Advice from Geeks
Folks, does anyone have any experience with Bluetooth USB dongles? I'm going to be buying one in the next week or so, to go with the shiny new Bluetooth headset I'll be buying for my cellphone, so I can use that same headset with my computer and finally download Skype or similar (is Skype what everyone uses? Yes?).
The issue is that some of these are marketed as "plug and play," that is you get the dongle and it hooks straight in with Windows XP's native Bluetooth support. The problem with this is that Windows' Bluetooth is rubbish - it's got a small "stack" of Bluetooth profiles (basically the information that lets it identify what the other device it's talking to is) which doesn't include a headset profile. So I need to get one that has an alternative set of profiles (and have what looks like a pretty major install hassle to switch off Windows' native support). Anyone got this set up already? Any recommendations?
Ideally, since my new headset will be Bluetooth 1.2, I'd like to get another 1.2 device, but 1.1 is fine if that's not possible (and that seems to be the version for most of the dongles). The issue is really making sure it has an alternative set of protocols - for instance, I know Motorola make one which doesn't have any headset support, and that would completely defeat the purpose of buying the thing, in my case.
Right. Dropped B's bike off this morning to get serviced, and apparently they're done already. Better go pick it up, then.
The issue is that some of these are marketed as "plug and play," that is you get the dongle and it hooks straight in with Windows XP's native Bluetooth support. The problem with this is that Windows' Bluetooth is rubbish - it's got a small "stack" of Bluetooth profiles (basically the information that lets it identify what the other device it's talking to is) which doesn't include a headset profile. So I need to get one that has an alternative set of profiles (and have what looks like a pretty major install hassle to switch off Windows' native support). Anyone got this set up already? Any recommendations?
Ideally, since my new headset will be Bluetooth 1.2, I'd like to get another 1.2 device, but 1.1 is fine if that's not possible (and that seems to be the version for most of the dongles). The issue is really making sure it has an alternative set of protocols - for instance, I know Motorola make one which doesn't have any headset support, and that would completely defeat the purpose of buying the thing, in my case.
Right. Dropped B's bike off this morning to get serviced, and apparently they're done already. Better go pick it up, then.