Wireless/Bluetooth Everything

[Memory]

How do you feel about everything being wireless/Bluetooth these days? On the one hand, I appreciate not having a tangle of cords everywhere. My TV area and computer desk look a lot cleaner now than they did in the early 2000s. And the number of times my headphones snagged on something as I walked by and they were ripped out of my ears or pulled my phone out of my pocket is too high to count.

But on the other hand, I hate replacing and charging batteries. Given the option, I'll pick devices with internal batteries instead of AA or AAA batteries to reduce waste. Even better if you can use it while it charges, especially if the battery gets too old and can't hold a charge anymore so you can still treat your device as if it were wired.

I had to buy a new mouse recently and there were two with the same ergonomic design that I liked. One took AAAs and the other was rechargeable but cost literally twice as much. It took some debating with myself, but I went with the rechargeable one because I don't need yet another piece of hardware chewing threw batteries.

[nymphaeaphoo]

I have to agree with boomers on this one as I go wired with everything.
for the sake of the better stability and IMO ease of use, I really don't mind wires and dont want to have to fiddle with software to connect things

more of a personal than wireless problem but if I had wireless headphones I think I would have doubts that they are actually connected and be worried that I'm just playing music out loud all the time. something about a physical connection just feels better to me

internal batteries instead of AA or AAA batteries to reduce waste

I think its better to use rechargeable external AA(A) batteries (unless manufactures make it just as easy to replace internal batteries when they need to be)

[Memory]

I think its better to use rechargeable external AA(A) batteries (unless manufactures make it just as easy to replace internal batteries when they need to be)

I did this for a while, but found that even the name-brand batteries and chargers didn't last very long before either the batteries stopped charging or the charger kicked the bucket.

[isopod]

I tend to stick to wired as well. I could honestly give or take wireless peripherals for the most part (except that my BIOS doesn't have bluetooth drivers!) but for audio? I understand why it exists, but I could never use it myself. It might just be that I've only used cheap, crappy bluetooth headphones but I just don't want to hassle with software and inconsistent connections just for worse quality. Plus, it saves a lot of money to be able to offload all that audio processing hardware to the source. Cheap wired headphones can get really good!

All that said, I really like Logitech's wireless peripherals. It's proprietary, but it uses a USB dongle that's as plug-and-play as any wired peripheral, and it's been amazing in my experience.

If I need to use wireless stuff, I love it when it just takes AA or AAA batteries. It's nice to be able to just replace the battery with a commonly available one when it dies. All my wireless gear takes them!

[Melooon]

For a keyboard, wired is definitely preferable because it’s not moving around lots.. for mice.. I’ve had big issues with wireless but it’s just so handy not having a wire dragging on stuff while your surf’n.

In the great headphone jack battle, I held off like I was at the Alamo, but I’m slowly giving in. I have two big wired headphones on my desk and they sound GREAT for music.. but for just listening to podcasts or YouTube, they are mostly unnecessary. I got a free pair of AirPods and it’s really amazing how you can just get up from your computer and walk to another room and still keep track of what’s happening in a video! And they switch between my phone and computer automatically depending whats playing audio, so you just kinda forget they’re there. I also got a pair of Sony noise cancelling doodads; they are a bit more of a pain to use, but noise cancelling on an airplane is life changing and I don’t think I could go back.

For bigger Bluetooth speakers, they are handy (omg the pain of crappy old stereo systems) but Iv noticed many have stopped having an AUX-in which is a huge pain because I need somewhere to plug in my Walkman! That said I still support people building a traditional old hi-fi stack if you have the space (now is a great time to buy used equipment from charity shops)

Oh and ummmm I have a Smart Mug that heats my coffeee/tea and sends me notifications when it’s the perfect temperature so there is also that (really though, tea that never gets cold is the closest thing to a utopian future we have!)

Also it’s not Bluetooth, but the public transport cards here have NFC; so you can scan them on a phone to check your balance or top up the card; I found that really cool!

Batteries are a big issue though and I wish there was a good easily replaceable lithium battery standard everything could use; I find it very disheartening that we have so much cool tech today that will be turned into waste in a few years just because the batteries have aged

[Memory]

For a keyboard, wired is definitely preferable because it’s not moving around lots.. for mice.. I’ve had big issues with wireless but it’s just so handy not having a wire dragging on stuff while your surf’n.

Wireless mice were definitely a huge upgrade. I remember playing Quake 3 as a kid and the cord getting caught and screwing up my shots. It was the cord, I tell you! That's why we lost the match! Also I haven't cleaned the mouse ball in a while, so the tiny civilization growing around it probably worked to sabotage me.

Also it’s not Bluetooth, but the public transport cards here have NFC; so you can scan them on a phone to check your balance or top up the card; I found that really cool!

I love the convenience of NFC, just tapping my debit card to pay for things instead of entering a pin. But I'm paranoid about it. I need to do some research into NFC blocking wallets and see if they actually work, because I never set my wallet on top of my phone or anything else that could possibly read my cards.

