• Excrubulent@slrpnk.net
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    2 months ago

    This reminds me I’m into season 5 of Burn Notice and Sam said at one point, “I’m on Bluetooth if you need me”. It was a weird reminder that once upon a time people were paid to advertise just… Bluetooth, because that’s a brand name. These days it’s just everywhere.

    The product placements in that show are not exactly subtle. Excellent show though, I did not expect it to hold up so well.

      • 4am@lemm.ee
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        2 months ago

        Boomers learned what Bluetooth was because they started making AirPod-style single ear headsets for cell phones. Everyone called them “a Bluetooth”.

        So if you said “I’m on Bluetooth” it means you’d have your big clunky EarPod on, ready to answer a call at a moments notice.

        A former fucking spy wouldn’t be caught dead using early Bluetooth for sensitive conversations though (and probably not current BT either). Considering every other segment of that show is a “here’s a hack to show how fragile the house of cards of modern society is, and how spies just navigate through it with impunity”, it’s pretty funny they leaned into this one.

        • Excrubulent@slrpnk.net
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          2 months ago

          Well they use little bluetooth style earpieces all the time to talk to each other, but this one time he name-checks it very awkwardly. I think they just assume anybody listening would have to target their comms specifically, and most of the time they’re relying on obscurity. I don’t think it would make sense for most of their targets to listen out for every bluetooth dongle that enters the building or whatever.

          They also don’t have government resources so they have to make do with what they can get their hands on, which is a running theme. One of the times he’s working for the government they specifically call out that his earpiece is so deep in his ear canal there’s no way anybody will overhear what’s being said to him.

    • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      You sure they didn’t mean it like “put it on a USB?” As in, they use the name of the connectivity technology to imply a single class of product that might use it?

    • thisNotMyName@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      I am currently in season 6 and also laughed about that line. Still a good show (although the b-roll scenes are also often quite cringe these days)