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Ask HN: Most interesting tech you built for just yourself?

1901 points l2silver | 2 comments | 27 Apr 23 15:04 UTC | HN request time: 0.542s | source

Maybe you've created your own AR program for wearables that shows the definition of a word when you highlight it IRL, or you've built a personal calendar app for your family to display on a monitor in the kitchen. Whatever it is, I'd love to hear it.
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codpiece ◴[28 Apr 23 14:54 UTC] No.35742026[source]▶
Not sure if it counts as tech, but I created a voiceboard for my mother to help her communicate while in hospice. She had a massive stroke and could no longer speak.

I thought of a tablet app, but the stakes were too high, so it wound up as a laminated paper. You can read about my design decisions here:

https://voiceboard.org

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1. jawns ◴[28 Apr 23 15:43 UTC] No.35742709[source]▶
When my sister was in the ICU at a hospital in a big city, I created something similar for her. The nurses complimented me on it and said it made their lives easier, but I was shocked to learn that they didn't have anything like it unless families made them themselves.
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2. codpiece ◴[28 Apr 23 16:25 UTC] No.35743525[source]▶
I was shocked to find that out too. A friend pointed out it helps for people on ventilators, was that your case?