> people mysteriously vanishing because their laptop can't charge as fast as Zoom draws power and their computer just dies
This doesn’t seem to have anything to do with your “wires are more reliable” thesis, does it? A laptop with onboard devices drawing wall/battery power would be drawing more power than if those devices each have their own separate batteries, right?
>A laptop with onboard devices drawing wall/battery power would be drawing more power than if those devices each have their own separate batteries, right?
Not necessarily, because the laptop has to do additional work transmitting Bluetooth/whatever for the wireless devices. In any case, his thesis appears to include preferring a permanently wired desktop computer to a laptop, as well as preferring wired peripherals to wireless.
Personally I use mostly wired peripherals, but I am a sucker for a wireless headset. Being able to stay on a call while I walk over to the other side of the room to grab something is a great freedom, and plugging the headset in at night is not a big deal.
The "additional work" required to transmit a Bluetooth signal is insignificant compared to the amount of power needed just for the display being on.
My current setup is two USB-C laptops, one for work, one for personal use. When I switch from work mode to My Time Mode, I just swap one USB-C cable from one to the other - all the peripherals follow. Trackpad is wired, keyboard is wired. Headphones wireless - I broke way too many wired headphones by snagging them on crap while moving around.
> The "additional work" required to transmit a Bluetooth signal is insignificant compared to the amount of power needed just for the display being on.
The relevant comparison would be the power required to transmit and receive Bluetooth vs the power required to power a wired peripheral (e.g. mouse, keyboard, headphones) where the wireless version would have its own batteries.
> I am a sucker for a wireless headset. Being able to stay on a call while I walk over to the other side of the room to grab something is a great freedom, and plugging the headset in at night is not a big deal.
Agreed. My last job had a bi monthly all hands meeting at 4pm on a Thursday, I used to just stick my headphones on and make dinner during it.
This doesn’t seem to have anything to do with your “wires are more reliable” thesis, does it? A laptop with onboard devices drawing wall/battery power would be drawing more power than if those devices each have their own separate batteries, right?