful.

Audible is great. I love listening to books while taking a long walk or going on a cycling tour. For some reason this combination makes audiobooks almost better than reading.

Which Kindle did you buy?

Earlier this month I decided that I'd finally get one... so, I thought I'd get the DX (because it's large, and I figured since I'd be reading normal PDF's made for standard sized papers, it'd be my best bet) -- but, it seems Amazon stopped making them. Which is a pity, because it's everything I'd wanted: e-ink display, and large.

I have a DX (older model), and a new Paperwhite (which I really like). It has better battery life, backlighting, and etc.

I still read technical books in paper, but I read business / personal development books primarily on the kindle.

I have the 3G / Wifi e-ink keyboard one. A person I know had a DX and I got to interact with it, and it was way too big to read comfortably. The keyboard one is like a softcover novel where the DX is like a hardcover textbook. The small one is a lot easier to read / hold, and PDF displays pretty well (as long as the text isn't tiny... like a magazine). Most ebooks come in native mobi and epub forms anyway, so you shouldn't have trouble there.

A while back Amazon Local was running refurbished kindles for $20 off. That made the basic kindle $50. I bought one on a whim since I have Prime. Haven't gotten many Prime rentals, but I have read a few other things.

Sennheiser radio wireless headset for the TV - can watch TV at any time day or night without disturbing anyone. The sound quality is excellent. As its radio (not infra-red) I can move around the house still listening with perfect sound.

Noise canceling headphones from Bose - had no idea how quiet and focused I could get with them on in public spaces

Mine is similar: bluetooth headphones[1]. Not dealing with a headphone cord is a -huge- quality of life improvement, and I'm able to keep 20gb+ of music on my iPhone.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-S305-Bluetooth-Headset-Microp...

The base model Kindle with ads.

I take the train every day and using an iPad 2 to read is really inconvenient and invites theft. The Kindle fits in my coat pocket, is a delight to read with (sitting or standing), and no one wants to jump you for an e-reader.

An automatic wire stripper. I was at a convention center and it seemed like such a scam (one of those douchey salesman). I threw out the money for it because it wasn't too expensive and seemed neat. One of the most enjoyable tools I have to use. Not sure why, maybe it's just from the years of using knives/nail trimmers/crappy wire strippers as a kid.

Kind of like this: http://www.amazon.com/Automatic-Wire-Stripper-with-Cutter/dp...

A rice cooker

Hiring a lawn mowing service to mow my damn lawn. This way I can shake my fist at the youngsters to 'stay the hell off my lawn' from my porch/deck, rather than stop my mower, take off my hearing protection, put down my can of Old Mil, then shake my fist at them...

An iphone charger for my car and also bluetooth for my car so I can stream podcasts/music and make calls without having to touch my phone.

All public radio. In Los Angeles - kpcc, and kusc.

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