What has brought you joy?
Companion to the last question :)
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- Steam Deck (I spend 90% of my time gaming on my couch than at my desk)
- Minidisc Players (There was some MD hate in the other thread but community-made software has come a long way)
- Kobo (Freeing myself from Amazon’s DRM)
- DAS (Creating my own media collection on Jellyfin)
I have heard of NAS to but What is a DAS?
Direct Attached Storage. It’s kinda like NAS but not in network. One could argue it’s just an external hard drive. If I remember correctly I went with one because it was more affordable. I was on a tight budget at the time.
Appreciate the MD love. Super fun format and slick tech. It’s over 25 years old and still feels like the future.
Macbook Air probably (Apple silicon)
Apart from the repairability it’s just THE perfect laptop
an ereader (a decent, 3rd party software compatible one, not amazons ewaste)
I recently went on a trip to Italy and my e-reader was the unexpected MVP of that trip. Any downtime at the hotel or on the plane instead of staring at a tiny screen I was reading books and felt refreshed instead of drained afterwards, and it took up less space than if I brought just a single book with me. I also didn’t need to charge it once on the entire 10 day trip because eink is so freaking amazing
My ebook reader. In the German speaking area, there are even some DRM free ebooks available that I can buy.
Libraries also lend e-books. Having fun isn’t hard when you got a library card 🐜 🐻 🎶
My Nintendo 3DS. I don’t use it often or regularly but when I do I’m glad I have it.
I love the 3ds. It had such fun & interesting features.
Formerly steam deck, now unseated by my AYN Thor. It can play 70-80% of the games the deck can in a package that fits in your pocket.
My breville coffee maker and bratza burr grinder. It makes the best coffee and doesn’t complain.
Also, my dolphin pool cleaning robot. Vacuuming a pool manually is such a hassle. Outsourcing that to a bot is truly amazing.
Anything that buys me back my time.
I recently got an AYN thor. What sort of things have you been playing on it? I’ve not ventured too far into a gaming library yet and was wondering how others are using it.
Soundpeats Wireless Airbuds. They are just really good wireless headphones for the price point. Pre tariffs I got them for like $40. I like that I don’t have to stress about losing them.
Number 2 is an electric vehicle.
Number 1 is a non-smart TV
Honorable mention; The Apple Watch SE 2 I bought for my wife so she stops thinking she’s going tachy or having a heart attack 9 times a year. Considering the cost of an average ER trip, and the hit to my sanity when these things only happen at like 3 AM, I’ll gladly upgrade her to the pro version or whatever when the SE kicks the bucket.
I’m in the market for a new TV, what would you recommend for a dumb screen?
I got an Insignia from BestBuy a few years ago. There was a smart version that was 2 inches bigger for 25 dollars less, and I opted out of that. To say the salesman was floored by this decision would be accurate.
The tv’s with really nice screen tech that is dumb usually costs more I find. Every time I go tv shopping I just end up getting angry about it and talk myself out of it again. I like some of the Hisense stuff but Samsung panels are really the best and the price reflects that.
My favorite tech buy is a good 3D printer.
The ability to imagine something, model it in 3D, and then send it to a box and have it “magically” become real via 3D printing will never not amaze me or stop being cool.
Plenty of other useful tech toys like a jellyfin PC or a 3D scanner, but the printer is the thing I enjoy the most.
Which printer did you buy?
X1C. The new version looks even better. Pretty happy with the XIC’s performance, though. Way better than my old Lulzbot.
My Hansker Performance mouse. No wrist pain anymore and I can switch it between desktop and my laptop using the switch on the bottom
Strix Halo laptop.
After a little over a year with a Framework 16, which I had multiple problems with (garbage build quality and tolerances, multiple USB A and C expansion modules all utterly unreliable in any slot), I sold it and instead got an HP ZBook Ultra G1A. Really feeling vindicated getting a laptop with 64gb of 8000mt/s RAM last year given the RAMpocalypse.
Still wasn’t cheap but the thing is insanely powerful for its size, especially the GPU which is crazy good for “integrated”
A Logitech speakers system. Got it about 20y ago when the brand was still awesome (and actually called Logitech). 100% analog and it works to this day. I dread the day it dies.
i bought a new 2.1 system for my pc a few years ago and there isnt much that changed compared to the old ones. so you don’t have to fear as much enshittification as in other Logitech branches
Good to hear. A friend had one with a digital control terminal that failed twice in two years or something. That was almost 15y ago.
I can think of a few that I can’t decide between:
My IBM Model M that came with my childhood PC was my primary keyboard into my 30s until a coworker sabotaged it (it was a bit loud I suppose). Not technically my purchase, but damn was it solid.
I bought a used 21" Sony Trinitron CRT monitor crazy cheap back in the mid 90s when typical monitors were 14". I felt like a king, that thing never stopped working, but I was pressured to part ways with it two decades later by my wife.
Edit: I’ll add on my Beyerdynamic DT 770 headphones. My current pair are 20 years old and I have just replaced the pads a few times as well as some cheap support part (was less than $3 from the manufacturer). These things are basically invincible and they are still my travel headphones as they can take a beating on the road.
until a coworker sabotaged it
They would have been buying me a new one. NEW. Not used. Yes, I know that’s next to impossible.
And I would tell everyone in the office about it until it happened.
I had no direct proof and there is no way he’d admit it to anyone with authority.
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Dyson V8 vacuum cleaner
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Garmin Instinct 2X watch
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JBL flip 5 bt speakers These are just all round great products
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Tesla model 3 is the one that has brought me most joy. It has taken me all over the nordics for the last four years without any trouble.
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My Moza direct drive wheel, pedals, shifter, handbrake and multi-function stalk. They have transformed my sim driving experience. And hate Meta all you like, but my Quest2 has likewise made sim driving all the more awesome. I’m looking forward to the Steam Frame, though, so I can ditch Meta altogether.
Also adding a vote for the Steam Deck. Outside of sim driving, it’s been my primary gaming device since I got it.
Hi simracing pal! You have pretty much the same setup as myself. I also have the very reasonably priced cog shh motion rig (about 3k euro), and a Pico 4 vr headset. My rig keeps getting better and better… Next purchase may be a better graphics card, when prices go back to normal in a few months or years.
Cool. I don’t really have the space for a motion rig, but I have been to this place. Very fun.
I’ve also been looking at the Pimax Crystal Light for a VR headset. I’m waiting to see how the Steam Frame compares to it price-wise. How’s the Pico 4? That’s more comparable to the Quest isn’t it?
