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Bluetooth query
Well wife just came home with a phone has Bluetooth and seeing as I have a Bluetooth adapter for a PC I figured I'd check it out. Some issues getting devices "paired" but believe that now happens reliably. Problem is I don't see what the fuss is all about. It does appear I may be able to connect the pc to the internet thru the phone but nothing else. I figured I'd be able to browse the SD card etc. in the phone but that doesn't seem available. It's some sort of Samsung phone btw. Am I missing something? |
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#2
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Bluetooth query
pjp wrote:
Well wife just came home with a phone has Bluetooth and seeing as I have a Bluetooth adapter for a PC I figured I'd check it out. Some issues getting devices "paired" but believe that now happens reliably. Problem is I don't see what the fuss is all about. It does appear I may be able to connect the pc to the internet thru the phone but nothing else. I figured I'd be able to browse the SD card etc. in the phone but that doesn't seem available. It's some sort of Samsung phone btw. Am I missing something? I'm certainly no expert, but the only use I have found connecting a PC to a phone is to send pictures. On the phone the bluetooth is good to pair with a headset to use the phone while driving. In this state it is illegal to use a hand-held phone while driving other than through a headphone or similar device. -- G Ross |
#3
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Bluetooth query
"pjp" wrote
| | Well wife just came home with a phone has Bluetooth and seeing as I have | a Bluetooth adapter for a PC I figured I'd check it out. | | Some issues getting devices "paired" but believe that now happens | reliably. | | Problem is I don't see what the fuss is all about. It does appear I may | be able to connect the pc to the internet thru the phone but nothing | else. I figured I'd be able to browse the SD card etc. in the phone but | that doesn't seem available. | I bought a cheap USB bluetooth adapter so I could get photos off my Tracphone. It works OK, though it took a little fiddling to get them to see each other. But if you have an SD card then why not just use/buy an SD card reader? My understanding is that bluetooth is mainly meant as a way to allow data transfer for small devices where a USB port might be too expensive or too big to be feasible. Nothing especially desirable. Just good to have if you don't have any other option. |
#4
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Bluetooth query
On Fri, 3 Aug 2018 03:36:08 -0300, pjp
wrote: Well wife just came home with a phone has Bluetooth and seeing as I have a Bluetooth adapter for a PC I figured I'd check it out. Some issues getting devices "paired" but believe that now happens reliably. Problem is I don't see what the fuss is all about. It does appear I may be able to connect the pc to the internet thru the phone but nothing else. I figured I'd be able to browse the SD card etc. in the phone but that doesn't seem available. It's some sort of Samsung phone btw. Am I missing something? My phone has bluetooth capability. I use it for only one thing, and I like that thing very much: it connects to the screen in my car (2018 Camry). I can receive call, make calls, etc. without even touching the phone which stays in my pocket. |
#5
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Bluetooth query
Ken Blake wrote:
pjp wrote: Well wife just came home with a phone has Bluetooth and seeing as I have a Bluetooth adapter for a PC I figured I'd check it out. Some issues getting devices "paired" but believe that now happens reliably. Problem is I don't see what the fuss is all about. It does appear I may be able to connect the pc to the internet thru the phone but nothing else. I figured I'd be able to browse the SD card etc. in the phone but that doesn't seem available. My phone has bluetooth capability. I use it for only one thing, and I like that thing very much: it connects to the screen in my car (2018 Camry). I can receive call, make calls, etc. without even touching the phone which stays in my pocket. Alas, my car is too old to have the in-dash center with all the gizmo apps. I still wanted to use my car stereo to call out driving instructions instead of using the phone's speaker (which is okay but means I have to drive with the windows closed). I got a Bluetooth and FM transceiver that plugs into the cigarette lighter port. That lets me connect from my phone using Bluetooth to the FM transceiver which using radio to transmit on a selected channel to my car stereo. Because it is not an always-on power port but instead a cigarette lighter port, it's power goes on and off with the car's ignition. That comes in handy for use with Bluetooth-enabled apps that can track where I parked, when I started driving, and my drive route(s). When power goes off, the Bluetooth connection is lost which the app records as my parking location. When power is on (car is started), a Bluetooth connection is established and the app will start recording my trip. I had tried to use the Bluetooth connect-disconnect from the app to the Bluetoothed ODB dongle (used to get info on the car and review or reset trouble codes), it stays on when the car is turned