There’s 3 things that really stand out for me that I would say made a massive difference to my life:

  1. Cordless screw driver. Bought the day after building a flat pack bed with a crappy screw.driver that just shredded my hand. Thought it was frivolous at the time, but I’ve used it so much since. It’s light, small enough to fit in my pocket and good for 90% of DIY tasks.

  2. Tassimo coffee machine. Bought it 9 years ago, use it every day. Nice quick easy coffee. What’s not to like.

  3. My first DSLR camera. It was a Nikon D50 back in 2005/6 and it sparked my interest in photography to this day. It gave me a hobby I can take lots of places and do it alone or with others. I never loved the D50 camera itself, but I did get some really nice shots with it

  • nivenkos@lemmy.world
    0·
    4 months ago

    Kindle - all the books, all the time.

    Sony WH1000-XM3 (I guess newer models are still good) - excellent noise cancelling, perfect for flights

    Steam Deck - play almost any games, anywhere, and with a full desktop mode too.

    In the past I’d have put the Acer Aspire One, I loved the netbook form factor, now I use either the Vivobook or Steam Deck like that.

    The Aeropress is also great for quick, simple coffee.

    • AlternateRoute@lemmy.caEnglish
      0·
      4 months ago

      My daughter got the steam deck and she does use it mobile however it has eclipsed the switch as our go to living room family/party/multiplayer console. Family library sharing works very seamlessly in steam.

      I am regularly impressed how well PC titles run on it regardless of if they windows running under proton or Linux optimized.

      There are also an impressive number of titles that have native or at minimum controller support to the point the onscreen prompts all show the correct buttons. We have a number of Xbox controllers now for up to 4 player multiplayer.

      We regularly hook it up to hotel TVs when traveling as well.

    • souperk@reddthat.com
      0·
      4 months ago

      I guess newer models are still good

      Nope. The WF1000-XM4 have battery drain issues, and there is at least one explosion recorded…

      • Mr_Blott@lemmy.world
        0·
        4 months ago

        Had the XM-4, battery life was shit and I will now never ever buy another set of headphones without physical buttons. They were truly dreadful when you put them round your neck

        Changed for Bose QC45 and will never buy Sony again

          • Mr_Blott@lemmy.world
            0·
            4 months ago

            A bit too bass-heavy, but far more comfortable. The Sonys had slightly better noise cancelling, I have to admit, but the touch sensitive ear cups is a fucking stupid idea

      • Blizzard@lemmy.zipEnglish
        0·
        4 months ago

        Got XM5 and the battery seems endless. Noice cancelling great, sound quality too, comfortable. The only con is the fact they are not suitable for conferencing at work via Teams etc. - you either can’t hear what you’re saying or can hear youself with an annoying delay.

    • a4ng3l@lemmy.world
      0·
      4 months ago

      Haaaa yeah the kindle. Both loved and hated in my case. Love the form factor, allowing me to indulge in new books. Hate it because I don’t get new physical books anymore. Not that I have any room left for books; that’s the reason I bought the kindle in the first place…

      • nivenkos@lemmy.world
        0·
        4 months ago

        Yeah, it’s a shame for passing on books I guess - like my dad had loads of books by Hugh Cook, an obscure fantasy / sci-fi author, and they’re out of print completely now.

        At least in the future digitisation should stop that completely though.