The Doom of Wired Peripherals

techie writes "Is the doom of wired peripherals near? According to an article on CoolTechZone.com, it sure seems that way and Apple is leading the way. Quote: "Device cables are becoming a thing of the past, and that development couldn't come soon enough. We're ready to unplug, and we want to make the most of it. Apple has recognized this desire for consolidation and the benefits of a wireless lifestyle, and they've reacted effectively. When the iMac was first introduced, people went gaga over the fact that the monitor, computer, and speakers were all in one enclosure, thus eliminating the need for two bulky pieces of hardware and multiple cables. Just when you thought that was incredible enough, WiFi comes along and gives us blazingly fast Internet connections through the air, and Bluetooth rises up to allow all of our devices to sync with one another and the operating system without any wires."

Comments

Had a wireless mouse...

[geeber]

and then I got rid of it.

Fricken' batteries dieing all the time. Who needs it?

Re:Had a wireless mouse...

[MindStalker]

Get one that includes a base charger, you just stick it on the base at night.
Also some of the new wireless none charging mice last months on a set of batteries. You can generally see the charge stats on the product description page.
Watch out for wireless keyboards as well, some of em last months one I recently accidently bought for the office last less than a week.

Re:Had a wireless mouse...

[aonaran]

I've got a logitech one with a nice little recharging stand. I stick the mouse in the recharging stand whenever I think to do so (it goes about 2 weeks for me without recharging) and the keyboard works on regular AA batteries, which I haven't ever had to change in over a year of use.

Having the convenience of being able to use the keyboard and mouse in more casual positions, like leaning back in the chair with the keyboard in my lap, without worrying about the mess of cables is worth having to remember to stick the mouse on the charger once in a while.

I had a Microsoft cordless before that and I hated it, and I'm usually a big fan of microsft mice.

Re:Had a wireless mouse...

[Amouth]

i got the Logitech diNovo - great mouse/keyboard set - it isn't the blue tooth version and i get about 6 months on the keyboard and about 1 1/2 months on the mouse.. and i use it 8 hours a day 6 days a week. (note that i use monster 2150 mAh rechargable battries.. normaly ones suck)

Re:Had a wireless mouse...

[Amouth]

NiMH do have a 1% per day natural discharge.. but that is proportional to the current charge..

so 100%-1% 99%-.99% 98.01%-.9801% 97.0299%-.970299% ....

it is like the problem of getting half way to a point every day - you never get there.. sure the batteries will get to a zero state but it will take a lot longer than you think.. It isn't voodoo magic it is just real life. and the quality of the battery really makes a difference

Security

[MrShaggy]

I like the fact that you can go wireless. Great, however, nothing beats a wire for security. Not too say that I don't use my wireless laptop, however sometimes having a wire upstairs makes sense. The other part is that my cable provider has upped our standard to at least 7megs/700k. Thats way faster then my wireless can handle. But being able to print anywhere in the house... yay!!!!!!!!!

I think that is the reason for cables. I would love to be able to keep up, but when the cheap fibre to the house thing happens, my poor ole wireless wont keep up. The upgrade path is too steep. Maybe ain a few more months I will upgrade to something quicker.

Re:Not quite

[elrous0]

Why it's already here, of course.

-Eric

Any site named "thinkgeek" must be accurate, right?

Re:Wireless ____ sucks

[mcrbids]

People ask why I never call anyone from my mobile phone, and instead go find a landline instead... it's because I want to be able to hear and be heard. Why do you think most of the civilized world switched from wireless television to cable?

Ehh.... I went from "rabbit-ears" T.V. to satellite Dish/DVR. Both are forms of wireless signal delivery. The DVR is set up to use cables, but the actual TV signal is broadcast to my TV via a wireless signal repeater, and the remote control is also wireless!

The only reason why Cellular kinda sucks is because the current signal allocation by the FCC is very inefficient, leaving giant swaths of unused bandwidth "in between" existing channel allocations. Requiring more accurate signal filtering could easily 10x the amount of signal that can be carried in a frequency range. Switching to a technology (such as Ultra Wide Band) that makes better use of the available bandwidth would cause even more prominent exponential increases in signal quality and bandwidth.

iMac? 'scuse me??

[NuShrike]

Jobs always had a thing for a one-piece system since WELCOME TO 1984!! the original Macintosh and also fanless design. Then it was try try again with the Macintosh Classic, the iMac, the Cube... no matter how bad an idea it was nor how badly it crashed in the market.

It was the Macintosh II that started the 2-piece thing and color.

Remember your history.

Re:Not quite

[GigsVT]

I hope you don't design surge supressors for a living. You really fucked up that math.

Once the plasma path is established it's very low resistance. The surge is several hundred thousand to million amps. It's more like 10-200 megawatts. A big strike might be a gigawatt.