Arguably the best online destination for "life hacks", ranging from real world tips like, "How to Customize Your Apartment Without Pissing Off Your Landlord" to software solutions like bypassing Pandora's listening limit with an Android App, Lifehacker is a favourite daily read for many of us seeking both extremely simple and occasionally involved solutions to everyday problems. Lifehacker contributor, Whitson Gordon, describes himself as a "conflicted Mac and Linux geek" with a strange (if not brilliant) obsession with chopsticks. Confused? Read on and learn about how chopsticks changed this tech-lover's life, alongside 9 other items in his tech repertoire...
Custom-Built Hackintosh
This is my main computer; a custom PC that I've tweaked to run Mac OS X. I do most of my work in OS X, but I also spend a good amount of time in Linux, and even Windows when I feel like busting out a late night gaming session. This thing is my baby--it's got some nice power behind it, two big monitors, and it's been customized down to the last pixel, so when I'm stuck using my MacBook or my Linux netbook it feels like I'm missing part of my arm.
HTC Thunderbolt
I'm pretty impressed by the iPhone 4, but I don't think I could ever give up the freedom I have on Android. Being able to choose my own keyboard, get extra features through custom ROMs, and otherwise customize every inch of phone is about as good as it gets. My newest Android phone is the HTC Thunderbolt on Verizon, and it's incredible. It's super fast, has a big beautiful screen, and the 4G connection just screams. I never leave home without it.
Custom-Built Home Theater PC
My home theater PC, souped up with the open source XBMC media center software and hooked up to my TV, is a point of pride for me. I built this thing myself, and did everything the hard way, so it took forever to get up and running. Unintentionally, though, that gave me the freedom to do nearly anything I want with it: \not only do I have tons of Blu-Ray rips that I can watch on demand, but I've got old school video games that I can play with an Xbox controller, tons of streaming video from the web, and even support for the universal remote I already use for the rest of my home theater. It isn't my absolute favorite piece of tech, but it's the one I'm most proud of since it's the one I've put the most work into.
TiVo HD
There was a period of time where I thought I could add a TV Tuner card to my home theater PC and use it as the center of my home theater, but no matter what I tried, nothing worked as seamlessly as the TiVo. It records shows from cable or an antenna (I've been cable-free for two months), streams Netflix like a dream, and generally is the best TV companion I've had yet. I've tried, but I just can't give it up.
Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 Computer Speakers
I pretty much start cranking the music as soon as I wake up in the morning, and don't stop until I fall asleep a night, so I love having good speakers at my workspace. These Klipsch computer speakers sound awesome, and have caused many an angry letter to be slipped under my door complaining about the noise.
Needless to say, I've also invested in a pair of Sennheiser HD 202's for when my death metal-hating neighbors are trying to sleep.
Logitech MX Revolution Mouse
I'll never use another mouse again after using the Logitech MX Revolution. I need a big mouse, despite my small hand, and its ergonomic shape fits them like a glove. It's got a few extra buttons that I can assign to functions on my computer, as well as a button that quickly switches between normal scrolling and hyper-fast smooth scrolling, which is perfect for those long web pages (or music libraries).
West Bend Egg McMuffin Maker
It's a toaster, that also poaches eggs. And it can even do it after 10:30 AM. I don't need to tell you why this is awesome.
Nikon D90 DSLR
I'm not an experienced photographer by any means, but I finally got my hands on a nice, high-quality camera for myself and I'm having a ball learning about it. It's great for taking photos to go along with my blog posts, or pursuing my own little photography endeavors just for fun.
Basic Tool Kit
When I got this basic tool kit as a high school graduation gift, I didn't expect to use it much. How wrong I was. It's got screwdrivers of all sizes for taking apart my computers, tape measures and pliers for the days I'm overhauling my desk and workspace, and other tools that I always seem to find some offbeat use for. I end up pulling this out of the closet on a regular basis.
