

Ask HN: What are the must have gadgets for an hacker? - digamber_kamat

Yes, we all have computers and so on. But beyond the obvious any suggestions?
May be a CRKT toolkit ?
Blackberry/Android/Iphone ?
Torch?
Screwdrivers ?
What kind of flash drives ?
Which tablets? 
Just name it.
======
yan
A small notepad + a pen.

I prefer a small, lined Moleskine and a blue Zebra F301 pen. Being able to
write things at moment's notice is invaluable.

~~~
elehack
The Zebra F-301 is awesome - I keep both blue and black at my desk at all
times. Reliable pen, good feel, and eminently affordable. Zebra also makes an
F-301 Compact, a non-retractable that's about 4" long, fits in your pocket
without poking you, and becomes full length when the cap is put on the back of
the pen. Uses the same ink cartridges as the rest of the F-301 line. Every day
carry for me w/ a clip of index cards (almost a Hipster PDA, but I don't quite
use it like one) and sometimes a small notebook.

------
kitcar
An ergonomic office/desk chair - Doesn't have to be expensive, just has to be
comfortable for your body type.

I'm a fan of Mirra by Herman Miller - it's pricey though (although affordable
if you consider its warranty - buy 4-5 $150 chairs over 10 years, or just one
$700 chair) .

Also had good experiences with a few Office Star chairs (the higher end ones,
around the $200 price point)

~~~
locopati
I'll throw a vote behind the Hag Balans kneeling chair, which apparently is no
longer being made but the link below lists other kneeling options

<http://www.ergodepot.com/HAG_Balans_p/6035.htm>

------
Samuel_Michon
I always carry duct tape, a piece of cardboard, a few paperclips, string,
grease, a pocket knife, a few screwdrivers, and a lighter. Everything else I
need is on my phone.

~~~
TeMPOraL
+1 ;)

I always carry duct tape, WD-40, swiss army knife, another knife, lighter, a
spare CAT-6 net cable. Also recently I started to carry those small bags with
sugar that they give in coffee shops. Funny thing is, that run into situations
where duct tape is needed almost on daily basis. It's like the "when only
thing you have is a hammer..." effect, but in a positive way. Opportunities to
fix/hack things find you all the time ;).

------
thailandstartup
General Purpose Pocket Computer. (Rooted Android 'Phone')

~~~
Andrenid
This is pretty much all I carry on a daily basis. I hate having things in my
pocket, so the abundance of smartphones (and specifically Android due to it's
functionality) has made me a very happy geek. No more notebook, no more
diary/calendar, no more anything. Just Android + gtasks + a few other apps.

------
petervandijck
Mead notebook. $1.36 plus free shipping. <http://amzn.to/feb5cC> Plus it looks
great. Eat that Moleskin.

------
zackola
USB -> SATA adapter <http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/usb-gadgets/dd1a/>

[http://www.ifixit.com/Tools/54-Piece-Bit-Driver-
Kit/IF145-02...](http://www.ifixit.com/Tools/54-Piece-Bit-Driver-
Kit/IF145-022)

------
joshuafcole
Depends on the task at hand, but my day to day load out is a trusty mechanical
pencil, a notecard, and my Palm Pre. Anything i'd need to note that wouldn't
fit on the notecard is long enough to be worth whipping out the phone for
(which is pretty snappy, with a minimum of effort put into tweaking it).
Likewise, it keeps me constantly plugged into the 'net, so I can look up any
data I need on the fly. Same if I ever need access to my home machine, or to
remotely administrate any of the servers I manage. With a full terminal and
access to a solid optware repository, I can even write up patches to my code
in vim on any machine I own through SSH without carrying around a bulky device
(like the MacBook Air _cough_ ).

 __EDIT: Fixes grammatical error __

------
zdw
You will always have trouble getting things power, thus power strips, and
extenders.

I have a bunch of 1' m/f power cords, for keeping wall-warts from taking up
too many spaces:

<http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?p_id=5296>

I also picked up some of these with a right angle passthrough connector - you
can put them into a wall, cord comes out parallel with the wall:

[http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812339...](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812339014)

Great for small clearance areas.

------
PStamatiou
I like having a single AA-powered LED flashlight lying around. I searched
around and eventually bought the Inova X1 and am very happy with it:
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002TUWG6>

It has actually turned out to be very useful as I keep flipping the breaker
when I forget that I can't run the coffee maker and a space heater or
microwave at the same if they are plugged into the southern half of the
apartment...

I have also had a cheap Smith & Wesson knife for new gadget unboxing for
several years now.

------
GregBuchholz
<http://arduino.cc/>

------
tremendo
I resisted long enough, but I'm really enjoying having this ultra-portable
computer (smart phone) on me all the time.

Interestingly for me, is that the phone probably doesn't draw as much
attention and envious looks and comments (in my circles anyway) as my not-red
Swiss-army knife (big and small blades, tweezers and toothpick, bottle/can
opener, screwdrivers). EDIT, not that this is of any use for computer hacking,
sorry, got sidetracked.

------
allwein
A nice lockpick set.

~~~
mgeraci
I wish I would remember to keep picks with me more. They turn out to be more
helpful than you can imagine when you least expect it (and with no nefarious
intent).

------
nhangen
I have a lot of gadgets, but the only ones I need are those that allow me to
test product, such as my iPhone 4(iOS projects) and iPad.

~~~
petervandijck
Same here, I have heaps of gadgets for testing, but hardly use them in daily
life. (tables, phones, a big pile...)

------
notirk
I always keep a Leatherman in my bag, amazing how many times I've used it.
Android phone for looking things up.

~~~
kbob
I got a Leatherman for Christmas 2009. Since that time, it's been amazingly
convenient to have pliers, a screwdriver, a knife, and a bottle opener
wherever I go (in roughly that order). The pliers are especially nice, with
strong forged jaws and a very slender shape, not quite a needle nose. I find
myself using them when I'm standing right next to my toolbox with 8 styles of
pliers available.

It's a Leatherman Skeletool CX, FWIW.

------
arctangent
A towel.

~~~
igrekel
I believe he meant hacker, not hitchhiker.

------
kloncks
Nothing is better than my simple Moleskine and a pencil.

Simple, gorgeous and can be taken anywhere.

------
iterationx
I just got this and its awesome [http://www.amazon.com/Split-Top-Laptop-Caddy-
Portable-Adjust...](http://www.amazon.com/Split-Top-Laptop-Caddy-Portable-
Adjustable/dp/B001SUCFQ8/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1298331314&sr=8-5)

------
olalonde
The Kinect opens the door to many cool hacks.

------
damoncali
Mechanical calculator: <http://www.vcalc.net/cu.htm>

------
thedjinn
I have a small MacBook Air. It's so light and slim that I can write code
anywhere I happen to be.

------
joe_bleau
USB-JTAG adapter, DMM, oscilloscope?

------
leogate
Flash stick with bootable Linux distribution, preferably Backtrack.

------
tomas316
victorinox minichamp or midnight minichamp. It covers about five of the items
listed in the comments. Pen ,light ,lockpick ,bottle opener, knife...

------
clintcparker
bottle opener

------
andreash
Calculator

------
phamilton
Crossover ethernet cable

------
coffeejunk
A lighter.

