Things I like

[rhu]

I sometimes gripe in this blog about things that frustrate me. For a change, here are some products that work as advertised:

Revereware pots and pans. We had a set of Revereware that was getting old, and we tried replacing one pan with a KitchenAid. I hated hated hated using it -- the Teflon wasn't as good, and the heat profile was uneven. We've now replaced them with new Revereware -- and added a griddle -- and I'm so much happier.

"Intak" water bottles (with a macron over the "a") by Thermos. They just work right --- good balance in the hand, no funny taste from the mouthpiece, no straw or other flow-limiter while you're drinking, but excellent seals so they don't leak when shut, and a latch and spring-loaded "open" button that can be manipluated single-handed but don't open accidentally. Of course they're BPA-free. I've always been frustrated with water bottles before; these just work.

Circleware "Theory" glasses. We'd broken enough of the glasses we got when we first got married that it was time to buy new ones, but we're both particular about the weight, feel, and mouth profile of our drinking classes. Not to mention the appearance. We found these at the Corning/Revere outlet (when we were buying the Revereware) and we love them, although Tani thinks they look too space-agey to go with our dishes.

My MSI Wind netbook. Usable keyboard, good battery life, and surprisingly it's powerful enough to use for real things and not just web surfing. (Not blindingly fast, but good enough to run Adobe Distiller, Finale, etc.) The trackpad is worse than most, and I dislike trackpads to begin with, but the Logitech Bluetooth mouse I bought solves that problem neatly.

The Logitech Wave keyboard. Hand problems went bye-bye, and unlike some of the other "ergonomic" keyboards out there, all the keys are the same size and in the correct position.

And in the software world, AutoHotKey continues to be a great saver of time and sanity; I've recently gotten into jQuery and am very impressed.

Comments

[cazique.livejournal.com]

Lifehacker loves AHK and I've wanted to give it a try, though every time I do I leave feeling defeated.
(One example is wanting to click on a specific button in a window that isn't always at the same x/y position, I have no idea how to do that and the help isn't particularly helpful. Not necessarily asking for help here, but I know enough about scripting/programming that this shouldn't be a hute problem. Or maybe, I don't know enough :))

[530nm330hz.livejournal.com]

Have you tried specifying the control by its label text or ClassNN identifier? You can use the AutoIt3 Window Spy (which is a utility that comes with AHK) to find out the "ClassNN" identifier for any control.

[michelel72.livejournal.com]

I use AHK for one tiny thing, but that makes all the difference in making my netbook/primary home device usable — there are no dedicated page down/page up keys, and the function-key equivalents require two hands! So I'm using AHK to map a one-handed alternative. Silly I should have to do that, but it works fine for me, and I'm really glad to have it.

I'm glad you like your netbook's keyboard. That's one of the most significant factors for me, and why I had to go Dell rather than a smaller-profile device myself.

(And just yay in general for positive reviews!)

[bookishfellow.livejournal.com]

I bought phragmites an Intak bottle for some holiday-or-birthday or other, and she likes it a lot too. Another plus you didn't mention is that despite their tall profile, they're surprisingly stable and hard to knock over accidentally. Only gripe is that the little ring you can rotate to count up how many bottles-full you've drunk loosened up so it wouldn't stay notched, then it broke altogether.

[530nm330hz.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that ring is useless. Since I drink "until I'm not thirsty any more," that's not a drawback for me.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

Could you provide a link to the Intak?

[530nm330hz.livejournal.com]

We bought ours at Target.

Here's a link to the manufacturer's site: http://www.thermos.com/Product_detail.aspx?CatCode=SPOR&SubcategoryID=20&ProductID=943

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

It looks useful. Can you toss it in your bag and know it's not going to leak onto all your books?

[bookishfellow.livejournal.com]

There's a soft silicone gasket between the bottom and lid, which is pretty good and leakproof; also another covering the drinking opening, which in turn is pressed and held in place by the steel latch ring when closed. Simple and dependable.

[rubrick.livejournal.com]

"Mouth profile" was new to me.