does stealing it count? because that would be a boxed copy of redhat linux from best buy in the late 90s/early 2000s. yes, i found a way to steal linux
Building and running my own server for self hosting multiple tools for my home.
Bitwarden Password manager, now sharing logins/passwords for stuff my fiance and I both use is easy, and every single website we use has its own unique randomly generated password so when one site gets breached, our logins aren't compromised anywhere else
Plex, it's like your own self hosted Netflix. My file copies of any movies/TV shows go on here and it parses em all, keeps it all grouped together, streams in 4k.
Shinobi, for my security cameras. Self hosted free CRTV application, works with any open spec cameras. Has movement detection and tonnes of other open source options for plug-ins.
Deluge, handy UI for downloading torrents onto my server. Conviently added presets to it that let me download to the very folders Plex scans... cough cough.
Kavita, self hosted server for books/pdfs. Some e-readers can even connect to it. A couple popular manga reading apps also work with it. Can also just use its own browser web interface as an e-reader, it has multiple options for styles (infinite scroll, page swiping, left/right click, and even supports right to left mode for manga!)
Nextcloud, pictures/document storage. Sort of like a selfhosted filesshare/file backup. Has a mobile app that can automatically backup every picture/video you take on your phone!
Gogs, open source super lightweight git repo. Has only the bare minimum of features, basic web hook, authorization, permissions, simple web ui to edit. It does the job I need it to and that's good enough.
OpenVPN, self hosted VPN so I can securely access all the above stuff without exposing it to the internet.
Also I host my own websites on it, publicly exposed. Blog, a writing project, nothing terribly fancy.
Eventually I plan to add some more stuff to it. Migrate my smart home dependencies over to Z wave and install Home Assistant, so I don't have to rely on sending my info to google/amazon/etc to do basic smart home stuff.
A Kobo e-reader. I now read much more than before because of the convenience, and I also became a book pirate. It has paid itself multiple times on the money I've saved in physical books.
Have had a dog most of my life. Hard to imagine living without one. They're better than people, fantastic companions, and the entire relationship is based on each other trying to make each other happy.
Bidet. Amazing for a North American, I know RoW has had them for eons. You are so clean that a couple of squares of tp to dry off and you are golden. No more endless wiping.
Bicycle. No gas expenses, no tabs, no loan, free parking. I understand how it works and can mostly fix it myself for very little money. I can take quiet side streets and arrive in a much better mood, plus my fat lazy ass gets some exercise.
In the early 2000's, I bought a 1986 Honda XL250R. Just an old dirt bike.
The motorcyckle shop was across the road from the pawn shop I was originally going to buy a gun from, for the express purpose of taking my own life, for reasons that made sense at the time.
Since I bought that bike, I've made friends, learned a lot of new skills, and I met the best person in existence, who I am now married to. I passed on a final exit, and ended up with a pretty great life.
A house. My mortgage is cheaper than rent, and now I get to actually address annoyances with my living conditions.
It's almost 100 years old, and a bit of an fixer upper, but the important stuff is solid. Last summer I invested in proper drainage around the foundation so that I can start making the basement livable. This year I invested in a proper bathroom. Next year it's a new kitchen. And if time allows I'll start rebuilding the basement mainly for one extra bed room and an office.
Synology NAS (basically a hard drive always connected to the home network and internet) - has been amazing for auto-backing-up photos from the family phones and for running Plex run my own personal streaming service for the whole family around the world. Has been great for file transfer too. I can easily move files between my phone, PC, Steam Deck, etc and all the USB memory sticks I had have been sitting in a drawer ever since.
Exercise compression thermals - wear these is super comfortable and really warm. I wear them constantly at home and can have the heating off almost all winter (UK). Saves tons of energy and money.
Electric blanket - another great low energy purchase for relaxing under when watching TV or warming up the bed before sleeping. Gets super hot while hardly using any energy at all.
Split unit air con installation - this was expensive and I thought it would be unnecessary in the UK, but it seems to be used more and more every summer as we get more heatwaves and summers are becoming unbearable.
Safety razors - I have really thick facial hair and the multi-blade razors from big name brands would dull really quickly and cause tons of shaving rash. These razors are sharper, last longer, are recyclable and much better for my skin.
