Finally, A Bluetooth Headset That Works

I finally found one that works! One last shot, I thought I'd have a look at the Jabra FreeSpeak 250. They've been in the market for a while, and seem to be pretty popular, so they must be doing something right.

Eventually, I got the FreeSpeak to work perfectly with Skype on my iBook (you can even set Skype to use it, but the system to use normal audio out which is very cool). I also got it to work on my iPAQ, but it's shaky at best, and requires me to drop into a completely open Bluetooth profile, with all security and encryption of any kind turned off... but it works. It works beautifully on my Nokia 6230, even re-connects when the handset goes out of range and then comes back in (although if it's away for too long, then it won't).

I am yet to get it to work reliably with the Logitech diNovo Bluetooth Hub, but I am now resigned to the fact that the Hub sucks. I think either the Hub, or the WIDCOMM drivers don't really support the correct profiles to make the headset work, which is a pity, but I can live with that. I'm moving to a PowerBook soon as my main machine anyway, so then it won't be an issue.

Go to hell Logitech.

[Posted by wirelesspirate in /bluetooth. ]

Motorola Bluetooth Headset Sucks As Well

In my efforts to find a bluetooth headset (which I really wasn't expecting to be such and arduous task), I also tried (I think it was this model) a Motorola HS850. I didn't think I was asking that much of the headset - it just needed to be compatible with these uses:

1. Pair with my Nokia 6230 (for normal handsfree cell-phone operation)
2. Pair with my Logitech diNovo hub on my Windows XP desktop (for use with Skype)
3. Pair with the built-in bluetooth on my 12" iBook (again, mainly for Skype)
4. Pair with my HP iPAQ H5550 (for listening to music, and potentially for Skype as well)

Turns out that this is a tough ask, and the HS850 failed on the last three of those requirements! It paired up with the 6230 without a problem, but all of the others proved to be too much for it. Admittedly I didn't give it too much work, because I thought it felt like a flimsy little piece of junk, but still - it didn't work straight away :)

I took it back to the T-Mobile store the next day and exchanged it for the Jabra FreeSpeak 250

[Posted by wirelesspirate in /bluetooth. ]

Logitech Are Evil

So it's been a while since it happened; I've had time to calm down, they've had time to rip off a bunch more people. It's time I tell the story about my wrangle with Logitech's Customer 'Support'.

You may remember that I had some problems with my Logitech Bluetooth Headset. By the end of all of that, I just wanted to return the headset, get my money back, and try something else entirely.

That's when things got interesting.

Basically, it went something like this...

We're not going to be able to send another replacement product sir, since we've already done that and it hasn't worked.

That's fine, I don't want to return it, I want my money back.

I'm afraid we can't do that either sir, we can't issue a refund on the product because we don't believe it is defective.

So what am I supposed to do?

We believe your phone is faulty - take it to a Nokia store and have them fix it.

There's nothing wrong with the phone - the headset doesn't work with your bluetooth hub on my computer.

We believe your phone is faulty...

repeat

So there you have it - basically they replaced it a couple times, it still didn't work, so they tell me to piss off. End of story - no other options. Brilliant.

I now officially hate Logitech, it's just a pity that they still have some products I really like (such as the diNovo), otherwise I could entirely boycott them.

[Posted by wirelesspirate in /about. ]

Configuring a Nokia 6230 for T-Mobile USA Service

1. It's not officially supported by T-Mobile, so don't bother calling support, they'll tell you to go buy one of their handsets.
2. Go to the online T-Mobile Configurator and follow the steps to configure details.
3. Once you've had the details sent to your phone, make sure you activate them or nothing will change!

Why T-Mobile support couldn't have told me to try their impressive online tool is beyond me, but they didn't even mention it. Oh well, thank goodness for the Internets!

[Posted by wirelesspirate in /gear/nokia_6230. ]

WirelessPirate Goes International

As of this Friday, I'll be heading off on an intense trip around the world. I'll be out and about for nearly a month and a half, and I will hopefully be posting from all over the place in that time.

My new iBook is going with me, as is my AirPort Express, Nokia 6230 and HP iPAQ H5550. I'll be stopping off in Honolulu (Hawaii), Sydney (New South Wales), Perth (Western Australia), Singapore, London (England), Chicago (Illinois?), Minneapolis (Minnesota), Los Angeles (California), Las Vegas (Nevada). Some of those are just lay-overs, some are for longer stays (a couple days). It should be interesting to say the least.

It will be interesting to see what access is like in different places, and hopefully spot some cool technologies around the place. Stay tuned to hear the latest as I progress :)

[Posted by wirelesspirate in /location. ]

Infinite Back Order

Did I mention that I am still waiting on my Logitech Bluetooth Headset? Apparently it's still on backorder, just like it has been for about the last 3 months. One I'll get it... maybe... or something. I called them and they said it was still on backorder, but that they had the next shipment coming in any day. That was a week ago. No sign yet.

