4 ms·
Bluetooth is eternally frustrating, to varying degrees and in different ways in every platform. There are few pieces of tech that I hate as much. Whenever I ma
by tambourine_man 3y ago
Bluetooth is eternally frustrating, to varying degrees and in different ways in every platform. There are few pieces of tech that I hate as much.
Whenever I marvel at the amazing tech we have, I remember that this remarkable culture chose to inflict Bluetooth on itself.
- flir 3y agoHonestly, when they take the 3.5mm sockets off the MBPs, I'll know I'm done with them. (Oh, and: printers. I bet you hate printers more).
- lxgr 3y agoI personally almost never use my 3.5mm audio port and would gladly take one more USB-C port instead of it, just like for the HDMI port on my MBP. An USB-C to 3.5mm adapter with excellent quality costs about $10, and I can just keep it permanently plugged in to my headset for the very few times I do need it. A USB-C hub costs much more and supplies less power to downstream devices than two dedicated USB-C ports would.
- tambourine_man 3y agoWhy not both? It’s not like there’s a limit to the number of ports a computer can have.
- lxgr 3y agoEvery port increases the wiring complexity on and size of the mainboard, as well as the bill of materials. It's probably minuscule for something like 3.5mm audio (even though analog noise on the board might be a concern), and the computer already needs a DAC/ADC for its built-in speakers and microphone, but when in doubt, I'd rather take a port that I can convert to another using a cheap adapter than a fixed-purpose one I never use.
- tambourine_man 3y agoApple's laptops are decently priced. I’m sure they can afford a 3.5mm jack. My guess is they’ll ditch it if/when they make a water proof laptop. No ports at all, induction charging only. Johny Ives's dream after retirement.
- tambourine_man 3y agoFortunately, I never print anymore. But I use that freaking wireless protocol multiple times a day. For all the hate that printers get, it’s a deceptively hard problem that they tackle: - They must pull a single sheet of paper perfectly straight out of a stack. That’s hard even for dextrous human hands. - They must use a fluid that dries instantly yet won’t clog even if unstirred for months. Having said that, the reason printers went WiFi instead of Bluetooth is that the combined rage towards such a device would be enough to collapse it into a black hole. And you don’t want a singularity in your everyday office.
- wimp 3y agoIt would be a welcome change for hardware to start migrating to an improved universal standard.
- grishka 3y agoAnd then people say "but why, bluetooth is so nice, get on with the times" when you complain about how hard it is these days to find a phone with a headphone jack.
- tambourine_man 3y agoThese people probably have a single headphone paired with a single device. Or surprisingly low standards for “nice”.
- dgrcode 3y agoI'm always surprised with the very low standard for "nice" people have, so I'll vote for that one, even if both possibilities are correct