Liquid ink refillable rollerball pens - I tried fountain pens after seeing the online communities that are crazy about them, and really didn't like them. I found rollerball pens I like that take fountain pen ink and have been super happy with them. I write a lot at work and this has gotten rid of the plastic waste of throwing away used disposable ballpoint refills every couple of weeks.
Hitbox controller - I've been playing Street Fighter 6 since release and I made a leverless controller box myself and I've loved using it to play SF6. Managed to make it for one third the price of what these things sell for and completely customised it.
An E-reader. There's no more space in my house for book shelves. I've a ton of books stored inappropriately in a bunch of cabinets and on top of furniture, that I hope to find new homes for before irreparable damage is done to their spine.
Having an e-reader also helped me in the gym. Instead of doomscrolling on lemmy or tiktok, I read between sets. Helped me regain my reading habit and kick my social media habit. Also, helped my social anxiety of having to rest longer than half a minute when other people might want to use the iron I'm using.
I have always hated bath mats. Especially being in a fairly large family, by early afternoon it seems like the bath mat is always saturated and useless; slipping around the floor if you're trying to use it to dry your feet, or soaking your socks if you happen to step on it in the course of other bathroom business.
I recently got a bath stone made of diatomaceous earth and it has erased all of the annoyance. It pulls the water right off you so I always feel safe stepping onto my tile floor after just a few steps on the bath stone, and it dries freakishly fast, like basically in front of your eyes.
I've only had it a month so I don't know how durable it is over the long term, but so far it has been $40 well spent.
As someone with waxy ears, an ear pick with a wifi camera built in. Would get blockages, cotton buds just pushed it back, olive oil or peroxide would get air locked. The webcam ear pick was super cheap and makes it easy to scoop out any lumps of wax.
A dildo. Get to know yourself and what you like a little and it's legitimately brain melting. You don't have to be gay to enjoy em, I'm glad I gave butt stuffing a try.
Just make sure whatever you get is actually body safe. Silicone is generally the only good soft body safe material, look for medical grade or platinum cure.
Nothing ever burns and cleaning even when frying something with cheese in there is just a scoop of hot water and ten seconds with the soft side of a kitchen sponge.
Anything that takes away shitty chores. People take washing machines for granted these days, but a decent dishwasher is a godsend. Modern ones don't need anything more than a basic scrape of the dishes as "prep" and loading it before bed to then wake up to a load of sparkling clean dishes is amazing.
In a similar vein we've just got a robot vacuum cleaner that we've set to run every night. The amount of dog fur in its bin every morning is eye opening, and other than for the stairs there's almost no need to do vacuuming ourselves now.
Zoloft Lexapro aka escitalopram. I thought everyone had the anxiety voices like I did. I told myself I was just a worrier. Then it got REALLY bad in my 30's and even I thought it was getting absurd. My doc asked me "how are you feeling" and I just broke down, spilled my guts. He said "let's try a small dose." and after a couple months adjustment, the crazy voices went from 4/5 to a 1/5. They're still there, but they're WAY more quiet. I had no idea that this is what normal people think like.
I guess these first three are kind of limited scope improvents.
Fountain pens. Got me writing notes for work which has helped me stay more organized and on the ball and able to remember more. And with the right pen it makes note taking enjoyable.
Cast iron skillets have improved my enjoyment of cooking.
Portable jump starter has saved the day multiple times since I got it (me, friends, etc)
ADHD diagnosis late in life prompted by career-limiting struggles with a type-A boss. The diagnosis explained so many things about me, my behavior, my struggles in work and relationships, my self image, etc. Therapy helped develop better coping mechanisms and the meds help a lot with focus and motivation. All told, things are better with relationships and other areas of life, I turned around the boss's opinion and got my career back on track.
we were picking up some free boots for my partner off of facebook marketplace when i asked about the weight bench that was also in the yard. the owner said "someone said they were coming for it, but they were supposed to be here 2 hours ago. you want it?" I disassembled it in the yard and ruined my folding knife trying to use it as a screwdriver, but it was the best decision I've ever made. Grabbed some adjustable dumbbells from amazon, have been hitting up marketplace for plates people aren't using ever since, and I've now got a full-body 5x/week workout routine that is 100% the key to my mental and physical health. Best thing I've ever done for myself, and getting every piece of equipment that I use today cost about $100 total.