off (for 2 hours after which it goes into sleep mode), so not a good choice to detecting the car's run/stop state to tracking parking locations and driving routes. As for transferring files between the phone and my PC, nah, Bluetooth sucks for that. It's possibly but clumsy; see: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...over-bluetooth As I recall, to get file transfers to work well, I had to go into the properties of the Bluetooth device (smartphone) in Windows Bluetooth device list and enable other transfer modes. In the Start menu's search box, I'd enter "Bluetooth" and select "Bluetooth Devices", right-click on the smarphone (previously paired to the PC) and select Properties, and go to the Services tab. I had to enable several services that then let my have more functionality of the smartphone from my PC. Most of the services are geared to audio or telephony. None of them actually state they are for file transfer. That might actually be a function of whose Bluetooth driver/software you install for whatever Bluetooth transceiver you use in your PC. Instead I just use a USB cable: when I connect my phone via USB cable to my PC, my PC pops up a prompt asking what I want to do with that newly detected and available device, so I elect to open Windows Explorer to go look at files on the phone. USB Debugging Mode (in the phone) and the ADB driver (in the PC) are not required for just doing file transfers but they are needed if you want to remotely control your phone using your PC using something like AirDroid (plus it will let you do file transfers). Bluetooth isn't just about using it with your car or with your PC. You can also transfer files between smartphones using Bluetooth. See: https://www.recovery-android.com/tra...bluetooth.html I don't share files between phones, not even my own. Instead I use cloud services (OneDrive, Google Drive) to upload the files. Other phones logged into the same accounts will then sync to get the files. Bluetooth transfer is slow compared to wi-fi (which cloud storage uses): 25Mbps for Bluetooth versus whatever the wi-fi hotspot gives you versus 250Mbps for wi-fi direct (for file transfer, you enable wi-fi direct in your phone and need to use an app for the file transfer over the wi-fi linkup). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi_Direct https://www.androidpit.com/what-is-wifi-direct Although I have the Wi-Fi Direct option on my smartphone (LG V20 running Android 7.0), I haven't bothered using it. I've not yet needed immediate file transfer between my own phones, I don't share files with others, and online storage with sync suffices plus it gives me a backup and I can sync to phones or PCs or even get at the files on someone else's PC, like when vacationing, or decide which I'll share with others by doling out URLs to the files in public or shared folders in my online account. |
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Bluetooth query
On 8/3/2018 2:36 AM, pjp wrote:
Well wife just came home with a phone has Bluetooth and seeing as I have a Bluetooth adapter for a PC I figured I'd check it out. Some issues getting devices "paired" but believe that now happens reliably. Problem is I don't see what the fuss is all about. It does appear I may be able to connect the pc to the internet thru the phone but nothing else. I figured I'd be able to browse the SD card etc. in the phone but that doesn't seem available. It's some sort of Samsung phone btw. Am I missing something? I think the big thing for bluetooth is using a hands free device like an earbud. I can't say it always works well, but I think my problem is not in bluetooth itself, but the connection quality I have in a mountainous area. I also use bluetooth to connect my cell phone (Samsung) to my home cordless phone (Panasonic) to allow me to receive and make calls on the cell phone from the cordless phone. In addition I have used APK Extractor on the cell to transfer program files (APKs) from one cell phone to another. To move files like pictures to my PC I always use Airdroid. |
#7
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Bluetooth query
"VanguardLH" wrote
| My phone has bluetooth capability. I use it for only one thing, and I | like that thing very much: it connects to the screen in my car (2018 | Camry). I can receive call, make calls, etc. without even touching the | phone which stays in my pocket. | | Alas, my car is too old to have the in-dash center with all the gizmo | apps. I wish I could sell you mine. I had to buy bluetooth in order to get an automatic transmission in my 2016 Nissan pickup. Traffic has got so bad -- I was tired of keeping my foot on a clutch constantly. But I don't use a computer phone, don't use map services, and rarely listen to music voluntarily. So the steering-wheel-installed bluetooth is unused and I replaced the multi-media mess in the center of the dashboard with a small storage cabinet. |
#8
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Bluetooth query
Mayayana wrote:
