4 ms·

I think the problem, in the specific audio area, is the technology itself rather than accessibility. The Bluetooth standard is trash; no stack/device [combinat

I think the problem, in the specific audio area, is the technology itself rather than accessibility. The Bluetooth standard is trash; no stack/device [combination] just works as it's supposed to do. If BT worked, I think accessibility would pose no problem; ultimately, the intended workflow is: 1. turn on BT on the host device (if required); 2. turn on the client device; 3. listen to music. As the BT committees and implementers keep pushing features rather than taking care of the stability, for a stable BT to ever happen, it would require all of them to be exiled and replaced by a new generation; I don't think this will ever happen.

jcelerier 8y ago
> 1. turn on BT on the host device (if required); 2. turn on the client device; 3. listen to music. how does that work in a crowded space, e.g. public transport, where I'd wager most people are using BT headsets nowadays ?
- Ambroos 8y ago
  Generally quite well. Pairing means your devices know to look for eachother, and the bitrate of music streaming over Bluetooth combined with the low range means you'll need some unrealistic congestion before things really start to fail.
  - geggam 8y ago
    unrealistic congestion before things really start to fail. aka public transit...
    - pimeys 8y ago
      Or any busy street crossing with lots of cars.
      - TeMPOraL 8y ago
        On the one hand, that suggests either shitty Bluetooth devices you're using, or some pretty unusual density of Bluetooth users in the crowd. On the other hand, this is what mass adoption of wireless headphones will lead to, and it shows how ridiculously bad this is compared to the tried-and-true wire.
    - Spivak 8y ago
      Everyone on a bus could be using BT and you're still not at enough people for connections to drop.
    - tjohns 8y ago
      I've never run into Bluetooth congestion problems on public transit or busy streets. BT has a lot of problems, this really isn't one of them. There are some BT devices that have poor antenna designs and underpowered transcievers, where the proximity of other humans — or even your own body — can significantly attenuate the signal. But this isn't a problem with the spec itself, and there's plenty of devices that have shown it's possible to do it right.
      - gtyras2mrs 8y ago
        BT runs into congestion issues quite often in my experience. I’ve experienced connectivity issues in areas where there are a lot of wireless networks. Considering that WiFi and Bluetooth both run at near 2.4GHz - I’d assume that areas with a lot of wireless networks could (and have in my experience) interfere with BT. This wasn’t limited to 1 set of devices though. Tried it with my AirPods and a pair of NC Sennheiser headphones. Both cause issues when walking into busy (in terms of WiFi) areas.
  - jcelerier 8y ago
    but that's the pairing step which was touted as problematic for users
- fouc 8y ago
  https://www.logitech.com/images/pdf/emea_business/2.4ghz_white_paper.pdf https://www.logitech.com/images/pdf/emea_business/2.4ghz_whi... Seems like it's possible for bluetooth to handle up to 78 users in 10m space without interference.
  - this_user 8y ago
    BT is on the same 2.4 GHz band that most Wifis use, and I can tell you from personal experience that there can be interference. Given how ubiquitous Wifi is, the available bandwidth for BT devices will most definitely not be able to serve the theoretical maximum of users in any given space.
    - rs23296008n1 8y ago
      I hit BT congestion every day. I don't care about theoretical maximum users. When I get into various parts of the city centre BT is worthless. I've switched back to cable.
Natanael_L 8y ago
NFC based pairing is already a thing, reducing your 3 steps to 1 step. It's however not supported everywhere.
- Wowfunhappy 8y ago
  It's not supported everywhere, including that one platform that kickstarted our descent into headphone-jack-less hell. (Hint: it starts with an "i" and ends with "Phone".)

jcelerier 8y ago

> 1. turn on BT on the host device (if required); 2. turn on the client device; 3. listen to music. how does that work in a crowded space, e.g. public transport, where I'd wager most people are using BT headsets nowadays ?

Ambroos 8y ago
Generally quite well. Pairing means your devices know to look for eachother, and the bitrate of music streaming over Bluetooth combined with the low range means you'll need some unrealistic congestion before things really start to fail.
- geggam 8y ago
  unrealistic congestion before things really start to fail. aka public transit...
  - pimeys 8y ago
    Or any busy street crossing with lots of cars.
    - TeMPOraL 8y ago
      On the one hand, that suggests either shitty Bluetooth devices you're using, or some pretty unusual density of Bluetooth users in the crowd. On the other hand, this is what mass adoption of wireless headphones will lead to, and it shows how ridiculously bad this is compared to the tried-and-true wire.
  - Spivak 8y ago
    Everyone on a bus could be using BT and you're still not at enough people for connections to drop.
  - tjohns 8y ago
    I've never run into Bluetooth congestion problems on public transit or busy streets. BT has a lot of problems, this really isn't one of them. There are some BT devices that have poor antenna designs and underpowered transcievers, where the proximity of other humans — or even your own body — can significantly attenuate the signal. But this isn't a problem with the spec itself, and there's plenty of devices that have shown it's possible to do it right.
    - gtyras2mrs 8y ago
      BT runs into congestion issues quite often in my experience. I’ve experienced connectivity issues in areas where there are a lot of wireless networks. Considering that WiFi and Bluetooth both run at near 2.4GHz - I’d assume that areas with a lot of wireless networks could (and have in my experience) interfere with BT. This wasn’t limited to 1 set of devices though. Tried it with my AirPods and a pair of NC Sennheiser headphones. Both cause issues when walking into busy (in terms of WiFi) areas.
- jcelerier 8y ago
  but that's the pairing step which was touted as problematic for users
fouc 8y ago
https://www.logitech.com/images/pdf/emea_business/2.4ghz_white_paper.pdf https://www.logitech.com/images/pdf/emea_business/2.4ghz_whi... Seems like it's possible for bluetooth to handle up to 78 users in 10m space without interference.
- this_user 8y ago
  BT is on the same 2.4 GHz band that most Wifis use, and I can tell you from personal experience that there can be interference. Given how ubiquitous Wifi is, the available bandwidth for BT devices will most definitely not be able to serve the theoretical maximum of users in any given space.
  - rs23296008n1 8y ago
    I hit BT congestion every day. I don't care about theoretical maximum users. When I get into various parts of the city centre BT is worthless. I've switched back to cable.

Natanael_L 8y ago

NFC based pairing is already a thing, reducing your 3 steps to 1 step. It's however not supported everywhere.

Wowfunhappy 8y ago
It's not supported everywhere, including that one platform that kickstarted our descent into headphone-jack-less hell. (Hint: it starts with an "i" and ends with "Phone".)