Best Tech purchases you have made

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266 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3112286 6-Aug-2023 10:42

A more recent purchase but definitely Chromecast with Google TV. So much better having a 'smart' tv and not having to cast each time

k1w1k1d

1519 posts

Uber Geek

#3112365 6-Aug-2023 12:26

My first digital multimeter. Can't remember the brand. Pretty basic by today's standards but was quite a leap forward from the analogue meters we were using.

My 1000A AC/DC Kaise clamp meter. I have had it for over 25years and it's still going strong. Use it most days.

Logitech K400 keyboard for the HTPC. No more cords across the floor. Cat was a little disappointed though.

jamesrt

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#3112392 6-Aug-2023 14:02

olivernz: The Psion was great! Wish I still had it.

I "played with" (i.e. supplied and supported) Psion's a bit at work back in the day; but personally I was in the PalmPilot camp; purchased 2 or 3 different models over the years - starting with a III and ending up with an advanced colour one - don't remember the numbers specifically any more.

Great devices too.

Senecio

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#3112395 6-Aug-2023 14:33

Has to be the Apple TV 4K. The original 2017 version, I now have 3 of them around the house in different rooms. The ease in which they allow you to stream apps from outside of NZ has saved me hundreds if not thousands over the years. So much great content available for free from other countries I haven't paid for Netflix, Disney etc... for years.

rb99

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#3112399 6-Aug-2023 14:48

Emby.

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

rb99

netspanner

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Ultimate Geek

#3112400 6-Aug-2023 14:54

I came here to post this. I was forced onto it with VF closing but don't miss paying for TV at all. With the TV1 app, a hacked version of Freeview (because its not meant to be on Google TV) , and the other paid services its all we need.

I also find my Pixel 7 to become increasingly versatile with bult in OCR and speech to text options. Not to mention the great camera.

I use it now to take a pic of a document, and then send it as text to others.

EviLClouD:

A more recent purchase but definitely Chromecast with Google TV. So much better having a 'smart' tv and not having to cast each time

cddt

1548 posts

Uber Geek

#3112405 6-Aug-2023 15:04

In 2002 at the age of 16 I purchased a 10/100 8-port switch ($110 which in those days was several weekends of minimum wage) so our new 128kb/s ADSL ("Jetstart") could be shared between more than one PC, we could play LAN games etc.

It was running 24/7 in my parents' house until I retired it last year. Twenty years without skipping a beat is pretty good.

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kinginvercargill

124 posts

Master Geek

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#3112425 6-Aug-2023 16:49

Definitely for me my (small in cost) AA Wireless Device.

Worked out of the box and was one of my first Indiegogo ones.

No regrets, having an older car and having to plug in for Android Auto got slow after a while. Now being able to start the car and use Android Auto without having to plug in is so handy.

Also, being able to use a Fast Charger on longer journey's, makes up (imo) the fact it does drain a bit of battery after a while

ascroft

396 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3112453 6-Aug-2023 17:59

Ipad!!

Ipad Pro with Magic Keyboard rocks

common sense is not very common

olivernz

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#3112535 6-Aug-2023 23:09

I remember the joy of having a 177MB SCSI drive with an Adaptec 1542B controller when everyone still has 20MB MFM or RLL Winchester drives. I felt like a datacentre. Mind you I think I was 14.

MikeAqua

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Uber Geek

#3112581 7-Aug-2023 08:00

One of my best ever is a little left field ...

It was one of the early tru-test digital livestock scales. My father actually bought it. It came with barcode reader and we implemented barcode ear tags. It had onboard memory and we could download onto the computer (which required me to learn about handshake protocols and baud). Being abl to track the growth of individual animals, supercharged our on farm breeding programme.

Great little NZ tech firm. I no-longer do any farming, but I believe they are still an NZ company.

Mike

reven

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#3112629 7-Aug-2023 09:21

I have a lot of good stuff, stuff that just works and I dont really notice.

Things that surprisd me how well they work and how much i like them

Fold 4 - easily best smartphone ive owned, most of my use is in tablet/unfold mode, its awesome.
HyperX CloudX Stinger Core Wireless Gaming Headset - this works so well i bought two of them. I can walk a good distance around the house with these, the battery lasts forever, auto muting mic when tilted up. way better than my old logitech one
unRAID - its software but still tech. Bought a license for this about 14 years ago, still use it to this day, one of the best purchases i ever made.

olivernz

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Ultimate Geek

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#3112830 7-Aug-2023 13:26

That reminds me. An AliExpress winner (mainly for Android) is the "Syllable 101 Plus" in-ear headphones. Cheap and oh so good! No LEDs on while playing anything.
I also like the standard Polycom C5200 headphones. Nothing special but they just work and sound good for everyday use. May not be a winner here though.

As for NAS I do like my QNAP TS-873A. The right amount of power to storage etc etc.

tehgerbil

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#3112857 7-Aug-2023 14:44

My Wyze Cam v3. Simple and easy to use, decent quality and does what it says it does.

old3eyes

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#3112962 7-Aug-2023 19:36

My wife bought a JVC CD radio player about 2004 . Still works well dispite the power supply dying back in February. Found an equivalent at Jcar to give it years more life.

Regards,

Old3eyes

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