"VanguardLH" wrote | My phone has bluetooth capability. I use it for only one thing, and I | like that thing very much: it connects to the screen in my car (2018 | Camry). I can receive call, make calls, etc. without even touching the | phone which stays in my pocket. | | Alas, my car is too old to have the in-dash center with all the gizmo | apps. I wish I could sell you mine. I had to buy bluetooth in order to get an automatic transmission in my 2016 Nissan pickup. Traffic has got so bad -- I was tired of keeping my foot on a clutch constantly. As an aside on your "keeping my foot on a clutch constantly", I remember seeing some videos of folks that used Subaru's Eyesight system to drive their car during rush hour traffic. I'm pretty sure if Eyesight is in the car that Subaru forced you to have their CVT tranny so something like this was possible (so no clutch, anyway). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwnXssQ-go4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XvSd2QFbdo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx_oeNJ_Qs8 I'd still keep my foot atop the brake. Eyesight takes away the gas pedal from you when it detects an imminent collision; however, it needs some time to see what it might collide with, and some kid running out into the street chasing a ball probably isn't enough time, plus there are those assholes in rush-hour traffic that cut you off (their tail is not beyond your front) if you weren't ready. Subaru is putting Eyesight in all their cars. You can't buy a Subie without Eyesight which is akin to you having to get Bluetooth to get an automatic tranny. Makers and dealers love to bundle the options: if you want some option, you have to buy an entire package of options. |
#9
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Bluetooth query
"VanguardLH" wrote
| Subaru is putting Eyesight in all their cars. You can't buy a Subie | without Eyesight which is akin to you having to get Bluetooth to get an | automatic tranny. Yuck. At least bluetooth isn't intrusive. Automatic transmission required me to accept a whole bundle, including AC. Though I have to say that as I get older it's nice to have AC. Lately it's been very humid and mid-90s. I feel lucky to have been able to get an almost tech-free truck. The only frivolous electric function is the heat/AC vents. And so far that's the only thing that doesn't work right! They replaced the simple system of vents connected with cables that connect to a plastic slide control, putting in a ridiculous motor to do the sliding. |
#10
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Bluetooth query
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#11
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Bluetooth query
"pjp" wrote
| I just don't see myself ever buying a "new" vehicle again. None of them | are worth the money and what you're realing doing is simply giving a | dealer endless opportunities to exploit you. Least that's my take on it. | I need it for work. To my mind it's cheaper to buy new and pay off a loan. I get a dependable vehicle. And repair costs these days make a used car too expensive. I had two Toyota pickups that lasted me about 30 years. 19 years and 230K miles on the first one. 11 years and 80K miles on the second. I did most of the work myself and they didn't need much. But then the second started to rust out and things like exhaust sensors kept going on me. Stuff that didn't even exist on the older truck. I decided it would be better to buy new again rather than to start doing repairs on a regular basis. If I have to pay $300 to $1,000 every 2 months for maintenance then I'm better off just buying new. The last thing that went was speed sensors on the front wheels. I didn't even know they existed! $350 to do it myself of $700 to pay a mechanic to hook up two little camera gizmos next to the brake disk. (Probably $100 for an hour's labor and $250 for the scam parts markup.) Like most machinery today, repairing is more expensive than buying new. TVs, DVD players, drills, saws, and even cars. Fixing them isn't worth it. This time I got a Nissan. The Toyotas were good when I bought them. They used to be the best for the least money. But Toyota shifted their focus. Now they only make expensive pickups and the Tacoma bed is only 5' because there's a full back seat. It's really a family sedan that can be used to carry an ATV or a bag of grass seed... after a plastic liner has been installed so the bed doesn't get dirty. I guess there's not much money in work trucks. These days it's all about selling luxury sedans that just look like work trucks. So macho cowboys can drive around suburban streets felling like the Marlboro man. There are very few models that are actually just a pickup, without back doors and back seats. | I don't own any phone but a landline so anything to do with a cell phone | is money poorly spent. Same with any fancy way to play music in the car. Unfortunately, most people want to talk on their portable phone. I live in MA where it's legal and traffic has become like a demolition derby. In NH and VT it's illegal to use handhelds. The difference is noticeable. Some people might still be on the phone, but at least they're not trying to text, and they have a hand free to turn on their signals. I see the problem as symptomatic of something far more chilling: a general trend away from community. So many people no longer see themselves connected to the people around them. They walk without looking where they're going and drive as though they're alone on the road. If I beep the horn at them they don't even look up, never imagining someone might be beeping at them, even though they're sitting at a green light talking on the phone! |
