Blog Post 4

 

Jaap Haartsen invented bluetooth in 1994, along with wifi and the internet. If the radio had not been invented then this would not have been possible because bluetooth uses radio waves to operate. Since mobile phones were growing fast in popularity, Dr. Haartsen along with others decided they needed to improve the telephone. He created a way to use frequency hopping techniques that required a little amount of energy while simultaneously blocking interfering signals. There was no particular problem they were trying to fix, they just wanted to improve technology. 

Bluetooth has changed the way that we communicate for the better. Listening to music through airpods has changed our world because now you do not have to deal with untangling your headphones all the time. There is just the earpiece that goes in and you press the bluetooth button on your phone. Bluetooth is so easy to use and set up. Bluetooth has many benefits like hands free communication in the car, you can just connect through bluetooth and your car will play the phone call through its speakers. The only downside to bluetooth is that if you connect to a device and you go too far away from it then the connection will disconnect.

As I was researching about bluetooth I wondered about how it got its name. Turns out that bluetooth was actually just a filler name, something they called it in the meantime until they came up with the real name but there were too many patents and licenses that it made it impossible to change names so bluetooth stuck. An employee at the time, Jim Kardach was reading about Viking Kings and found an interest in Harold Gormsson. He was nicknamed "bluetooth" because he had a rotting front tooth that had a blueish tint. King Harold was famous for uniting Denmark and Norway so the employee thought it was fitting because they were uniting PC and cellular industries.

Bluetooth was definitely beneficial to our society but it has negative affects as well. People love listening to music through airpods or headphones but what they do not know is that a certain level can damage your hearing. If you are listening above the recommended level which is between 60 to 85 decibels you should lower the volume immediately. Many people do not pay attention to these warning but over time they can cause harmful effects. Another harmful affect from bluetooth is that you are more susceptible to having your iPhone hacked. If your bluetooth is turned on all the time, then your device is more easily to be discovered and taken advantage of. It is recommended to turn your bluetooth off whenever you are not using it just to be safe. The susceptibility of Bluetooth to security breaches is one of its drawbacks. Weak connections can be used by hackers to get access to private information or resources. Additionally, due to low-level radiation emissions over time, extended exposure to Bluetooth signals may result in minor health issues including weariness or headaches