I see posts talking about good BIFL items but I don’t hear much about the other side of products that are bad or products you bought but don’t even use.
My mom won the lottery, small amount but enough to buy some big gifts for xmas for us. She got me a Peleton, and while I love the gym / staying active I hate that damn thing.
I have one that I use 4 days a week. What don’t you like?
That might just be that you don’t like stationary bikes? I have a cheap stationary bike that I use multiple times a week, a peleton just seems like an expensive version.
My smartwatch purchase partially. It’s a Galaxy Watch4 Classic, it does stuff like track my workouts, heartrate, etc., run WearOS-optimized apps that I basically never use like Spotify, and I have to charge it every 2 days. I noticed that the only real feature I need is to get my phone’s notifications on my wrist. Not really worth the € 200-300 purchase imo, but it works okay-ish.
There are three things, off the top of my head, that I can recall buying but either not using very much or not for it’s intended purpose. The first item is a portable bluetooth keyboard, I got it for the purpose of playing games on my android devices with it but the problem is that I haven’t found many games that actually even have keyboard support. The second item is a portable bluetooth mouse, it’s the same as the keyboard but with the additional issue of not working with my tablet for some reason. The third item is a DS flashcart, I forgot what it’s called but it’s the one from Datel and I had so many problems with it that I’ve been using it’s “Gigapack” for transferring small files between my two computers.
I bought a ps5, managed to avoid the scalpers, only game I played was horizon forbidden west, wish I waited for the pc release. Having the haptic triggers was kinda cool with the bow though, but not 500 bucks good.
My Amazon Kindle books. I figured out way later that I didn’t actually own them! How absurd.
You can pirate books. Use Calibre and build your library. I have over 2000 books. Doesn’t take much storage either.
And you can still read them on your Kindle, too. You just convert the epubs to the kindle format (using Calibre), then plug your Kindle into your computer. So easy, why would I ever buy a book again?
You can just send epubs to your kindle.
Or even better setup your kindle e-mail address in Calibre and e-mail the books to the personal document cloud. That way the books will sync to all your kindle devices and the kindle app.
Wow, I didn’t know this was possible!
That’s what I do. Wanna share some? Maybe we could do a swap of our favorite 10 or something.
My Seat Leon. I had been warned about VW Group’s new platform but holy hell, even the most dire warnings didn’t tell the truth.
The car crashes every day. Nothing works. Even basic functions, like keyless entry on the door handles. If it rains, nope doesn’t work. How about the speakers switching into centre speaker only? How about a reversing beeper stuck until the car is not just turned off, but left turned off for 10 minutes? How about Apple CarPlay which doesn’t work? The list is endless. It’s so so poor. After one update, the car sensors got confused about being in a left hand driving country, so cruise control wouldn’t overtake cars in the slow lane.
And I can’t afford to switch to another one.
I bought a new netbook last year to watch stuff on as my old one from like 10 years ago finally fell apart.
I fucking hate the new Windows so much and I’m not techy enough to change the operating system to something better, so I barely use it as watching stuff on my phone is easier.
A switch. There are a handful of good games but I prefer to play on my computer
Man, I use my switch all the time. But I love little metroidvania and smaller indie and single player games. Any time I see something interesting on steam, I’ll buy it on the switch if available.
I’ve also been using it to replay older stuff. The first red dead, the Arkham trilogy, currently going through Nier: Automata again.
I feel like even in your case it would make more sense to buy it on steam and use a steam deck.
But i get it and i want to be as enthusiastic about it as you seem to be. But my switch is also just catching dust. So is my ps5 tbf.
If i could redo my buys, i would 100% go for a steamdeck over the switch and a xbox s over the ps5. Not because it is better or has more games… just because the money saved would flow into the gamepass and i could use that on my PC too and still have a console to play with my wife once every 2 years. Also games for xbox are generally cheaper for w/e reason.
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I bought a steam deck a year ago after realizing that most of my gaming was done on my Switch over my PS4, and I had a backlog of PC games thanks to Humble Bundle purchases over the years.
The amount of times a game I wanted to play was on sale on steam but full price on switch was a big influence as well. I play a lot of rouge likes, metroidvanias, and other indie weirdness, so it’s a perfect fit for me.
I’m similar. I don’t regret my switch for an instant. It is the right form factor for me and I enjoy many of the games, there are just many other games that I am missing out on that would be playable on a steam deck. I will be getting one at some point, and I know all those games I wanted will still be there to try.
