Ask HN: What's an example of a product you're happy to be a customer of? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What's an example of a product you're happy to be a customer of?

13 pointsclintonc16 comments

For a lot of products, it seems like I use it because I need it, but I'm not necessarily happy or proud of it. For example:

- I use TurboTax because it's helpful, but I'm not happy or proud to use it (because it shouldn't need to exist).

- I use TikTok, but it doesn't make me feel good because I know I'm exposing myself to manipulation and data privacy concerns.

- I drive a [REDACTED] car, but it doesn't make me feel good because I always feel scammed when I take it in for maintenance.

I do feel good about my Brother printer, though -- Toner is reasonably priced, and I don't feel like they're trying to squeeze every dime out of me that they can; it's just a good reliable printer that does what I ask it and keeps out of my way otherwise.

I'm interested in all kinds of answers: Software, hardware, services, tools, toys, anything!

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I'm normally very allergic to (A) buying software and (B) subscription plans, but I do both for Jetbrains IDEs.

It's nice to have a familiar and functional option available for various languages/stacks that I can also use at home, that isn't tied to a particular employer, and which which works on multiple OSes.

One key aspect is that one can use older versions indefinitely, even if the subscription lapses, so I don't feel like my projects or workflow will be "held hostage."

Moccamaster coffee maker.

It has exactly 1 button I need to understand to get it to function. The design has not changed in decades - every part they offer spares for.

It's handmade in the Netherlands. US support is based out of Oregon. When you call, a real person answers. It's not cheap, but it's not expensive either - buy a refurbished model and it will make great coffee for a lifetime.

I bought a used Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra phone and it's astonishing how future proof it was to begin with. Even now, the phone barely stutters, the battery life holds, the camera is surprisingly good and I was recently able to play GTA San Andreas (Netflix version) on it with surprising smoothness. I haven't tried but I believe the phone won't have any trouble emulating lot of consoles from 2010-2020 era as well. A really good purchase I must say.

My bicycle light ("LS 760 I-GO Vision 100 Lux"). It charges with USB-C, I can use it as power bank. It displays the current time and how long the battery with last (in minutes). When riding home at night very useful information other models don't have. It's pretty random but I owned 10 different lights in the past, this one makes me happy.

I don't know if it qualifies as happy given I do not experience emotions for companies or services but thus far I have not had too many issues with Fastmail. I keep my self hosted infrastructure in the event the other shoe drops such as they get too big and start misbehaving or they go out of business because of some law their HQ is in AU. I too am pleased with my Brother laser-jet.

As for tools, I find OpenSSH, Mosh, NSD DNS, Unbound DNS, LFTP, Nginx, HAProxy, Tinc VPN, Firefox and assorted other Linux tools useful on a daily basis.

Most of the things I tend to like are simple and aesthetically pleasing. The lamp on my table with a simple on/off knob, a velvet chair that’s doesn’t do anything but provide a place to sit, paper books, and the art on my walls. All of these things bring me some amount of joy.

I honestly cant think of a single digital product that I really even like. More like tolerate because I need it to reasonably exist in our society.

Public libraries. "Product I'm happy to be a customer of" is not the first way I'd describe the luxury of public libraries, but no other product I can think of makes me happier. I absolutely love the feeling of potential, and the anticipation of exploring a book. One of the best uses of our tax money, towards public luxury & private sufficiency.

I buy Apple products because they are the best integrated and are better overall. But I hate how Apple deals with App Store.

I’ve make my living knowing almost everything about AWS. I like the overall platform. But the company is evil incarnate and I hate everything about the corporate culture (former employee).

I love Slack, notion.io, Google’s NotebookLM and GSuite in general, ChatGPT, VSCode.

HP 10-series ("Voyager") calculators.

Admittedly they mostly stopped making them in the 1980's - but both of mine still work fine.

iPad Pro M4 with magic keyboard, main/only work laptop. Have felt satisfied with iPads for a few years despite some annoyances in the evolving UI.

Topo Design 30L travel backpack. I travel constantly and live out of this pack.

Timbuk2 small messenger bag. Good for carrying iPad and other necessities for working remote, and as a "personal item" if an airline forces me to check my backpack.

Icebreaker merino wool clothes.

I pay for some software. Blink Shell (ssh/mosh client for iPad), Working Copy (git client for iPad), Control-D custom DNS/VPN replacement. I also use TurboTax, and resent paying for it every year, but it does handle everything I need as a freelancer living outside the USA.

Niche Zero coffee grinder. It has a mechanical switch! This thing won't charge me a subscription or sell my data. Guess it is kind of a drug dealer though.

Although as a subscription: $1k approx over 10 yrs is $8/m.

I have to admit my BenQ Zowie mouse has been very good and entirely error free for years now. Have lasted much longer than any previous Razers...

telegram - because it is as perfect as a real software product can be

m1 macbook - because it is an amazing value

nespresso original coffee maker and pods - because it is a good taste yet quick and low maintenance

recent toyota corolla - because it has everything average inexperienced occasional driver like me needs in a nicely balanced, comfortable and economical to drive package

Kubota tractors. I've used them for years. Tough as nails, tons of implements, great service experiences.

Herman Miller.

Yeah, their chairs are pricey. Yeah, I could probably get 90% of the chair for about $1200 less, but that final 10% of the chair I'm buying just does something for me. Maybe it's some kind of placebo, but I haven't found another chair that makes me feel supported like my Embody does.

I also know I got like 12 years of warranty on it, so I see it as, pay $1700 now and hold onto the chair for 12 years or replace a not quite chair with another not quite right chair every few years or so.

Starlink

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