5 ms·

Ask HN: What software has improved your life the most?

20 points by TheDarkOne 6y ago

sloaken 6y ago
Solitaire - LOL Internet browsers - almost any one. GUI compilers / dev environment GIT Excel Word
anotheryou 6y ago
well I guess we have to exclude the staples, right? operating systems, infrastructure, messengers, browsers, navi apps. I love: org-mode autohotkey (windows) firefox add-ons and userscripts an alternative keyboard layout (and QMK for a hardware implementation) kodi calibre sumatra pdf well and including historically: I learned programming through macromedia flash
kyranjamie 6y ago
Google Maps
TheTrotters 6y ago
Anki. Spaced repetition + testing effect made learning (math, in my case) much better and more efficient.
- ab510 6y ago
  How did you use Anki(what kind of flashcards?) for math?
- exaltation999 6y ago
  Bro where TF do you find flashcards? Too much effort to create them urself
kirubakaran 6y ago
Emacs Linux Lisp Python I owe them pretty much everything.
shubb 6y ago
Okcupid - although recent dating apps are apparently more challenging, at least for a time dating sites helped nerdy people find each other, and have those awkward 'do you want to date me' conversations in a safe way.
alfonmga 6y ago
Stand (https://getstandapp.com https://getstandapp.com) It reminds me to stand up once an hour.
rikroots 6y ago
Word processing software. I remember my first job as a lowly admin assistant in the Civil Service where my job was to manage with the team's post, file lots of pieces of paper, and deal with the Divisional Typing Pool ruled by the fearsome and never-to-be-forgotten Mrs Kagan. Word processors not only changed the office organisation structure forever, it saved me from having to approach Mrs Kagan to ask for a letter to be retyped because my boss wanted to add a couple of words "just here, and here - today if possible ... please?".
softwaredoug 6y ago
Probably some software in a medical device that helped with some simple preventive medical procedure
- quickthrower2 6y ago
  Yeah whatever software they use to help discover, develop and trial vaccinations too.
tobbob 6y ago
H.264 compression, or whatever makes video on the internet work.
- quickthrower2 6y ago
  Fast cheap bandwidth and storage too then.
caseyscottmckay 6y ago
Vim, Intellij Idea, Java, Python, Bash
meiraleal 6y ago
mIRC and its "powerful" mIRC scripting. Writing bots in 1999 was more interesting than nowadays.
vegadodo 6y ago
git, vs code I do most of my homework on vs code, and use git to track and archive all my coding-related stuff to private repo. Seriously, it gives me peace of mind and euphoric joy when I finish my homework and push to the repo.
slmjkdbtl 6y ago
Xiami, Douban, Spotify, Youtube, Bandcamp, SoundCloud, Wikipedia, RateYourMusic, Soulseek, ... no music no life!

20 points by TheDarkOne 6y ago

Solitaire - LOL Internet browsers - almost any one. GUI compilers / dev environment GIT Excel Word

well I guess we have to exclude the staples, right? operating systems, infrastructure, messengers, browsers, navi apps. I love: org-mode autohotkey (windows) firefox add-ons and userscripts an alternative keyboard layout (and QMK for a hardware implementation) kodi calibre sumatra pdf well and including historically: I learned programming through macromedia flash

kyranjamie 6y ago

Google Maps

TheTrotters 6y ago

Anki. Spaced repetition + testing effect made learning (math, in my case) much better and more efficient.

ab510 6y ago
How did you use Anki(what kind of flashcards?) for math?
exaltation999 6y ago
Bro where TF do you find flashcards? Too much effort to create them urself

kirubakaran 6y ago

Emacs Linux Lisp Python I owe them pretty much everything.

shubb 6y ago

Okcupid - although recent dating apps are apparently more challenging, at least for a time dating sites helped nerdy people find each other, and have those awkward 'do you want to date me' conversations in a safe way.

alfonmga 6y ago

Stand (https://getstandapp.com https://getstandapp.com) It reminds me to stand up once an hour.

rikroots 6y ago

Word processing software. I remember my first job as a lowly admin assistant in the Civil Service where my job was to manage with the team's post, file lots of pieces of paper, and deal with the Divisional Typing Pool ruled by the fearsome and never-to-be-forgotten Mrs Kagan. Word processors not only changed the office organisation structure forever, it saved me from having to approach Mrs Kagan to ask for a letter to be retyped because my boss wanted to add a couple of words "just here, and here - today if possible ... please?".

softwaredoug 6y ago

Probably some software in a medical device that helped with some simple preventive medical procedure

quickthrower2 6y ago
Yeah whatever software they use to help discover, develop and trial vaccinations too.

tobbob 6y ago

H.264 compression, or whatever makes video on the internet work.

quickthrower2 6y ago
Fast cheap bandwidth and storage too then.

caseyscottmckay 6y ago

Vim, Intellij Idea, Java, Python, Bash

meiraleal 6y ago

mIRC and its "powerful" mIRC scripting. Writing bots in 1999 was more interesting than nowadays.

vegadodo 6y ago

git, vs code I do most of my homework on vs code, and use git to track and archive all my coding-related stuff to private repo. Seriously, it gives me peace of mind and euphoric joy when I finish my homework and push to the repo.

slmjkdbtl 6y ago

Xiami, Douban, Spotify, Youtube, Bandcamp, SoundCloud, Wikipedia, RateYourMusic, Soulseek, ... no music no life!