Wireless vs Wired. Which is best, which do you prefer?

[Parasondox]

Cancer can seriously go fuck itself with a blunt fork, turnt sideways.

WIRES!! [make discomforting noise here] Arrrrrrgggh?? They are annoying and such. Being all plastic and copper and fibre optic and signals and shit. They get on me right up northern nerves. Do they? They aren't going away anytime soon. Audiophiles prefer them to Bluetooth connect. Gamers, some, have Wired mice for faster response.

Wireless!! [make light comfort noise here] Awwwwwwhhhh!! They are... okay. I mean, wireless chargers, controllers, keyboard & mouse, wireless internet connect. They say Ethernet connect is more reliable but what do I know.

Now, if you wish to ignore my nonsense banter, here is the question. Do you prefer things Wired or wireless.

This part is a question for a dummy, me. Does being exposed to Bluetooth headphones for too long on your head, cause any damage or effects to your brain? Neurology isn't my major.

And here is your moment of Zen. Bluetooth Toothbrush from Oral B. Wha... WHAT?!?! I love new tech but this is pointless.

 

[Summerstorm]

WIRES.. always wires.

Wireless is:
Interfering with other things, if on same wavelength (The old tech anyways... ever had four dudes with the same wireless mouse-type on a LAN-Party? It's annoying)
You need to recharge or switch batteries - for that you usually have idiotic loading stations standing around
Ethernet will never be truly secure and/or susceptible to jamming (Yes, that can and does happen)
And wireless, in my experience, suffer from random breakdown, crashes, lag... whatever. (Not saying it can't work. I provide a wireless LAN / Internet Hotspot for my neighbor... and the damn thing works without reboot for three months now - my old router had to restart WLAN every two weeks or so, or it would just hang in oblivion)

So overall: I am man who will drill holes in walls to have everything on a magical string. (But still i can understand someone wanting no cables everywhere.)

 

[DefunctTheory]

If the device moves frequently (Headset, mouse), wireless. If it's immobile (Keyboard, desktop/router), wired.

So no to USB cords, yes to ethernet.

 

[the_dramatica]

I never use wireless on anything. 5 percent packet loss with dips of 100%. What little i have to wreck scrubs with must be put to best use.

 

[Barbas]

What does wireless have to do with cancer?

I think it all depends on quality. The BT Homehub we have here is in a very good wireless area with only one interruption so far over our nearly year-long residence. We reliably get about 2GB of download speed or more, and the signal penetrates all walls, so it meets all requirements in my opinion. If we were in a sketchier area with a less reliable signal, I'd have to settle for a wired connection, which would also provide the benefit of being significantly easier to secure.

As for mice and keyboards, I'd have to go with wired ones because the distance to wire is really negligible, particularly when you consider the pay-off in response times and uninterrupted power. Wireless headphones, though? No idea. I used wired ones that sound great and have never let me down. Well...sometimes the sound in YouTube videos craps out, but I blame that on YouTube since it doesn't happen anywhere else.

 

[KyuubiNoKitsune-Hime]

Now, if you wish to ignore my nonsense banter, here is the question. Do you prefer things Wired or wireless.

I prefer wireless networking for most mobile platforms such as laptops/notebook computers and tablets. Along with wireless keyboards and laser mice, provided they take a standard battery like a AA or AAA.

I prefer wired for audio and controllers and such. Mostly because I don't like having to wait for things to recharge to use them. I also prefer to network desktop PCs on wired LANs, due to there being virtually no packet loss, and no real issues with interference from other radio sources.

Still I need to get a wireless 360 controller, because the wire on my wired one is becoming a liability.

So I can take either, but they both have their drawbacks.

This part is a question for a dummy, me. Does being exposed to Bluetooth headphones for too long on your head, cause any damage or effects to your brain? Neurology isn't my major.

No, at least not more so than living basically anywhere on Earth. As we're always being bombarded with radio microwaves from man made sources and the sun.

 

[DefunctTheory]

This part is a question for a dummy, me. Does being exposed to Bluetooth headphones for too long on your head, cause any damage or effects to your brain? Neurology isn't my major.

I somehow missed this part.

The answer is no. Bluetooth devices simply don't put out a lot of power (100 mW), and the wave is relatively huge (12.5 cm, roughly). The sun and power lines hit you harder and more frequently then that on a daily basis. If such a weak, large signal could hurt human beings, we'd all be riddled with tumors and no one would live past 12.

 

[DoPo]

I...like both. Cue the image macro.

OK, I'll expand on that
- Internet - I mostly prefer wireless, to be honest, as I just hate laying out wires throughout the entire house. I can't deny the advantage of wires, though. Still, if I'm not going to be playing multiplayer, then wireless is fine. And I'm not going to be playing for the vast majority of time. The powerline ethernet adapters are an OK compromise for the most part, but there are certain downsides to them that are not present for either of the other options. Still, I'm currently using a powerline adapter for my and I'm quite fine with that. Mostly everything else that connects to the internet in on wireless, though.

- headphones - I have a pair of wireless ones and I'm mostly really happy with them. But I stopped using them. The downsides were that they were quiet (though you can turn up the sound and it's fine) and they also turn off if no sound was played for the past couple of minutes. Both of these were minor disadvantages, but it's the combination that really killed it for me - when you turn them back on, you have to both wait for few seconds until they connect to the base station (which may mean rewinding a video if I just wanted to watch one) and also you have to turn up the volume from the headphones again. Having to do that a lot of times during the day finally made me use wired headphones again. Other than that, though, the baterry life was quite good and the freedom to stand up from the PC and go somewhere else, withouth tripping up into cables was quite nice.

