We're often told to connect our computers via old-fashioned Ethernet...

edited November 2011 in Digital
...not wi-fi.

Well, owing to a long story that I'm not going to relate here, an Ethernet socket became available right by my MacBook. So I switched to Ethernet from wi-fi.

Guess what? 

It makes no difference at all.

Another sacred cow bites the dust?

Comments

  • I think the problem many have with Wi-Fi is when using an older, slower version of it, that doesn't have great bandwidth and then try to stream some uncompressed wav's. It simply can't handle it and you end up getting drop outs as it fails to stream tunes fast enough. Crappy conditions, lots of other wifi devices/wifi networks nearby and microwaves can also hamper wifi performance and lead to the same issue. The latest 'n' standard can potentially get around 48Mbps. If I recall correctly, you just need 1.5Mbps for 16/44 cd quality wav files.

    Of course, with the latest fad for music players to buffer the whole file into memory prior to starting playback, this is also not an issue. Although I do wonder if this can lead to some massive gaps between tracks... 
  • Yeah. I think that's part of it, but I've seen claims that sq is affected. I've never seen that myself, so I tried it.
  • Yeah. I think that's part of it, but I've seen claims that sq is affected. I've never seen that myself, so I tried it.
    Yeah, bollocks SQ is affected! ;-)
    A definite pet peeve of mine; digital computer interfaces that are more than capable of performing a billion financial transaction a sec, with mind boggling concurrency, are somehow unable to to transfer a wav file from one end of a PC to other without shaking about all the little bits and making it sound pooh...  Bollocks again I say!
  • There is also the argument that switching wi-fi off reduces noise. It may well reduce noise, but again, I can't hear any difference, wi-fi on or off.
  • Depends if you've also told all you neighbours to turn off their wifi and you never use the microwave either... :-P
  • edited November 2011
    I have always had to use bluetooth (mouse & keyboard), so any supposed benefit of switching WiFi off would be lost to me.


  • I have a feeling Bluetooth makes a lower power racket than wi-fi, but I get your point. And it makes no difference anyway!
  • Is the touch communicating over WiFi, or bluetooth?

    image
  • Either. Depends how you have it set up.

    Our iPhones, iPod Touch and Macs communicate with the router using wi-fi. Then the router communicates with the Mac server via Ethernet.
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