Fashion aside. Could be anything from a toaster to a bike to headphones to a swing set to a computer to a mug. Something that you own(ed) and use extensively and love to use because of how well-designed it is to you.

What did you love about it?

[Edit: could even be something that you made yourself, like a bookshelf, desktop computer, etc.]

I'd have to say my current desktop. It has seen hell, and it walked through those flames as if it were a cool spring day. Why the desktop is awesome:

1. Ridiculous CPU overclock on air. 3.12ghz to 4.06ghz? Stable? Pretty ridiculous. Gotta love those Core 2 Duos.
2. A video card that has taken oodles of dust and kept on fighting. Also somehow powerhousing even Deus Ex 3 like it's nothing. Radeon 4870, rock on buddy!
3. A motherboard that has seen power surges, short circuits, horrible ventilation, massively overloaded, overclocked and rocks on anyway.
4. Once again coming back to the CPU, it has survived both the heatsink falling off the mobo (goddamn clips!), AND the fan getting stuck due to a stray wire, multiple times! It has hit 85C more than once because of it, and not only did it NOT ONCE crash, but it, combined with the mobo, gave me a beeping warning so I had the opportunity to fix it! And in the other case, it actually powered off to save the CPU, like it should! There is no reason for that CPU to be alive.


The thing has honestly been through more **** than any of my other PCs, and is somehow more stable despite it.

Honorary mention being my iPad, for simply doing goddamn EVERYTHING when I'm away from my computer. Full RDP with awesome mouse support? Check. Ability to play back transcoded video over the net, OR play damn near anything locally (h264, divx, HD, subtitles, it rocks them all). Battery life that is honestly so good that I forget to charge it for days. Easy enough that I can hand it to my grandmother and I don't have to teach her how to use it.

Only downside to my iPad is the lack of filesystem access. I don't care if they want to abstract that crap out for the average consumer, there should still be a way to do it for advanced users. That single thing alone makes SO MANY THINGS horrendously difficult.

1. High-def Projector and Surround Sound system (counting as one for home theatreness)
2. Moped
3. Giant lego death star

My Gillete Old Type, New, and Tech (also my Merkur 33C)

My Sennheiser HD580s

this... the Germans perfected the bolt action in 1898... then they perfected the bolt action infantry rifle in 1935


also this... the Russians made a simple, reliable, sturdy action for a rifle... the Finns built a much better rifle around that action

-my Logitech mx1000
-160 gig iPod.
-etymotic er6 headphones
-pioneer p3200 head unit
-my desktop

all been WELL worth the money.

My Kindle.
My TI-83, which has the durability of a brick.
My HTC Hero, which has the durability of a brick house.
My desk, which is roomy and owns.
My PC, which has been on more less constantly for 2 years overclocked ~50%.

I'm going to go with my iMac, iPad, iPhone & my wife's Toyota Yaris (which we recently sold). All of these certainly have the pros & cons but overall I think they're well-designed. I actually hate automobiles with a passion but my wife's car was a pleasure to drive (even for long distances). We actually drove from Kentucky to Florida (near Sarasota) with 4 adults & a baby & it was reasonably comfortable for all.

I honestly can't think of any thing that I like or think is well-designed. I guess computers in general? *shrug*

I didn't even read the well-designed bit >_>

1990 Mazda Miata or iPhone 4

???

As a media consumption/staying connected with everything device I would say the iPhone is almost perfectly designed.

Your mom.

My Freshman FA250DCE.

Fruit Punch 4Loko

Blech drink some real alcohol will you?

Probably my K-Bar. I find it nearly impossible to dull, and it's awesomely balanced.

ka-bars are badass. I've been eyeballing their tanto for some time now.

I have the standard 7 inch bowie straight-blade. Someone posted the same model in the recent purchases thread a few days ago.

My laptop.
I got it from my nan, she got it second hand and it was already old.
It does not have wireless, I had to get a dongle for it... it DOES have an inbuilt 56k modem, it has ran perfectly. Outlived every other pc and laptop everyone I know has owned.

I loved my 12" PowerBook G4. I sold it onto a chap in London, and via the magic of Twitter I know it's still soldiering on well. I bought it in 2005.

Also, I've got a Bush Baby (back rucksack for want of a better word) - that thing is so cleverly put together for light weight, long life, and great baby-weight distribution.

My NookColor. Five hundred novels and two hundred comics at a time? Yes, please!

Leatherman Wave

I have a Skeletool CX and I have to concur, their stuff is amazing. I got it mostly because it had only what I needed: Pliers, screwdriver bits, and a really nice blade. I've had it for a couple years now and the blade is just as sharp as the day I got it. The thing is invincible.

+1 on the Mosin Nagant! Mine is yer standard 91/30 though, not a Finn. It's not my nomination here though because it's pretty crude. Maybe if I had a Garand or a K98...





And my entry to this thread is the Kershaw folder that I posted along with it. I've carried it all day every day since that day I got it and I'm beyond impressed with it's usability. The blade sits nice and tight in the closed position, but the slightest pressure on the stud and the blade just goes flying open with authority and locks into place. Can't get much closer to a switchblade and still be legal. Probably some of the best money I've ever spent.

This blender is pretty great. Easy to use, easy to clean, doesn't take up much space, and contrary to a couple of the reviews, it's lasted me over three years.

IBM Thinkpad T42p (I think T42p). Greatest laptop I've ever owned in terms of stability and design and upkeep. The thing never blue screened, no messed up case, looked pristine at the time I got rid of it, everything was awesome.

I don't know if I'd go as far as to say it's the BEST designed thing I ever owned, and to be fair I don't own it, I own an almost-as-good-but-cheaper product, but a friend owns a Pelican 7060 LED flashlight and that thing is amazingly well thought out and put together. I won't list all the details here because I could go on forever, but all the little problems that annoy me about other flashlights and even some of the things that are addressed in my flashlight are perfected in his. Awesome product.

If I put a brick through what my TI-83+ has been through, that brick would be dust. I've had it at least 10 years, 9 if you include the year it was missing because some jackass stole it and ground off all my name engravings. I got it back though and I'm about to transfer to UCD with it still my daily driver calculator.

Oh all the times in high school where I chucked my backpack 30 feet across the gym into the corner forgetting it was in there...

Haha, that reminds me. Our high school had laptops for all the students. They gave us special bookbags with compartments for the laptops. However, I got sick and tired of worrying about textbooks crushing the crap out of it (it was padded well on the outside, but not for the inside), so I got a tiny laptop case to put it in. Whenever we'd go to gym class or what have you, I'd fling my backpack across the floor against the wall where we kept our stuff, and the other guys would freak out. "OMG dude your laptop is gonna be DESTROYED!"

And then they'd see me carrying the laptop bag. I swear, I think I punk'd nearly every classmate, and a lot of teachers doing that.

The only thing coming to mind at the moment for me is the Ove-Glove.