Ask HN: What's the coolest tech you got this Christmas? - rosstex
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randcraw
FLIR One thermal camera for my phone. I think it'll be sensitive enough and
have sufficient resolution to usefully capture the subtle thermal signals of
the leaks and lack of insulation around the doors, windows, and in the walls
of my old house.

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JoshCole
One of the google cardboard style VR devices. It cost under twenty dollars.
You put your phone in it and it synchs with the device. You can look around
and it will actually shift the view according to where you are looking.

It was a novelty, but for the price it was a very good novelty.

It had problems though. I found that the device tended to get confused about
my original facing. So straight ahead would eventually mean turning my head.
I'd have to shift around to avoid straining my neck, but it didn't really help
because straight ahead would just continue shifting after a little while.

I don't use it much, but it was definitely the coolest thing I got.

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ChicagoBoy11
Unfortunately most implementations of orientation on these devices rely simply
on the phone's IMU -- and since the phone is perpendicular to the ground, I'm
guessing they don't make heavy use of the compass. Therefore, the only way to
get the direction you are pointing is to extrapolate it from the changes in
forces that the IMU senses. Unsurprisingly, over time, the error compounds and
really destroys the experience -- as you have discovered!

~~~
garaetjjte
>and since the phone is perpendicular to the ground, I'm guessing they don't
make heavy use of the compass

Magnetometers are typically 3-axis.

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Andrenid
Electric brush cutter. We live on 10 acres and do lots of trimming so having a
rechargeable and relatively-quiet tool to grab and do a bit whenever we have
spare time is truly awesome.

Not worrying about fuel, oil, etc is great and turns trimming from a proper
"job" to "Ill just do a bit of trimming while waiting for dinner". It has been
one of the biggest and best improvements to our daily farm chores in years.

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ChicagoBoy11
I gave myself the new rMBP with the touchbar.

I spent countless hours reading all the articles bashing Apple for it, and
finally concluded that much of it boiled down to the fact that it was an
expensive machine for the specs it delivered. And that is undeniably true.

But I stare at the darn thing virtually all hours I am working and a
significant chunk of my leisure time as well. The reality is that for my
actual computing, things like weight, battery life, how the keys feel, the
screen, etc., matter far more in my enjoyment and utility of the computer, and
on that measure Apple continues to knock it out of the park. I got my first
MBP because of the retina screen, and soon thereafter realized I could never
go back to using a device with a lower pixel density. I kinda feel the same
with this machine when it comes to color: It is just stunning. Given how often
I am looking at it, that dimension alone made this purchase worth it IMO.

The Touchbar has in fact mostly been a gimmick, although pairing it with
BetterTouchTool has actually been extremely powerful and I've come to use it
more and more.

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jetti
Samsung Gear VR. Unfortunately I'm returning it as the technology isn't to the
point that prevents me from getting nauseous when using it.

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rosstex
I would love to get VR, but I have a bad feeling I'll end up getting nauseous
from it. Everywhere I look, it confirms that the technology just isn't there
yet.

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Zikes
The key is in tracking quality, latency, and refresh rate. High-end VR
(Oculus, Vive) have spent considerable time and effort solving this issue in
particular, which unfortunately requires a lot of hardware, but are largely
acknowledged to be successful in their efforts.

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jack1243star
A Fujifilm Instax camera. Maybe not very exciting, but reminded me of how it
feels to have a photo in hands, and to browse them by spreading them on the
table. Awesome.

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__derek__
I got a toaster with a button to add a bit more toasting time. It's pretty
neat and removes the guesswork from trying to get the toast just right.

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Andrenid
I love the "A Bit More" button. Such a brilliant idea.

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dTal
A Pebble Time Steel. It's clearly a device in a class of its own; using an
embedded computer to do watch things well instead of using a watch to do
computer things badly. It's a design philosophy reminiscent of the (original,
e-ink) Kindle. It's a shame Pebble failed, but that doesn't make the hardware
less useful - and the free software community surrounding it looks robust.

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rokosbasilisk
htc vive. Vr is expensive and space demanding, but wow its amazing. The
cardboard and the gear vr just dont compare.

Call me a vr believer now

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ngokevin
I surprised Cardboard and GearVR are even mentioned here. The Vive is amazing
and its tracking technology is solid. I'm sure wireless solutions, higher
resolution, and more ergonomic controllers are on the way. I have the Rift as
well, and sensor occlusion make it unplayable.

If you're interested in developing for Vive, there's
[https://aframe.io](https://aframe.io)

~~~
rokosbasilisk
Thanks, Ive been using unity to test some dev.

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Donmario
Apple watch. Actually it's more than a gadget for me now. It's quite
convenient for taking calls, managing music, messages etc.

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dalerus
I finally pulled the trigger on getting a drone. I picked up the Phantom 3 for
$350 and have loved flying it around.

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japhyr
Where did you buy it? Was it used, or new?