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I’ve got a Switch and I do love it as a machine but those first party titles are so expensive. I’m the kind of person who will never buy games at launch and always wait for them to be reduced. I got it for Christmas and when I went to look at Zelda BotW it’s still £60, and so is Mario Odyssey.
Buy second hand.
In my country first party titles go for $60 and all the way to $90
Second hand prices for these are often between $30 and $40.
And you can always sell those used games, and not really lose much (if any) money in the process.
Ps. Prices will fall even more when Switch 2 comes out next year. Hopefully it will be a repeat of the post-Wii days, where most Wii games were dirt cheap.
It exists entirely for Mario Kart or to keep nieces and nephews busy.
Man I use mine all the time, I have just dance, fitness boxing and ring fit adventure.
So much easier to get up and do some sort of physical activity when it’s a game not a task.
*mario kart is the game that sits on the shelf gathering dust until the nieces come over.
That or Super Smash Brothers.
I usually main Mr Game and Watch, but I’ve been learning to use Young Link. I have about 800 hours into that game. I love it.
I fly a lot and the Switch saves my sanity. But I never use it for anything else.
I don’t fly a lot, but that’s also its main use. I’m on a trip right now, I bought Pokemon just for this trip :)
Bought myself a wireless charger but I never use it because I just plug in my phone anyways cause it’s faster.
I didn’t use mine for years until I got a wireless charger stand to use with my phone in landscape mode. I love it for my office desk. Combined with work focus, I only see a clock or large relevant notifications. I can answer work calls without messing with a cord. And when I leave at the end of the day, it’s charged. The old flat charger is still sitting in a drawer though.
I use one every night. It keeps my phone in a predictable spot, and it always charges fully overnight anyways. It’s also less wear and tear on the port.
This pretty much sums up how I treat my gf.
At least you’re keeping her port intact for the rest of us
This is communism.
You can get magnetic plugs now, you just stick a little magnetic dongle in the port and leave it there and then the cord just magnetically attaches to the phone. That way you have the benefit of charging it fast. Plus not wearing out the port
These are what I use. Plus I can use the same cables for all kinds of different connecter types. Also, keeping that little plug doohickey in the charger port all the time acts as a kind of dust plug and keeps pocket lint and stuff from getting in there.
Those things are great because they also act as USB condoms meaning that no data lines are connected when you plug into a public USB port. Quite a benefit when out and about.
You do lose out on fast charging though.
I had one of those, but I work in construction, so I can’t use those.
I also got one and don’t use it - used to use one with my previous phone and I’m pretty sure it ruined the battery over time (it causes the phone to heat up which affects the battery). Got another one, this time with a build in fan, but the high pitch noise the fan makes annoys so I don’t use this one either.
How is plugging in faster than simply putting phone on a charger?
I meant faster to fill up. It doesn’t even take that long to plug it in either.
Slower is usually better for the battery, use it if you charge at night. It also decreases the wear on the usb port.
My last 2 phones stopped charging through the ports. Keep that wireless charger, it may come in handy. Saved me from buying a new phone for at least a year.
Make sure there’s no lint and dust compacted in the bottom of the port if you haven’t already. It isn’t always entirely obvious but it can affect both lightning and USB-C and you can usually get it out with some careful use of a sewing needle.
Yup this is definitely the first thing to check. Unfortunately I think it was my need for bulky un-destructible cases, that bent my charging ports.
My last phone had the same issue, actually relatively cheap to get the port replaced at one of those tech repair places
I looked into this, but the closest to me was about 1 hour away. When I looked up the streetview, it was a guy’s garage with small shady sign infront lol
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Give my phone to some guy in his garage to fix or just use the wireless charger. Thats an easy choice every time haha
Depends on the phone. On some phones, it is on a separate tiny board which is cheap to replace. If it’s on the motherboard, it requires soldering, and it can be fucked if the copper pads get torn.
For the wireless charger I got one of those Anker ones that hold it at angle like stand, so I put my phone on it while I’m at my desk. I can look at it and check any notifications that come in without having to pick it up. Saves me from having another cord on my desk.
I got myself a magnetic wireless charger for the nightstand. It’s great.
A gaming chair, one of those that look like racer chairs. It basically destroyed my back, worst purchase of my life
I have a “gaming chair” and I hate it. Still use it though until I can get enough money to get another one.
