Ask HN: What to spend on to maximize developer utility?

4 points by pgt 8y ago ↗ HN

What products or services did you spend money on that improved your life as a developer with the best cost/benefit ratio? It can be anything, but I'm looking for unexpected purchases with large gains. RAM used to be the best way to save time. Then SSDs. Now, perhaps it's an extra monitor, software, standing desk, or dishwasher. Anything that offers a disproportionate improvement.

4 comments

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[dead] seanwasere 8y ago ↗

nothing, everything that costs something today, with be free tomorrow if it has any long term value

aphextron 8y ago ↗

Providing a free, substantial breakfast every morning. Gets people into the office way earlier too.

jorangreef 8y ago ↗

A library of programming books.

mtmail 8y ago ↗

For a couple of months it was https://www.saent.com/, hardware device that puts you (or apps) into distract-free mode. I stopped because communication (e.g. Slack) became too important to just block.

Also: second external monitor and both monitors having the same physical size and resolution.