Cool tools

What Hacker News says

1. wpietriFeb 2022
   Sure. I don't do much product discovery via Amazon either. For that I turn to places not trying to sell me things like Consumer Reports, Wirecutter, and Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools. Also forums where other users talk about our shared problems and what has worked for them.
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2. denimboyJul 2020
   Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities by Kevin Kelly

   https://www.amazon.com/Cool-Tools-Possibilities-Kevin-Kelly/...

   is a worthy successor to Whole Earth Catalog in both content and spirit.

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3. phasetransitionMar 2020
   FYI, Kevin Kelly's "Cool Tools" is a solid, and useful coffee table book. Some things from 2013 don't age well, but for it is useful for lots of items. A quick skim of my copy didn't find the bug salt shotgun, but there is a water-based bug sprayer for the garden on pp. 214.
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4. observationDec 2017
   The solution I have found is crowd sourced or expert recommendations from the following sources:

   Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools book and website. Metafilter Reddit's Buy It For Life subreddit Finehomebuilding's Tool Guide

   I find I buy less stuff, but of much higher quality or utility in this way. Some times I get something at a cheap price which works really well, like my Kiwi knives. Other times I have to be educated into realizing why something costs what it does and why or why not it's worth the money. Usually the answer is that the price is right because the object lasts much longer than the cheapo alternative or that the cheap version has a health drawback.

   Recent Examples:

   Merkur Safety Razor vs cartridge disposables ($$$) (factor of 100 decrease in cost!) Cast iron skillets vs Teflon pans ($$$) Tempered glass (container/bakeware) vs disposable trays/soon-to-be-cracked stoneware. ($$$) Induction cooking vs Gas (health) Expensive meat vs cheap meat. (health) Glycerin soap vs liquid soap/regular soap ($$$)

   Here's a clear example. I buy a hard shave soap in a nice wooden bowl that costs $30. That's way more than a can of foam, but I've been using this for over four years now and it's only half used.

   I don't do this with everything. I have a Silvercrest blender that has worked for a year, expected lifespan of three years I think, about $30 but buying a Vitamix or Blendtec at $500+ wouldn't 'pay me back' in a lifetime.

   [waffle]

   The China market isn't a problem if and only if it is understood by the consumer that they're getting disposables, so they should stock up and throw away more frequently. That requires money and space a lot of people do not have.

   China production is immensely valuable for the bottom billions of the world who simply cannot plausibly afford West levels of wealth.

   The rub is of course that you and I are getting lots of boxes with broken appliances/tools.

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5. minouyeSep 2017
   Cool Tools by Kevin Kelly - a must own if you're interested in making things.

   https://www.amazon.com/Cool-Tools-Possibilities-Kevin-Kelly/...

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6. bikeshackMay 2015
   A few favourites of mine I read recently. Rushkoff's book is my favourite and there is lots of insight in Rushkoff's book. The others are mandatory reading for technologists IMHO

   How to Create a Mind: The Secret of Human Thought Revealed, by Ray Kurzweil

   http://amazon.decenturl.com/make-a-mind

   Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age, by Douglas Rushkoff

   http://amazon.decenturl.com/ten-commands

   Cool Tools, by Kevin Kelly

   http://amazon.decenturl.com/cool-tools

   (Yes, those are affiliate links)

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