- controllers - I actually prefer wireless. More or less. My controller is wired, but it's a bit annoying, I will probably get a wireless one soon.

- other input devices - mostly wired. For keyboard or mouse, I really hate the idea of having to charge/change batteries. Moreover, batteries add extra weight (mostly relevant for mice). Finally, there isn't that much to gain from them being wireless. The vast majority of time I won't take one of them and march off somewhere else. Seeing as they are next to the PC, the cables can be neatly (or not so much) tucked away so they won't actually cause any tripping or other discomfort. My housemate, however, has a compact wireless keyboard and mouse combo (it's an built in trackball) and we use it if watching movies on a laptop. It does an alright job, since you can move it easily and there isn't any cables that would be a problem. It's mostly shit if you have to use it as primary means of input, but for changing videos/music/stuff it's fine - you can type, you can click, it's all in one package.

- other peripherals - depends. Most are wired by virtue of...well, most of them being wired to begin with. If something comes in wireless and/or wired variants it may depend a bit on what device it is to choose which variant to use. As a general guideline - wired if it doesn't really need to move much, wireless otherwise.

 

[Chaos Isaac]

I prefer wired. From ethernet to wired mouses. However the mass of cords beneath my gaming set up. (I have a PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox ONE and my PC set up in one spot.) It can be a bit of a ***** to deal with. In the end though, i've found it's just a superior experience then bothering with wireless, unless it's entirely local dealings.

 

[Tuesday Night Fever]

I prefer the wires. They have none of the potential headaches of wireless, and the primary hassle (the wires themselves) can be easily overcome with a couple twist-ties.

 

[infohippie]

Wireless is great for TV remotes, phones and tablets, you don't want to be dragging a cable everywhere for something as mobile as that.
For everything else, wired is a far better choice. Mice, keyboards, networking, headsets, game controllers, everything. No (or minimal) interference, no crowded channels, less latency, no running out of battery power, lighter weight because of no batteries, the advantages just go on and on.

 

[DementedSheep]

Wired for the most part. I have a bad track record with wireless, it tends to break more and be harder to fix when it dose and you have to worry about interference. I don't find wires that annoying although wireless headphones might be nice. I don't listen to music in my room without headphones because the wall between me and the next room (which is an office) is thin and not soundproofed.

 

[Akytalusia]

when you're on the computer 16+ hours every day, wired is the only plausible possibility. if you're using a battery, then it'll eventually just get plugged in anyway to charge while you use it, so i might as well just skip that step and keep it plugged in from the start.

i'm sure you'd get more variance from more casual users, but after a certain point, wired inevitably becomes correct.

 

[Redryhno]

Wired in pretty much every case. Wireless mice and keyboards honestly end up costing SO MUCH after even a year compared to the minor hassle of wires that can honestly be overcome with a bit of planning(seriously, rechargeable batteries only have about four uses before you start having less and less charge from them). Either way when it comes to controllers since they normally mean I'm screwing around and not actually trying to do anything that needs my concentration. Headsets again I'm very much more interested in being constantly connected and not have it crap out on me in the middle of a game than maybe a wire getting in my way.

And do I really need to go into detail with wireless connectivity? It's nice for phones, but pretty much anything else and you're honestly asking for it to lose connection, have signals be crossed with a neighbor's, get hacked because there's a roamer looking for easy Wi-Fi, etc.

Not to mention it's incredibly easy to find out where you fuck up if everything's wires. I'll take a possible annoyance over not having something work the way it's supposed to when it's supposed to that wireless gets you into so much of the time.

 

[stormtrooper9091]

Wired. Always wired. Because it never goes bad. Wireless is for whippersnappers people with different affinities.

 

[The Almighty Aardvark]

Wireless mice and keyboards honestly end up costing SO MUCH after even a year compared to the minor hassle of wires that can honestly be overcome with a bit of planning(seriously, rechargeable batteries only have about four uses before you start having less and less charge from them).

This surprises me. I've had a wireless mouse for almost 5 years now and I've replaced the batteries once. Maybe twice. I definitely prefer the convenience of wireless over the $4 or so upkeep cost over 5 years.

Wireless controllers however... we've gone through a ridiculous amount of batteries for those.

 

[Bilious Green_v1legacy]

Wired. As annoying as cables are, it's better than wireless dropping out and batteries that run flat far too often. I frequently game for stretches longer than 8 hours, so battery life is a big one for me.

 

[laggyteabag]

Wires, because they are often lighter because of them, and I don't need to stop what I am doing to change the batteries, or end up being unable to do whatever it is that I wanted to do If I forget to put the thing on charge or don't have any batteries around.

 

[WindKnight]

Still I need to get a wireless 360 controller, because the wire on my wired one is becoming a liability.

I love the play and charge packs for 360 wireless pads. Best of both worlds.

As a rule I prefer wired, buts mainly because I primarily use a desktop and a 360 that stay in one place.

 

[Sleepy Sol]

Wired for almost everything game-related. I'm not going to want even a bit of interference or latency when it comes to the types of games I play the most.