What was something that you thought was overhyped that actually lived up to the hype?
-
Linux and open source software.
Tested out a dualboot of Linux Mint about 2 years ago on a Windows laptop. Wanted to see how far I could get on 100% open source and free software.
I got far enough that I never looked back.
I’ve tried switching multiple times, but so many programs I use for work are not supported on Linux. I essentially was having to run 2 systems so I relented and tried to de-Microsoft windows.
-
World of Warcraft back in 2007-8
Why this time? Stopped playing 2006.
-
Why this time? Stopped playing 2006.
That was when I started playing. Hype for the game was super high up to Cataclysm, I think
-
Keeping it clean with minimal effort compared to a gas range was unexpectedly my favorite part
I find it even easier than a glass top electric (what the induction replaced) I think it is because only the area directly below the pan is heated, spills are easier to wipe up and don't get baked on.
-
Interesting test. I just tried mine with my high fidelity ear plugs and it actually made it clearer when my music is at a lower volume. of course these aren't meant to block out all sounds though.
With regular earplugs, its a little muffled, but I'm honestly quite impressed by how good it still sounds.
For sound reproduction, I prefer my wired Shure SE-315 with sound-isolating ear tips. But Shokz ar much more comfortable for all-day wear.
-
I know I'm alone in this, but I loved and still love VR since htc vive
There are dozens of us! Dozens!!
I really hope Bigscreen manage to bring the cost down of their small headset because an affordable and comfy one might renew interest. It's still very much an underexplored medium!
-
I know I'm alone in this, but I loved and still love VR since htc vive
Maybe I'm missing years of video game discourse but I don't know what you're talking about being alone on this hill. I've been using VR since the Google Cardboard and as long as you temper your expectations it's been plenty fine since even all the way back then. The experiences on the Vive and Index are a bit clunky but otherwise I have fun with them every time I use them.
-
High quality audio equipment.
Yes, it's an area filled with more snake-oil and bullshit than any other technical realm I've experienced, but with some knowledge (unarguably required on the part of the user) you can actually figure stuff out and get some ROCKING audio gear for pennies on the dollar.
Last year I got into electronic fix/build/mashup as a hobby, and a project I had in mind for fun was to turn a $10 Sirius Boombox that needed 8xD batteries and a wired AUX input, into a wireless BT boombox. I did it and it was fun as hellllllll. But it was not for the audio, it was for the learning. I repurposed battery cells and a charging board from a Shark handheld vacuum, and grabbed a BT board out of a scrapped shower speaker - made that work by "bolting it" onto a disposable vape battery/charger which draws from the main battery pak.
Well anyways... getting a taste of that deep, rich, penetrating audio made me realize I'd been sold THE OTHER SIDE OF THE LIE by the speaker business. That moment of looking at my Bose SoundLink and realizing I've been a fool for so long. The stupid Sirius boombox isn't even that good now that I look back, but at the moment it was a HOLY SHIT moment for me. Running up to it thinking my music was distorting... but NO... it was actually musical details I'd never heard, and didn't know existed.
Now I have a soul-destroying audio setup (for a small 1BR apartment) that I shit you not, cost me a total of $23. RXV581 Receiver, YST-SW011 Subwoofer and two Polk MXT11 Monitor tower speakers. People either discarded, sold, or donated. I got the Yamaha Receiver/Sub set because... get this... ONE of the surround sound speakers was dropped and it's case cracked, so they threw it ALL away. The Polks were seen at thrift, first for $70 each, then reduced to $34 after a month... then one day muthafukkaaaaaaa $10 each plus tax.\
So yeah. Good audio. I had NO idea how satisfying it could be. I didn't know what I'd been missing.
I've been a frugal audiophile for my entire life. I learned long ago that you can find gear with excellent specs, without spending thousands.
These days, I'm mostly into guitars, and I've found the same thing to be true - there is no correlation between quality and price. I've seen great guitars that are dirt cheap, and I've seen expensive guitars that are mediocre. I put together an entire home studio, with 2 electrics, an acoustic, a bass, and a keyboard, a new computer, interface, mic, etc., all for less than $1500, and it all sounds amazing.
-
Crocs. I had avoided them for years until I went on a kayaking tour on Vancouver Island. Well, while they were ugly AF, they are one of most comfortable shoes I've tried that are just... Easy to slip on and off?
I have a pair that I wear exclusively as house shoes. They are so comfortable. But yeah, I don't want to wear them in public.
-
This post did not contain any content.
Mechanical keyboards
Every keystroke feels and sounds like heaven!
-
Oh, I had the opposite experience. Once I managed the courage to get on every single ride at Six Flags, I barely felt the last one I was on. It was fun, but the thrill of free-falling from 300 feet wasn't budging me by then.
Right, the new ones are so overbuilt it takes a lot of the thrill out of them. Nobody else in my family will go on them, and they always try to talk me out of them, saying I'll have a heart attack. They don't understand that I don't get scared on them, at least not any more.
In the old days, you had those wooden coasters, and while you were standing in line, you'd see it come around the curve, and it would creak and sway, and looked like it was going to come apart any second. THOSE were scary.
-
This post did not contain any content.
Bidet. $30 game changer. Don't ask questions, just hook it up (it's easy), and try it.
You're welcome.
-
Yep, went with banana - purely for the clackety clack. I am a child
Got it, no worries, I was just curious.
-
Planar Magnetic headphones. Can't go back.
Which ones? I got a set of Moondrop Para2s, and while I love the clarity on treble forward music I still go back to my MDR-CD770s for anything more bass heavy.
-
Relevant xkcd: https://xkcd.com/2914
I wouldn't say five seconds before totality is boring; you can look up and see the tiny sliver of Sun as it winks out of existence, and see shadowy ripples on the ground from differences in air density. But that's still nothing compared to totality.
There were “shadow bands” that looked like wavy ripples starting around then too, and for a few seconds afterward too.
But OP’s point about non-totally is pretty accurate. It’s a little chilly, a bit like overcast, and you can’t look at it without eye protection until totality.
When we were at the 2017 eclipse it was warmer and we watch the bugs come out and birds roost/land on the nearby lake.
-
Mechanical keyboards
Every keystroke feels and sounds like heaven!
Not to your work neighbours it doesn't!
-
Bidet. $30 game changer. Don't ask questions, just hook it up (it's easy), and try it.
You're welcome.
Unless you live in a modular with fucked plumbing not making this easy
-
World of Warcraft back in 2007-8
Lok'tar! I remember not affording a subscription back them, so I would spam PvP at the lv 20 cap every day after school. I had multiple full sets of honor heirlooms on my trial account. Good times
-
Unless you live in a modular with fucked plumbing not making this easy
It attaches to the float mechanism, so it's pretty easy to install. Only about 15 minutes, and the results are so worth it.
It would be worth it even if you had to pay a plumber to install it. Now that I've lived with one, I'd pay $200 to have one installed.
-
This post did not contain any content.
Instant pot. Mine has a sous-vide mode and I make the best steaks I've ever made. Whole shebang was only like 40 bucks and I can cook most things in it.