Chopsticks
This is the one people laugh at me for the most, but the fact of the matter is my love for technology is only equaled by my love for potato chips, and I don't like to dirty up my tech with greasy fingers. One of our readers at Lifehacker suggested I start eating my potato chips with chopsticks, and it was one of the most genius things I've ever heard. No joke, I actually do this regularly.
Must-See Small Cool Homes: Week Two
Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Commercial Flour Sa...
How to Cook Moist & Tender Chicken Breasts Every Time
How To Cook Tender, Chewy Wheat Berries on the Stovetop
@Whitson What OS do you use on your HTPC?
I've got the same speakers and mouse and love 'em.
Awesome with the chopsticks.
Rob, I'm using just regular ol' Ubuntu. I've installed XBMC on it, and I use the Fluxbox window manager.
It's a little complicated (after all, you could just do XBMC Standalone), but the lightweight window manager lets me run other non-XBMC programs on top of XBMC, which Standalone does not. And, since it's Fluxbox and not something like GNOME, it runs them well. Basically, it allows me to play old school video games right from XBMC: http://lifehacker.com/5523672/turn-your-xbmc-media-center-into-a-video-game-console
Complicated? Heck yes. Worth it to be able to run Super Mario RPG straight from XBMC? Totally.
Whitson,
Did you start with a base nettop or just a case and motherboard from scratch? I had a Roku back in January but sent it back to Amazon b/c it was super-buggy; I'm looking for a Netflix-centered media solution that can play from an external HDD and maybe even a DVD drive. Oh, and HDMI-out of course. Suggestions?
Hackintosh is the way to go ... we have a similar set up for our site, we have built it allow for streaming as well as editing. If only I could custom fit a Mac Pro with what I am using for my Hackintosh I would... but I don't want to drill and hack up the case.
@Will, I custom built my nettop. The wish list is still up on Newegg here: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=7210589
That's interesting about the Roku. I've only heard awesomethings about it. As far as Netflix, whatever you do, don't go Linux. If you do an HTPC, you'll have to go Windows or Mac to get Linux support :-/
Here's the other thing, though: Netflix is available on EVERYTHING. You could easily do an XBMC standalone or Linux HTPC and just get Netflix from your TV, Blu-Ray/DVD player, TiVo, or whatever other device you have that supports it. Seriously, check your devices. You probably already have something with full Netflix support on it.
This is a fantastic post. It's now got me thinking what my tech top 10 would be.
Awesome post Whitson! Can you elaborate a bit on your monitor stand? The close up view in the speaker pic looks like you have doorstops as legs...is this true? If so...awesome idea!
@Jay: they are, in fact, door stops. I screwed them onto the bottom of a black shelf I got from Home Depot for a super cheap monitor stand. :-)
Great Tech List! Not the usual iPad/MacBook/iPhone collection.
Fun stuff! Thanks for sharing!
I like a man who likes to do everything himself!
Love your posts on LH, @Whitson. I have a similar setup of HTPC that I also recently built myself, and I am very proud to have mounted it to the back of my TV : ). I was wondering what type of remote you use for yours. I was thinking of using the Logitech diNovo Mini, but I'm curious about what you use for universal remote. I'm not convinced the diNovo Mini would be the best solution for future expansion with home theater audio control and the like.
@stupidintern08: I actually just use this cheapo universal remote: http://www.amazon.com/One-All-6-Device-Universal-Control/dp/B0000ALPBA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305335420&sr=8-1
I used LIRC to get it up and running. It was complicated and difficult, but it works pretty well now. Microsoft remotes are cheap and should work out of the box with XBMC: http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Certified-Infrared-Receiver-Ultimate/dp/B000ST7QPA/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1305335483&sr=1-5
Those chopsticks are either going to be the most awesome thing ever or ruin my home life.
We used our PS3 for netflix, no live account required. Quit working on Monday, assume it's part of PSN/Quirocity outage.