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It feels in tone like the "I'll miss VCR" stuff that went around in 2016 all over again. A little over dramatic given the difference. https://www.wired.com/201

It feels in tone like the "I'll miss VCR" stuff that went around in 2016 all over again. A little over dramatic given the difference. https://www.wired.com/2016/07/vcr-officially-dead-well-never-forget/ https://www.wired.com/2016/07/vcr-officially-dead-well-never...

blhack 8y ago
There were good, ubiquitous replacements for VCRs when DVD players came out. This would be like if Sony stopped selling VCRs in 1998 when they just happened to own the patent on blu ray, and a major movie studio. Actually it's exactly what Sony tried to do with minidisc, except it worked.
- rahoulb 8y ago
  Not really. I use Bluetooth headphones - they are branded but not a major brand (in fact a company known for something else). Bluetooth is pretty ubiquitous and has been for a decade. The charging case means I have to recharge them every ten days or so (so I don’t worry about it), the sound quality is good enough and I don’t get tangled any more. The only disadvantage is switching between multiple devices can be a bit fiddly at times - which is where AirPods do come into their own.
mnl 8y ago
Not really, let's see: You have two analogue ears and a smartphone, the traditional and cheaper way is to put the DACs and the battery inside the smartphone and then feed two passive impedances using 4 wires. So far, so good: it makes sense, it works, most people are happy with it. And then there's the overengineered way that enables some companies to sell a much more expensive product with greater margins: let's replace those cheap speakers with two tiny computers. Each one of them needs its own DAC, its own battery and its own Bluetooth antenna. Now you have to recharge these marvels of technology after a few hours and maybe worry about pairing because Bluetooth is what it is. You still carry your smartphone around plus a charging station for your shiny new toys, which only can sound worse than what you used before someone convinced you it was obsolete because they said it was.

blhack 8y ago

There were good, ubiquitous replacements for VCRs when DVD players came out. This would be like if Sony stopped selling VCRs in 1998 when they just happened to own the patent on blu ray, and a major movie studio. Actually it's exactly what Sony tried to do with minidisc, except it worked.

rahoulb 8y ago
Not really. I use Bluetooth headphones - they are branded but not a major brand (in fact a company known for something else). Bluetooth is pretty ubiquitous and has been for a decade. The charging case means I have to recharge them every ten days or so (so I don’t worry about it), the sound quality is good enough and I don’t get tangled any more. The only disadvantage is switching between multiple devices can be a bit fiddly at times - which is where AirPods do come into their own.

mnl 8y ago

Not really, let's see: You have two analogue ears and a smartphone, the traditional and cheaper way is to put the DACs and the battery inside the smartphone and then feed two passive impedances using 4 wires. So far, so good: it makes sense, it works, most people are happy with it. And then there's the overengineered way that enables some companies to sell a much more expensive product with greater margins: let's replace those cheap speakers with two tiny computers. Each one of them needs its own DAC, its own battery and its own Bluetooth antenna. Now you have to recharge these marvels of technology after a few hours and maybe worry about pairing because Bluetooth is what it is. You still carry your smartphone around plus a charging station for your shiny new toys, which only can sound worse than what you used before someone convinced you it was obsolete because they said it was.