Ask HN: What product most improved your quality of life? - miguelrochefort
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marapuru
A good bed. There is no bed like my own. I have a good night's rest so I can
fully take the next day again.

I was doubting to write the next one. Since it's obviously not a "product",
but want to mention anyway.

My wife. She really completed me in such a way that it significantly improved
my quality of life. She holds the mirror in front of me at the right times and
works in an entirely different field, making her a great sparring partner.

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drakonka
It's hard to pick just one.

* Laser eye surgery in 2009 - I know it isn't really a "product", but it is one of the best purchasing decisions I've made.

* Kindle - it is so much more convenient than reading or collecting physical books, and with the e-ink screen doesn't detract from that "book feel" for me

* Tretinoin - this might be a weird one, but as someone who is very into skincare this single product makes me feel confident that I am effectively taking care of my skin for the long term. I don't have to worry about if I'm "doing it right", or bother with gimmicky expensive "texture-enhancing" or "anti-ageing" or whatever-the-next-buzzword-is products. Tretinoin has a very large body of research behind it. We know it works. A single tube of tretinoin (coupled with sunscreen!) saves me a lot of wondering and money. This is not to say I use nothing else at all, it's more like this one product and the knowledge base we have on it keeps me from spending money on otherwise expensive skincare that I don't need, which is _marketed_ to do the same thing as tretinoin but isn't actually shown to work like tretinoin is.

~~~
ak39
How old were you when you did LASIK - and what did it fix? (I am in early
stages of flirting with the idea - had 2020 vision till about 3 years ago. I
am 47 now.)

~~~
drakonka
I was 21 at the time; I hear that this is a bit young to get that kind of
procedure as my eyes may still change rapidly, but I went to a reputable
doctor who ran various tests before concluding that I was a candidate, and
luckily my eyesight is still going strong almost 11 years later.

I can't remember exactly what my deficiencies were at the time to be honest,
other than I could not see well far away. I was told I needed glasses but
never bothered wearing them or paying attention to my sight other than knowing
it sucked. When doing an eye test for my driver's permit I was one line away
from not being able to legally drive without glasses, if that gives you any
idea.

Now there are apparently other options than LASIK which might work better for
some. For example, a few years ago a coworker of mine got a procedure that he
described as them basically inserting a lens into his eye instead of
resurfacing part of the eye itself. Apparently it means if his eyesight
changes sufficiently over the years he can just go back and get a new lens
inserted!

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muzani
Nice glasses. There are a lot of bad ones out there that I've been wearing for
over 10 years.

The bad ones DoS my brain with pointless information, greatly harmed my focus
and ability to think, as well as gaming abilities. It's also made driving,
especially in heavy rain, difficult and hazardous.

The good one made life seem really high resolution. It reduces eye strain a
lot, which is wonderful when you work with computers a lot and live in a sunny
area.

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polyterative
Peak Design messenger - solved all things bags in my life. Proud of having it
on me all the time, beautiful and functional.

Sennheiser PXC-550 - One of the best wireless headphones out there. I can keep
them on 8 hours a day without any stress.

Keychron K2, just a well-thought wireless/wired mechianical keyboard. Less
fatigue and more confort, I can type 4x more text now.

I've been using these every single day for years now.

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aynyc
MacBook - Spent years developing software on windows/xterms, my company
finally approved Mac for work.

Safari Online - Getting learning material has never been so easy. Actually
learning all of them is different :)

AWS - I can get hardware resource without lengthy PO and approval.

Wireless Headphone - Apple Airpod.

A fully stocked and well equiped kitchen in the apartment

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tmm84
* My exercise bike - I have no reason not to get in some physical activity (rain, time, etc.).

* My desk whiteboard - It helps so much when confirming/working out a solution.

* My wireless mouse and keyboard - They fit my hands and I can put them away when the whiteboard is what I need.

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kleer001
A membership in the car sharing company Car2Go. It was amazing being able to
be my own taxi driver and then drop off the car. Too bad it'll be leaving my
home area soon.

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catacombs
Wireless headphones. Bar none. The fact I can walk around my apartment and
listen to a {book,podcast,song}, without worrying about cables or carrying my
phone, has been amazing.