A knee pillow. I have always struggled with the occasional back pain because I would sometimes twist my legs/back at night and be in pain the next day(s). A knee pillow has massively changed that for me. I pretty much never have issues with my back caused by sleeping weird now.
In a similar vein, nasal strips. My nose often gets obstructed at night and it caused a ton of sleepless nights because I had a hard time breathing. Finding the strong nasal strips I'm now using pretty much eliminated that problem.
Recently? A cordless stick vacuum. My wife has wanted one because ours was too heavy and she figured she would vacuum more often if she had a lighter one. Of course that turned out to not be the case and I am still doing the vacuuming but it is a heck of a lot easier to maneuver around and bring it to other areas of the house.
Previously? Wireless ear buds. Loved those. Unfortunately my dog ate my first pair and I left the second pair on a plane. My next pair will be cheap ones.
Blundstones. I live in a coastal city that's wet (but rarely snowy) the vast majority of the year. Having rain-resistant shoes that are comfortable AND durable has been a game changer.
And if I can mention a second: A proper, long raincoat. Combined with good shoes, I'm able to tolerate the weather here much better than when I'd first moved to this city and relied on sneakers + regular jackets.
If we're talking about obvious things, getting a washing machine and kitchen with all that comes with it is a tremendous improvement in a new apartment.
If I had to pick something less obvious, I'd say for me it was an e-book. It's hard to measure the effect, but I mostly read non-fiction and knowledge creates a lot opportunities over time in private and work life.
Slip-on shoes, these specific ones are so well designed I can put them on in a few seconds while standing. They basically have loops for fingers on the tongue and pull/heel tab, I wish there were better quality shoes with the same design though as these have very specific cleaning instructions.
64 ounce Stanley water jug. I throw ice in it and I have something cold to drink all day. It's beautiful.
Bidet has been good though now it feels gross to shit at work and my politics demand I shit at work.
Contact grill, ie a GE brand George Foreman. I can't fuck up flippimg shit if I'm frying both sides simultaneously. And a food thermometer so my colorblind ass isn't relying on mom's shit advice to just cook it until it's brown.
This battery car starter / tire infator / phone charger. I have used it with some frequency, but more often I can just roll up and fix someone's car problem super quick. I even get out of work with it a lot when a customer needs someone to jump their car or fix a flat (also keep a tire patch kit obv).
All of this is bought from thrift stores. I can only assume most of my shit was originally shoplifted, it's fantastic. There is just so much good shit being sold for almost nothing, I am the KING of expired Chips Ahoy.
A replacement screen for my 2012 Samsung laptop. I fell on it, slipping on the ice and the screen was totally fucked. So woe is me, time to go to a technician and someone on the bus overheard me and suggested I buy the screen and fix it myself. Tech quoted me 300 bucks and 2 months wait.
So I bought it for under 100 bucks, took just a week and followed a how-to guide on Youtube. It was an improvement because it meant I was finally developing a job skill in computer maintenance and could do something to at least survive in capitalism.
A Comma 3 to run Openpilot on my Honda Civic. It's lane keep / adaptive cruise control on steroids. I drive about 40 thousand miles each year for work, 46 miles round trip on "local" days. Having that level of driver assist on the highway makes a life changing difference. I arrive less fatigued and feel more capable of reacting to hazards. Their tagline is making driving chill, and it really has delivered. I don't know how I did this mileage before Openpilot.
I used to have very bad plantar fasciitis from my time in the military. For years I suffered every step of every day. I researched possible solutions and found out zero drop shoes help it. I bought some Xero shoes and after about three months it all just went away. Now I just wear zero drop shoes.
I don't really know for sure. Best bet is probably a ball pen when I was like 11. I've used only fountain pens until then.
It just doesn't leak and I don't have to wait for ink to dry up.
An hdmi to composite converter. It allows me to connect my pc to my old crt, I can play games, watch YouTube, stream everything, it made me realize I don't really need a new TV
An 18 button mouse for my PC. 12 buttons on the side which I've mapped my function keys to. It's excellent for gaming, so many things you can do without even using your left hand on the keyboard.