[Memory]

I really only use wireless/bluetooth for headphones (especially when I'm cleaning or doing something active; I can relate to Mambo with getting my wires caught in something and yanked out too many times!), game controllers (makes things easier for my desktop setup), and mice, though that's only because I happen to have some Logitech USB mice and probably wouldn't mind a wired one.

All that said, I really like Logitech's wireless peripherals. It's proprietary, but it uses a USB dongle that's as plug-and-play as any wired peripheral, and it's been amazing in my experience.

Totally agree! I have a Logitech F710 wireless controller and it's amazing.

[pleb-hates-the-modern-web]

i prefer wired/analog everything; i hate charging bluetooth devices especially when their battery life tanks, i hate changing batteries, and i hate how easy they are to lose track of! not to mention the security issues that come with bluetooth/wireless connectivity. it's a nightmare all around to me, and i'm prepared to die on this hill.

[Cobra!]

Personally, I feel most bluetooth devices are unecessary. They're a solution with no problem, basically.

It's possible to tie up your wires in a way that they never get tangled, which does a lot to mitigate the tangling problem. (It's basically up to me to remember to do it every time :':wink: )

Bluetooth also has problems like connection dropping out, which is something I've experienced with a speaker I have. The sound quality wasn't even good enough in my opinion to even warrant charging and using it.

So I'm very anti-Bluetooth. It has it's uses, but for the most part, it doesn't do anything a simple wire can't do better.

[Starstorm_X1]

I'm definitely on the "wired-preferred" camp. It usually tends to be a lot faster and more reliable than most wireless technologies. Especially on the audio side, where there's zero lag between the source and the audio device. (In fact, I bought a audio dongle for my phone because the lag I got with my wireless earbuds was annoying me.) And no batteries need to be changed or charged. That being said, wireless does have its uses, especially when it comes to phone calls. When using my wireless earbuds for phone calls, it does allow for better freedom of movement. I feel like this is the only case I've seen where I will go wireless, though; anything else, I'll probably stuck with wired stuff.

[debleb]

i only use wired when possible myself! with the exception of game controllers (even then it's mostly cuz i'm sitting too far from the console- the ones i use for my PC i prefer wired) i almost always go with the wired option. it's annoying to have to recharge stuff esp. stuff like headphones that i use often and pairing bluetooth stuff can be more of a hassle than it's worth with some devices. plus, i use some old-ish devices that don't support bluetooth (namely my 3ds lol). and wireless just seems less reliable. with a wired thing you just plug the sucker in and you're good to go but with a wireless device there's all sorts of stuff to worry about. also with audio specifically, bluetooth just has wayy too much latency for me to play rhythm games which are like one of my favourite game genres!

[kandeez]

I use my laptop for mostly everything because I can bring it to class and back with me and just caved and got a wireless mouse. Most mouses I found have the basic usb and then my computer has usb c and I got so tired of having to remember and keep tabs on where my adaptors were that bluetooth was the best option for me.
I wish I could stick with all wired because they always work better and I never have to deal with the hassle of making sure they've got battery or the dreaded its not connecting to bluetooth for some reason moments, but its so much harder now. For sake of room in my ever overflowing bag and my dilemma of usb vs usbc on everything I'm stuck with bluetooth.

[TheFrugalGamer]

I have to say I was totally against bluetooth in general until I got some bluetooth earbuds, and then I just loved the freedom that came with being able to work freely while listening to podcasts and videos.

I hate the push towards one or the other, because in the end they're just tools, and you should choose the ones that work for you. Sometimes that's wire-free, like when I'm moving around and want to occupy my brain, but sometimes you just need a good wired fallback for an "emergency." I am 100% pro being able to use both so that you can chose what works in the moment.

[teatime]

I hate the push towards one or the other, because in the end they're just tools, and you should choose the ones that work for you. Sometimes that's wire-free, like when I'm moving around and want to occupy my brain, but sometimes you just need a good wired fallback for an "emergency." I am 100% pro being able to use both so that you can chose what works in the moment.

i totally agree! i currently use a wireless keyboard and mouse with my laptop. the battery life for both is pretty good so i'm happy with it    i don't listen to music much anymore, but when i did, i'd switch between bluetooth and wired modes on my headphones. my most common use case for wired headphones is for gaming, since the delay of the sound on the ones i'm using is really bad :p wireless charging is a nice convenience that i've tried out a handful of times but i would be pissed if most major retailers got rid of wired charging for good

one of my consistently poor experiences i've had with bluetooth is that connecting my ps4 controller to windows has been very unintuitive. i'm unsure if its the fault of windows or the fault of sony but it's just much easier for me to use a cable in that instance

[Memory]

I just see disadvantages for wireless things. They need constant recharging, they can get lost easily, quality suffers from rate limits and latency, there can be connection issues, and it's probably not all that healthy either.

The little additional mobility I have really means nothing compared to those disadvantages.