Best advice Ive heard on chairs "Fuck gamer and racer style chairs. Look for something that screams “Im going to fire 3000 people over Zoom in this shit”
Yes lol, whenever someone is asking for a computer chair recommendation, no one will recommend a gaming chair.
Yes! Puffy gloss leather boss chairs ftw! I don’t have one right now only because there’s no space for another proper workplace in our apartmentsm
I could never get into those. They look nice, but Ive read some damning reviews about how uncomfortable they are.
I kinda prefer the plush office chairs that look more like a couch with wheels.
Chairs are one of those things that you need to drop serious money on if you sit more than a few hours a day. Focus on chairs for office work and expect to pay over $1k.
Same but a gaming mouse. I came from a cheap office mouse that was amazing but ended its (long) lifespan. Replaced it and wow this mouse sucks. Yes it has RGB but every single time I scroll with it, it causes my finger to hurt like crazy, which is a REAL problem in this era.
Yep, same. Worst chairs you can buy by a wide margin. Cheapest IKEA chairs is worlds better than the priciest gamer chair.
It’s funny that I hear this a lot but I’ve been using my dx racer since 2017. I am quite skinny though so that might help. I’m wearing through the fake leather now though, looking to get something new by the end of this year. But the damage is mostly my fault for sitting half crossed legged, sometimes while wearing shoes.
I learned about the companies selling refurbished Aerons on eBay and picked one up a couple years ago for $400. Love it!
Wait what, say more about used aerons for cheap
You can get refurbs from places like Crandall’s too, I got a Steelcase Leap V2 with these big ass rollerblade type wheels and it’s been pretty good.
You can occasionally find sales or liquidation of office chairs for cheap. You can also buy refurbished chairs from places like Crandall and get basically a new chair with used metal bits for half the price of new.
I had the same experience and ended up donating it to a friend. What I found that was actually comfortable is a $1,400 office chair that I got a good deal on.
Probably because in a real racing seat there’s a harness to keep you from slouching. I used to have terrible lower back issues with a Recaro bucket seat I converted for a desk chair. Never had a problem with it driving for hours when it was in my car (may it rest in pieces). Then it dawned on me that the seatbelt was maintaining my posture. Added a lap belt and the back problems abated.
Not only that. A racing chairs is not intended to be good for your back. It has a very different use, it protects you in the case of a crash. So unless you often get into car accidents while gaming, better to buy a chair that is specialised at ergonomics, not impact protection .
And it holds you against lateral G force with the gussets, which isn’t necessary sitting still.
To be fair, the gaming chair also holds you against lateral GeForce
My race seat is super comfortable and it’s a fixed back.
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I did exactly the same. Even the kids wouldn’t sit on it haha
I remember going to the Tokyo Game Show some years ago. They had some to try out. I was so excited. I expected to sit in it and feel “you are home.” Instead I felt “get the fuck off me.”
Skateboard from IKEA. It looks cool, but I still don’t skate.
Good decks haven’t changed in price for 40+ years. Decent wheels, trucks, and bearings about the same. Unless you want an artist to paint your board, you can get pretty top class gear for about $125. Source: crazy good kid that cares about his board.
Blank decks all day baby
Did you have to assemble it yourself?
Surprisingly not!
Does the Pope shit in a hat?.. or something
Skätbård
Skattenbarda
Draöbetāks
I read somewhere that GoPros and other action cameras are one of the least used purchases, so I figured “that should mean there’s plenty on eBay”. So grabbed up second hand bargain, played around with it for a couple of weeks, bought some extra batteries and other accessories, and since then it’s sat in the cupboard except for a single occasion.
Turns out you don’t need an action cam if you’re not getting any action.
Oh damn I totally forgot about that one. My dad bought a go pro and I could’ve used it to film my scuba diving event but we couldn’t figure out where to mount it.
Dick mount.
I won one at an office Christmas party, took a time lapse of my chia pet, put it in a drawer for a year and felt guilty, then sold it to a ski instructor. It’s kind of like taking a video of fireworks or a concert. Unless you’re doing some wild extreme sports, who’s editing and rewatching that kind of video?
I have the same thing with a drone
Many lemmy users have the same thing with a wife
ha ha women objectification funny
I use my GoPro a ton and thought I could add a drone into my videos but I haven’t really been able to try it yet. I did get my drone license though and might have some paid work coming up which is nice.
