4 ms·

My only argument against wires is the inevitable wear and tear. I don't know if this is just me or my poor choices regarding equipment, but I regularly have to

by Tade0 6y ago

My only argument against wires is the inevitable wear and tear. I don't know if this is just me or my poor choices regarding equipment, but I regularly have to replace USB, RJ-45 and 1/4 jack(guitar) cables because they simply die on me. Same goes for sockets - recently I bought a certain laptop because, among other things, it can be charged also via USB-C (albeit slowly), giving me a fallback socket should the primary fail - had this happen to my previous device.

ThatPlayer 6y ago
Similarly, I prefer wireless charging on my phone and other portable devices. No worry about wear and tear. For about a year I used a tablet with a broken microUSB port that I used a wireless charger for.
- neop1x 6y ago
  Efficiency of wireless charging is just 62% https://youtu.be/zLrSM4ruNw4 https://youtu.be/zLrSM4ruNw4
  - Dylan16807 6y ago
    Replace one lightbulb with a more efficient one and you'll compensate for that. If you still feel guilty about the extra 25 cents of electricity you'll waste per year, go buy a $5 carbon offset and donate $5 to an environmental charity.
  - imtringued 6y ago
    How much energy is needed to manufacture a micro USB charging cable? I've had to throw more than half a dozen into the trash because they broke or got too loose.
ashtonkem 6y ago
What are you doing to your wires? Aside from Apple brand cables, which lack strain relief, I don’t think I’ve ever killed a single USB or Ethernet cable. If it weren’t for the transition from USB 2 to 3, I’d probably keep the same cables for my entire life at this rate.
- Tade0 6y ago
  I ask myself the same question every day. Anyway the USB-C I got with my phone lasted two years, but I've used it everywhere, my 1/4s broke because I've made the mistake of buying "by Klotz" cables, RJ-45 are mostly Chinese crap so no surprise here.
  - ashtonkem 6y ago
    Maybe you’re pulling by the cable and not the connector? Some of the USB C connectors have very small connectors, making this an easy problem. The more I think about it, I’d probably destroy lighting cables regularly if it weren’t for the fact that I only use wireless charging. You have to unplug that cable a lot, which is pretty hard on the cable and connector.
imtringued 6y ago
I twisted my headphone wires too much. I had to take the headphones apart botched a soldering job and then just put two wire ends in a ferrule as a last resort. It works but I wish Bluetooth was actually worth using instead of hacking a solution together. Back when Apple removed the jack I thought wireless wasn't ready yet and my opinion hasn't changed in 2020.
- Tade0 6y ago
  In my experience Bluetooth appears to draw as much power as the headphone driver, so with wireless headphones one is actually using three times the energy which is precious in a battery-operated mobile device. I got wireless only when I'm doing manual work like chores. In every other instance it's just not worth it.

by Tade0 6y ago

ThatPlayer 6y ago

Similarly, I prefer wireless charging on my phone and other portable devices. No worry about wear and tear. For about a year I used a tablet with a broken microUSB port that I used a wireless charger for.

neop1x 6y ago
Efficiency of wireless charging is just 62% https://youtu.be/zLrSM4ruNw4 https://youtu.be/zLrSM4ruNw4
- Dylan16807 6y ago
  Replace one lightbulb with a more efficient one and you'll compensate for that. If you still feel guilty about the extra 25 cents of electricity you'll waste per year, go buy a $5 carbon offset and donate $5 to an environmental charity.
- imtringued 6y ago
  How much energy is needed to manufacture a micro USB charging cable? I've had to throw more than half a dozen into the trash because they broke or got too loose.

ashtonkem 6y ago

What are you doing to your wires? Aside from Apple brand cables, which lack strain relief, I don’t think I’ve ever killed a single USB or Ethernet cable. If it weren’t for the transition from USB 2 to 3, I’d probably keep the same cables for my entire life at this rate.

Tade0 6y ago
I ask myself the same question every day. Anyway the USB-C I got with my phone lasted two years, but I've used it everywhere, my 1/4s broke because I've made the mistake of buying "by Klotz" cables, RJ-45 are mostly Chinese crap so no surprise here.
- ashtonkem 6y ago
  Maybe you’re pulling by the cable and not the connector? Some of the USB C connectors have very small connectors, making this an easy problem. The more I think about it, I’d probably destroy lighting cables regularly if it weren’t for the fact that I only use wireless charging. You have to unplug that cable a lot, which is pretty hard on the cable and connector.

imtringued 6y ago

I twisted my headphone wires too much. I had to take the headphones apart botched a soldering job and then just put two wire ends in a ferrule as a last resort. It works but I wish Bluetooth was actually worth using instead of hacking a solution together. Back when Apple removed the jack I thought wireless wasn't ready yet and my opinion hasn't changed in 2020.

Tade0 6y ago
In my experience Bluetooth appears to draw as much power as the headphone driver, so with wireless headphones one is actually using three times the energy which is precious in a battery-operated mobile device. I got wireless only when I'm doing manual work like chores. In every other instance it's just not worth it.