I wonder what the reasonable limit to wait on something like this is? I would guess that 3 months is well past it, but I wonder what it was (for next time).

[Posted by wirelesspirate in /gear/logitech_headset. ]

Flaky AirTunes

I'm using iTunes 4.7, with a brand new AirPort Express, but I find that the connection between the 2 is a little dodgy. I'm running iTunes on an iBook with OS X 10.3.6, with a built in Airport Extreme card (fully updated), so I would have thought everything would run pretty smoothly.

I find that when I first connect to my AirportExpress (no password/WEP), everything is good for about 2 hours of music, then it suddenly disconnects/stops playing in iTunes. If I try to immediately hit play, nothing happens. I normally have to select 'Computer' as the music destination, then give it a second, select my AirPort Express, wait for it to connect, skip to the next track, then press play, wait for it to connect (again?) and then it starts playing again.

Is this a bug? Anyone else seen anything like this?

Oh - and I still haven't tried out wireless printing :)

[Posted by wirelesspirate in /gear/airport. ]

AirPort Express (and AirTunes) in da house

Give me an inch and I'll take a Mile.

I got my iBook, so I figured I may as well get some other toys to go with it. Thus the .Mac subscription, and thus the AirPort Express that came in the mail today. I've had a chance to play with 2 of it's 3 features already (3rd later tonight), and so far my official review is: this thing ROCKS!

In case you don't know, the AirPort Express is an awesome little single-unit adaptor "thing" from Apple that will allow you to do the following;

1. Create (or extend) a wireless (WiFi) network,
2. Stream music from iTunes to an external set of speakers (wirelessly)
3. Print wirelessly to a USB printer

The first thing I tried was setting up a wireless network, since at my office we only have a wired network. I plugged the AirTunes into a power outlet and whacked in a CAT-5 cable. A couple seconds later, it showed up on my iBook as an available network and I was off. The software (AirPort Express Setup Assistant) is easy to use and pretty hard to mess up. Put in a name for the network and the base station (I used the same thing), set your security preferences and you're off. The only confusion I had was that the process requires 2 passwords - one for WEP (WiFi security) and one for securing the actual base station's settings. Of course I messed around with a few things and proceeded to lock myself out of the unit, so I also got to try out the reset button which is tucked away at the bottom of it :)

With that working, I thought I'd give the audio streaming a shot. It doesn't get much easier to use kids. You plug some speakers into the bottom of the AirTunes (standard, 3.5mm stereo jack) and then load up iTunes. You will notice a drop-down box at the bottom of the window, right next to the button for loading the graphic equalizer. There should be 2 options in there - 'Computer' (play via your speakers) and 'networkname' which will be the name of the network you've just created, and allows you to play to that network. If you select that option and press play, your wireless speakers should spring into action - simple as that. In case you're wondering, you don't need to have the AirPort Express plugged into a wired network for this to work either, as long as the speakers are plugged in and your computer can see the AirTunes, you're good to go.

Like I said, this thing is pretty awesome. Later on tonight I'll try out the printing function and see how that goes. I'm already happy, and I can see that this is going to be perfect for my trip which is coming up in a couple weeks where I'll circumnavigate the globe within a couple weeks, hopefully making good use of wireless all the way!

[Posted by wirelesspirate in /gear/airport. ]

Got iBook!

Well, after all the crap that I went through with FedEx losing my previous iBook, I finally have my hands on one now :) I'm typing this post in terminal on my brand spanking 12" iBook, and so far it rocks.

I've noticed that the keys are really easy to hit twice, so that will take a little getting used to, but that's fine. There are some weird things as well - like not being able to hit Return in Finder to open a folder or start an application... or am I missing something somewhere? Anyway. It's going to be a serious learning experience!

[Posted by wirelesspirate in /gear/ibook. ]

iBook Blues

The troubles continue with trying to get my hands on my iBook. I called FedEx again today to see if they'd made any progress (since after 5 attempts they still hadn't called me back with any sort of status update whatsoever). I talked to one guy who couldn't help me, so he put me on to Paul in International shipping (since the iBook technically gets shipped from Taiwan). Paul called around to check up on the status of things (again, that's time number 5), and came back to me with... surprise, surprise - "don't know". He then realised that I should probably talk to someone in IPD, so he checked... but of course they had shut already. They are the people I need to talk to to force them to declare the package lost apparently.

At this point I decided to call IPD anyway (1-800-455-4588), and see what was happening. They were, indeed shut. I got an answering machine. No option to leave a message. Fine.

I called Apple to see if there was any way I could get them to just call it lost and go ahead and bill FedEx for the loss and send me a new laptop. Apparently they have to do their 3-day investigation thing, which means nothing will happen now until next Tuesday most likely. At that point, I'm going to request:

• A replacement iBook
• A free iPod
• Overnight shipping

We'll see what happens. Apparently someone from Apple's investigation team might call me on Monday... I won't hold my breath.

[Posted by wirelesspirate in /gear/ibook. ]