It’s cool and all, but I guess it’s not for me. The novelty wore off quick
Do people actually use those to—erm—document the proceedings?
I’ve seen it done!
The good thing is GoPros are still good years later. Most of the action my GoPro 4 has seen was in the last 2-3 years after sitting for a really long time.
I had one that must’ve fallen out of my pocket when I got out of the car, because a few days later I found it half embedded in the dirt driveway after getting ran over. It was scuffed and scratched, but still worked! I don’t think the battery holds a charge anymore, but it is like 10 years old now
PS5 remote. It’s kind of useless as it doesn’t even have the Source selection button, so I need to keep using a regular remote too anyway. Doesn’t have other buttons for TV either, except volume. The apps buttons are hardcoded and cannot be customized. Any accidently pressed button starts up the console. I kind of still use it for video apps but I regret the purchase.
Bought a motorized mop attachment for my Samsung Jet vacuum.
I didn’t do my research and didn’t realize that it doesn’t vacuum up the water. So the thing literally just spins some pads and nothing else. Was such a waste of money.
Does anything actually vacuum water? How would that even work?
Yeah, there’s a few mop vacs on the market. Shark, Bissell, etc, all make one.
Tineco makes vacuum mops. I have the ifloor 2. It actually does a great job, but you have to clean it and take the roller off after every use. I also always run a dust mop over the floor first. Cleaning it is a bit of a pain, but I guess you can’t have everything.
I’m also convinced that most of the reviews of people who said theirs “broke after x amount of time” just never cleaned them. Mines simple and seems built pretty robust. Doesn’t seem like something that would just break. Not until the battery craps out.
Yes, we own such water vacuum. Those have a water filter instead of air. It’s pretty effective t9 clean the air as well since everything is kept in the water. But using it is a pain in the ass. You need to fill it with fresh water, empty it after use and clean it. Otherwise it smells like a pond with dead fish after a heatwave…
Shop VAC’s and carpet shapoorers both do.
I just mean like wouldnt anything suck water into whatever drives the suction?
It sucks from the top of the canister, but the inlet is in the side. The water falls down, and the air is sucked out to maintain vacuum.
By containing it before you get to the exhaust port where the actual motorized components sit
A small crawlspace next to my garage filled with water during some heavy rains. I’m glad I had a shop vac - Sucked up the water until it was full, brought it outside, emptied it out, and kept repeating until all the water was gone. Had a hose siphon going at the same time, but the shop vac was a lot faster. I bought a utility pump for the next time.
It’s a small crawlspace that doesn’t seem to have any way to enter it, so I’m not even sure how to properly fix it. It seems like water is coming through the dirt into there when there’s very heavy rain (which is rare where I live)
Shop vac was just a cheap Dewalt one from Costco.
My Steam Deck and other game consoles, I have the money to buy them as an adult but I found that I have a fleeting interest at best in actually playing video games these days. At least my kids get some use out of them.
I’ve also noticed that I’m losing interest in gaming recently. Whenever I get notified by steam that something on my wishlist is on sale I just look at it and move on. I started playing chess again for the first time since I was I kid and it’s been keeping me satisfied.
I find a lot of things as an adult arent that I dont have the interest anymore, its that I dont have whole days to pour myself into them anymore.
Thats why a lot of dads I know got super into their yard, grilling and camping.
If I have to do this shit for the family anyway, I might as well make this stuff my hobby
Its sorta funny and cathartic reading your comment. I’m not a dad, but I did just get a house with a yard. Lately yardwork, which is something I HATED as a kid, has become quite a hobby for me too.
I find it hard to play very immersive AAA games nowadays, but I do use my steam deck for short indie games or nostalgia plays of old protable games via emulator. I find if I just keep it charged and near my bed or couch, I’ll reach for it whenever I’d otherwise scroll social media.
Yep. I get maybe an hour a week at max to game and it’s usually interrupted constantly so … I just don’t. And I hate that. But the family is worth it. I do a lot more news and Lemmy reading now since I can stop that easily to engage in whatever is going on.
Turn based single player tactical/strategy games became my go-to for when I can game.
I left my pc mid turn once and came back 2 days later.
Online gaming used to be fun for me in college. Now with kids I have much less time, so getting good at online games is much harder, making loading up Apex legends for 45 minutes and getting curb stomped a waste of my time.
Some games still tick the box for me and make me enjoy gaming again. It’s usually not the massive triple A titles anymore, though.
