Bluetooth on Ubuntu Linux vs on Windows Vista

The introduction of new technology into our lives always seems to have a ripple effect on our existing hardware. Recently I bought a Sony Alpha 330 DSLR which as an entry level SLR I am very happy with. However, I discovered my 4 year old desktop PC’s card reader could not handle the SDHC format that this camera uses.

So I ended up ordering an EVO Labs Internal Card Reader with Bluetooth from Amazon and found it installed into Ubuntu Linux without a hitch. I was then able to utilise the bluetooth chip to connect with my mobile and send/receive files. The only complaint I’d have is since my tower sits under my desk sometimes the bluetooth signal is a little choppy – I don’t know if this is a power issue or due to the proximity of other electrical devices.

Enamoured with my new bluetooth enabled desktop, I decided to invest in some cheap but stylish BTHS600 Bluetooth stereo headset headphones which I am happy to report work splendid with Ubuntu. The desktop took a few reboots to get there, I installed Blueman from the Synaptic Package Manager to manage the connection. All I have to do is switch the headphones on to pairing mode when I want to connect. My Sammy N210 netbook connected flawlessly with no reboots or additional software.

During the teething problems of installation, I wanted to try these with Windows to see how they worked and connected. Windows is good OEM OS that they install by default and is a good benchmark to see how hardware connects and responds.

I booted into Vista and this is where I discovered the snag. Vista was happy to recognise my new internal card reader but when it came to utilising it – it was demanding drivers. I have mislaid the driver disk somewhere because I didn’t need it to run on my main OS, and I’m used to Windows being able to recognise stuff – but it was not the case here. So instead Windows redirected me to the manufacturer website which it insisted was Toshiba. I downloaded the recommended driver package but surprise, surprise this driver didn’t work.

So I can’t get bluetooth working on Vista, and I’m not sure if the card slots will work either. Which OS isn’t ready for the desktop again…?

For those keeping score: Linux 1, Windows 0

For anyone else having trouble hooking up your bluetooth headset I recommend trying out these links:

http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/teach-it/bluetooth-audio-finally-working-in-ubuntu-hh-24028
http://fosswire.com/post/2008/10/better-bluetooth-audio/
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BluetoothHeadset
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4910397
http://ubuntu-ky.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=9030305