[linuxworks]

bought a new laptop recently and bluetooth is all the rage. some models come with it built in and the ones that don't, you can buy a $10 micro usb dongle that gives you BT.

the cool thing about this RF tech vs regular old RF is that this needs only 1 dongle per computer and you can have as many human interface devices (HIDs) as you want; even move them between computers. to have an rf mouse and rf keyboard you would need 2 dongles. really eats into your usb portage

I was on the search for a BT keyboard. very hard to find them, actually; but I found one marketed toward PS3 gaming systems. I took a chance and it works just fine on a regular pc. you have to enter the number PIN 'blindly' and then hit enter but if you do that, it connects fine. keyboard is logitech y-x5a77 (integrated keyboard/touchpad).

this will be nice for my media center! put your laptop up on a table somewhere, near your stereo and run spdif out to a nice DAC. setup the screen so you can see it from across the room and sit in your easy chair with a bluetooth keyboard and 'browse and play' all you want. THAT is a nice app of an open standard wireless HID device

I was skeptical about BT but having seen it work well in windows AND linux (perfectly) I'm now a believer and will try to get this style of RF over the other kinds, when I have the choice.

 

[craiglester]

yep.. been using BT on my phone.. wireless audio is great, not "audiophile" but great for the bus or at work

 

[krmathis]

Yeah, Bluetooth is really nice indeed!
I have been using a Bluetooth mouse with my laptop for soon to be 6 years, and the mouse still rocks and have not missed a beat. Have been managing cellular phones (address book, music, pictures, ..) using Bluetooth for years as well.

 

[nsx_23]

Hmm, I've never really liked bluetooth.

If I'm driving, then its quicker for me to just plug in my wired headset than to pair the headset to my phone. Bluetooth also really sucks battery life out of my phones and laptops.

 

[Pepsi]

Bluetooth is great for handheld devices only when they're plugged in.

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pepsi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Bluetooth is great for handheld devices only when they're plugged in.

Computer mouse...?

 

[linuxworks]

this is the one I got yesterday:

Newegg.com - Logitech Cordless MediaBoard Pro for PS3

but at my local store (same price or even cheaper and no shipping)

its very lightweight and they don't have the mouse pad on the bottom (where you tend to hit it while typing); its off to the side. my only complaint is that its 2buttons instead of 3.

[rant]
why are there still 2 button devices out there?? makes me crazy!
[/rant]

 

[Nocturnal310]

lol i just realized my new laptop has bluetooth.

transferring party pics n videos from mobile to laptop now.

the usb was such a hassle

and the technology has been there for so long now....its funny we r talkin about it in 2010

 

[linuxworks]

I remember when usb1 first came out. a lot of talk. some mobos even had connectors on them but they were not functional!

it took years before usb finally worked as it was supposed to.

its still taking wifi forever to get their act together, in security and in keeping the darn thing up and running! b and g wireless (have not used n yet) really suck, at least at the consumer priced end.

 

[nsx_23]

I have a basic Linksys N router at home atm, and its been very good even when I have more than 4 computers connected. Very stable connection and the range is fantastic. Much better than I got with my old g router.

 

[mark2410]

ive been using bluetooth for years. used to tether my old T39 to my old 700mhz G3 ibook, had a headset too linked tho the 2 mobiles i used at the time so calls from either would come through on it.

my keyboard and mice have all been bluetooth since 2003 i think, hell my watch even has bluetooth (vibrates and displays on screen whos calling)

oddly i havent used a headset in years, maybe 6 years, loved my HBH-30 but when it broke the market had nothing of the same substance or quality, thing was quite expensive when it came out in 2002 but it just exuded quality.