Not only have they been essential in breaking the habit of reaching for my phone while I'm meant to be watching my TV/monitor, but I also end up with a practical, useful, personalised product at the end
I used to be a Maintenance Technician for an apartment complex and the things people have left behind were always interesting to say the least.
The one thing that was left behind, well not so much improved quality of my life, so much as wow this thing is neat and I use it for an interesting purpose as opposed to what it was designed for.
It is a speaker selector for installed/mounted speaker systems. (You know, like those in wall/ceiling mounted speakers.)
I use it now for different speaker types for different media that I use my PC to view. One set for gaming, movies, short form video content. I just push a button on the selector after choosing a different audio profile with PulseEffects on my PC and can have more bass for music, slightly boosted mids for gaming, and just simple bookshelf speakers for movies/TV/Youtube. Each selection has a different combination of or a completely different set of speakers all together. A pair of Sony SS-B1000 speakers, a pair of Bose 201 V model speakers, and a pair of MTX Audio AAL12B's.
So with the push of a button and change of a sound profile I can go from using the two AAL12Bs to the Sony/Bose pairs and have a totally different and more appropriate sound for whatever media I am viewing. I can also select any combination of the speakers I want. So like if I'm watching an action flick I'll switch it to the AAL12Bs and the Bose 201s. For the booms and the conversations. I'll use the Sony/Bose together for youtube content sometimes as well. Hell, I can turn them all on if I'm feeling spicy. The AAL12Bs tend to suck up more power than the other two though so I usually just run those by themselves.
This is all ran by a FOSI audio amp I grabbed off jungle website. Great little thing for the money. It's the BL20C if you're curious.
Proper quality in ear headphones/monitors. So nice. Proper over ear headphones hurt my neck, and you can't always turn the speakers up to a decent volume.
One of those stupid expensive real down feather pillows. I spoiled myself one year for my birthday and only wish I had done it sooner. I go to bed every night and thank myself for getting that pillow.
A memory foam mattress topper. Mine is 8cm (3") thick and an absolute game changer. It goes on top of your existing mattress and under the fitted sheet.
May seem silly but a chamber vacuum sealer. It's so much more convenient than the suction style ones. You can place mason jars in it to seal them. I use it pretty much every day.
gifted a dry-soon https://www.lakeland.co.uk/21736/dry-soon-3-tier-heated-airer - fancy thing that I wouldn't consider buying myself in an hundred years, but actually a drying rack with a built in heating element is an amazing thing to own. way cheaper than a dryer (not that any of the rented places I've stayed in have had one) but can still reliably dry laundry way better than even sticking it on radiators or whatever
A private jet, it's amazing being able to just show up at the airport whenever you feel like it, not have to go through any security, step on the plane and just take off and be wherever you want a few hours later.
My ipad. It solves the project management triangle completely when it comes to checking the latest in the world. Which is good because of another change I made that helps in life coinciding with all the telecalls.
Sertraline. It's helped hugely with depression and anxiety, though I think Covid helped with the latter as well. I struggle to feel anything much these days but it's much better than feeling low and anxious.
Nintendo switch OLED. I used to game at my PC which always caused me a lot of stress because I prefer the ease and relaxation of a console I can pick up whenever, take anywhere and game instantly as opposed to something I have to sit down with and work at. Sold my PC for it and a bunch of extra money
I'm a heavy shitter, I shit alot and I shit so much my ass crack looks like caramelized fondu. When I go outside flys swarm around my ass and get stuck on my sticky ass crack. Everyone would avoid me in the local Walmart when I shop for gaming supplies (Doritos and Dr Pepper mostly). I have difficultly wiping because I can't physically reach under there and I can't stand up in the shower. One day my mom told me to lose weight (yeah thanks for bullying me again mom 😒) and I know I'm a little heavy at the moment because I have to use cooking oil to greese up the doorframes so I can squeeze through but that's only because of capitalism shrinking all the rental apartments and cramming as many people in as possible. Anyway I was playing Amongus and one of my femboy friends told me about bidgets. At first I was like "huh?" and he explained that because he plays Genshin he cannot physically leave the house or bathe and he has a special toilet that cleans his butthole for him. So I ordered one off Amazon and my god it is the best thing ever, now this device shoots water up my asshole and poof! No more shit streaked stretch pants woohoo!