3 ms·

That is exactly what it is. I wonder if OP is busy defending Serial, Parallel, and even the PS/2 port to this day as well?

by urda 9y ago

tomc1985 9y ago
Of those three, the only port with any kind of ubiquity is serial, and yes I would defend it even though I hate it with a vengeance, because it will let me talk to old and esoteric gear. Just like headphone ports. This new shit doesn't do that.
- urda 9y ago
  A well defined, and common standard that is bluetooth doesn't let you interact with hardware? I'm sorry this is ridiculous. To imply that a common wireless standard prevents you from connecting hardware basically ends the conversation here, as your point of view is refusing to see both sides.
  - tomc1985 9y ago
    How much esoteric hardware will bluetooth let me talk to? Can I talk my best friend's telescope? What about my coworkers oscilloscope? What about the kiln in our chem lab, or the cash register at the deli I bought lunch at? Old CANBUS ports? What does bluetooth talk to? Headphones, fitness trackers, car stereos... and aside from a few random appliances, not much else. Yeah maybe in twenty years when everything and their mother was made with bluetooth support, but that is a LONG ways away
  - tomc1985 9y ago
    Oh and which well defined common bluetooth standard? V2? V3? V4? There's a weird mesh of which devices can talk to which receivers. Just the other day I bought a new V4 USB receiver that refused to talk to an old wireless headset, and problems like these are emdemic. You know what format didn't have these problems? 1/8" headphone jacks. Because it is simple, and analog, and DOESN'T CHANGE.
flukus 9y ago
> and even the PS/2 port to this day as well I'm still waiting on a explanation of why upgrading mouses and keyboards to USB was worthwhile? In fact, it was a downgrade on windows 95/98 which demanded they be plugged into the same port after a restart.
- makomk 9y ago
  PS/2 was pretty terrible. It required a special port which couldn't be used for anything else, taking up extra space and making plugging your device in less convenient. It didn't officially support hotplug. The standard PS/2 mouse protocol only supported 3 buttons and two axes - there was a nasty hack on top of that to add a scroll wheel and another two buttons, anything beyond that is completely proprietary. It's so convenient by comparison to be able to plug a keyboard or mouse into whichever USB port is easiest and have it just work without special drivers.
  - falcolas 9y ago
    PS/2 supports n-key rollover for keyboards; something you need custom and proprietary drivers to do with USB. They also don't have to deal with shared bus interrupts, which can cause imprecise keyboard and mouse movements. I use USB too, but PS/2 has its pluses.
  - flukus 9y ago
    Thanks, the scroll wheel is a good reason, but I don't find the others compelling. > It required a special port which couldn't be used for anything else, taking up extra space and making plugging your device in less convenient. I don't find that a negative, the mouse is always connected and I've never once thought "I wish I could unplug the mouse so I can plug in the printer and charge my phone". > It's so convenient by comparison to be able to plug a keyboard or mouse into whichever USB port is easiest and have it just work without special drivers. For most people with a standard mouse and keyboard this was never an issue (except for the scroll wheel one you mentioned). For non-standard ones, it still has to install a driver doesn't it? I thought windows just installed it transparently.

That is exactly what it is. I wonder if OP is busy defending Serial, Parallel, and even the PS/2 port to this day as well?

by urda 9y ago

That is exactly what it is. I wonder if OP is busy defending Serial, Parallel, and even the PS/2 port to this day as well?

tomc1985 9y ago

Of those three, the only port with any kind of ubiquity is serial, and yes I would defend it even though I hate it with a vengeance, because it will let me talk to old and esoteric gear. Just like headphone ports. This new shit doesn't do that.

urda 9y ago
A well defined, and common standard that is bluetooth doesn't let you interact with hardware? I'm sorry this is ridiculous. To imply that a common wireless standard prevents you from connecting hardware basically ends the conversation here, as your point of view is refusing to see both sides.
- tomc1985 9y ago
  How much esoteric hardware will bluetooth let me talk to? Can I talk my best friend's telescope? What about my coworkers oscilloscope? What about the kiln in our chem lab, or the cash register at the deli I bought lunch at? Old CANBUS ports? What does bluetooth talk to? Headphones, fitness trackers, car stereos... and aside from a few random appliances, not much else. Yeah maybe in twenty years when everything and their mother was made with bluetooth support, but that is a LONG ways away
- tomc1985 9y ago
  Oh and which well defined common bluetooth standard? V2? V3? V4? There's a weird mesh of which devices can talk to which receivers. Just the other day I bought a new V4 USB receiver that refused to talk to an old wireless headset, and problems like these are emdemic. You know what format didn't have these problems? 1/8" headphone jacks. Because it is simple, and analog, and DOESN'T CHANGE.

flukus 9y ago

> and even the PS/2 port to this day as well I'm still waiting on a explanation of why upgrading mouses and keyboards to USB was worthwhile? In fact, it was a downgrade on windows 95/98 which demanded they be plugged into the same port after a restart.

makomk 9y ago
PS/2 was pretty terrible. It required a special port which couldn't be used for anything else, taking up extra space and making plugging your device in less convenient. It didn't officially support hotplug. The standard PS/2 mouse protocol only supported 3 buttons and two axes - there was a nasty hack on top of that to add a scroll wheel and another two buttons, anything beyond that is completely proprietary. It's so convenient by comparison to be able to plug a keyboard or mouse into whichever USB port is easiest and have it just work without special drivers.
- falcolas 9y ago
  PS/2 supports n-key rollover for keyboards; something you need custom and proprietary drivers to do with USB. They also don't have to deal with shared bus interrupts, which can cause imprecise keyboard and mouse movements. I use USB too, but PS/2 has its pluses.
- flukus 9y ago
  Thanks, the scroll wheel is a good reason, but I don't find the others compelling. > It required a special port which couldn't be used for anything else, taking up extra space and making plugging your device in less convenient. I don't find that a negative, the mouse is always connected and I've never once thought "I wish I could unplug the mouse so I can plug in the printer and charge my phone". > It's so convenient by comparison to be able to plug a keyboard or mouse into whichever USB port is easiest and have it just work without special drivers. For most people with a standard mouse and keyboard this was never an issue (except for the scroll wheel one you mentioned). For non-standard ones, it still has to install a driver doesn't it? I thought windows just installed it transparently.