Mac book Pro, I got the M3. Massive improvement from all the previous laptops I’ve had. Don’t have to put up with Microsoft bs, don’t have to tinker with it as I would with a Linux OS. Hardware is great, build quality is great. Can do everything I need for university on it, can play all the games I want to on it.
Personally I’m well past the mega corporations own the world and know everything about me doomer stage of my life and am okay with selling my soul to apple for a good laptop.
My Lumix S5 camera, it feels great to go from a micro43 camera to a full frame camera, though I am allready looking at the Sony A7 IV as a complement to my S5 due to it’s superior autofocus…
Dehumidifier - 5 years and counting drying laundry indoors overnight with no risk of rain or wind!
Does corrective eye surgery count? Because it fundamentally changed my daily quality of life
Back in the day, a smartphone was a major upgrade. They continue to improve which is just amazing. I came from an age of wall phones and dial-up internet.
A kitchen sink. Did an impromptu kitchen reno due to a gas leak and being without one is such a huge downgrade in quality of life. I was washing dishes in the bathtub nightly and it was absolutely miserable. I don’t think I’ve ever been more appreciative of the technology of modern plumbing than the day I was able to rerun lines to the sink area and get it all going.
I bought a 2080ti for $1200 right before covid and everyone gave me shit about how I was wasting my money because the 3000 series had a lower MSRP which then ballooned to $2000+.
So while everyone else was struggling to get a graphics card due to supply chain issues and prohibitive costs, I was gaming in 4k resolution throughout the pandemic. To say that this was clutch during a time I couldn’t really do much outside of the house with other people would be a massive understatement.
I usually would not have spent that much on a card, but I won a hackathon cash prize right before so had some money burning a hole in my pocket. The card is still going strong and is still my daily driver, so I can’t say it’s been a bad purchase at all.
My Ampler E-Bike I bought 2 years ago. More than 5000 km later I still love it to bits.
A 1000€ ebike. Best choice ever. Always on time, unaffected by traffic and never get tickets since I don’t have a registration table :)
The original GameBoy in like 1992, I was 6 and it was everything. Then Pokemon came out and hell yeah
I don’t think I could ever go back to a single monitor setup. Screen real estate is ALWAYS at a premium. I feel so constrained when forced to use just one.
My e-book reader (Tolino).
As I got older and had problems with my eyes, this was a game changer. I had basically stopped reading books and now I do it daily. I can choose the font and letter size, background color, and backlighting based on what works best for my eyes that day and the light where I am.
Being able to hold a very light device with a big screen when I would have to balance a heavy weight as a paper book is also great, and I take the reader with me everywhere, whereas a big book would stay at home most of the time.
The reader has a bigger screen than my phone and the battery lasts longer.
The reader works flawlessly with my library, so I don’t have to buy books, which keeps costs down, and I don’t have to leave the house to get a new book.
Calibre helps us share books in our family, which is one reason we’ve stayed away from Amazon’s Kindle, so we’ve all gone to “.epub”.
My NAS, having access to all my files anywhere at any time is great
Not sure if that counts as technology, but simple LED lights over my kitchen counter (mounted under the upper cabinets) were a pretty inexpensive purchase that made my life significantly better. I don’t understand now how I was ever able to cook with just the ceiling lights on, it’s absolutely terrible.
Wireless noise cancelling headphones and earbuds.
I was reluctant to pay $400 for a gimmick but holy shit, once I did they became my most treasured possessions. Then I got buds for $400.
If we are talking cost per hour of use, they might be the most cost-effective tech I own