I used to be an anti-wire crusader. I hated the clutter of cables, and my
tendency to unconsciously chew on them if they got anywhere near my face. But
running into bug after tricky wireless bug—mostly while trying to make my video
calls work better—I’ve apostasized. The more I’ve learned about wifi, Bluetooth
and related protocols, the more I’m convinced that they’re often worse, on net,
than wires.

For instance: most people, when their video call stutters, blame their Internet
service provider. That’s understandable, since most ISPs are overpriced
oligopolists with barely-usable software and horrible customer service. However,
every time I can remember helping someone track down the source of their
connection problems, the culprit has turned out to be their wifi. And often, the
easiest fix has been to run a cable.

Wifi (and bluetooth, etc.) sucker you in by making it seem like they “just
work.” But if you investigate, you’ll often find that the wireless link is
operating in a degraded state that performs…