#12
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Bluetooth query
On Sat, 4 Aug 2018 22:40:56 -0300, pjp
wrote: In article , am says... "VanguardLH" wrote | Subaru is putting Eyesight in all their cars. You can't buy a Subie | without Eyesight which is akin to you having to get Bluetooth to get an | automatic tranny. Earlier this year I read an article that said (IIRC) the newer safety features are mandated to be on every vehicle by the 2020 model year, although some manufacturers are adding them earlier. They mentioned backup cameras, backup cross-traffic monitor, blind spot monitor, automatic low speed stop and go, and adaptive cruise control. Probably more that I've forgotten. My current vehicles already have all but the last two. I'm really looking forward to adaptive cruise control on my next vehicle. I just don't see myself ever buying a "new" vehicle again. None of them are worth the money and what you're realing doing is simply giving a dealer endless opportunities to exploit you. Least that's my take on it. I usually buy new because the price difference between new and 2 years old is so small, (I wouldn't buy older than 2-3 years, and I usually buy the highest trim level), but I did buy a used Toyota Highlander in 2005 for about $4K less than everyone else was asking because the automatic climate control didn't work. That could have been a $3500 repair but if you think about it, the whole system is computerized and has a diagnostic mode that will tell you exactly what it thinks is wrong. In my case, it said the daylight sensor wasn't working, (with a note saying this is normal if the vehicle is not in direct sunlight, and yes I was doing the test at night), and a second failure of Cabin Temp sensor disconnected. I reached up under the instrument panel about 3 inches, found the sensor, confirmed that it had nothing connected to it, found a dangling connector very close by, plugged it in, and I was done. The whole thing took less than 5 minutes. I wonder what a dealer would have charged. As far as new features go ... Back up cameras yet you can't actually see the two corner of the end of your car in it. Almost useless and just a gimmick. I'm not the biggest fan of backup cameras, but they make hooking up a trailer drop dead easy. I'd rather have one than not. For most of my backing, I still use the 3 rearview mirrors. Touchscreens seem dangerous to me. Can easily imagine someone looking for extended periods into one looking for some specific setting and in the meantime go of the road or into oncoming traffic. There will certainly be people who do that, but there's no good reason for it. In my case, I familiarized myself with the touchscreen functions while parked in my driveway so that I can safely do what I need while driving. To do everything that the touchscreen allows, but using analog switches and knobs instead, would take at least several dozen such knobs and switches, which would be completely impractical in a car. Obviously, I love the touchscreen. The bigger, the better. High beam that when on turn off the low beam. WHY??? More light is better and I shouldn't have to buy a pair of driving lights so I can see close to the car even with high beamsn on. Older cars with four headlights often did this, two headlight newer cars never. I've never driven a vehicle that had poor near illumination when the high beams are on. Why the hell would I want internet/wifi in the car built-in? If I expect I'll need internet I'll take a laptop along. In fact I'd not tolerate any kind of over the air transmission of any sort. Some firmware update then send me a USB stick and have suitable port for that purpose built into the car. On Star and that crap is worthless. I don't have On Star, but I know that it's far from worthless. At its worst, it can be a huge convenience, and at best, it's an absolute lifesaver. I don't see any downsides except possibly for people who think they're being tracked or something. As for Internet in the car, if I'm driving alone I haven't seen a use case for it, but if there are multiple people in the car, especially if some are kids, then why not? They can use their WiFi-only iPads and tablets during the trip. I don't own any phone but a landline so anything to do with a cell phone is money poorly spent. Same with any fancy way to play music in the car. A stereo with a USB port works more than just fine. Only problem there is what capacity unit limits USB device to, e.g. most won't "see" a 1TB portable hard disk. Storage size isn't one of my complaints. My vehicles see a 128GB USB thumb drive just fine, and at about 30% full it has about 7500 songs, which is way more than I can listen to, even on a week-long road trip. My complaint is that my vehicles don't recognize FLAC, so I have to convert back to mp3 to take music on the road. Here in the house, my digital music collection has about 130,000 songs, (I'm sure there are dupes), so prior to my next trip I'll probably convert and load another batch of 7500 or so to take along. My real complaint about music/entertainment is Sirius/XM. To me, that's a waste of money. All of my rental cars have it, (I rent for work nearly every week), and my own vehicles have it for a period of time when new, but I never renew it when it expires. There are too many other (free) options for music, so I don't need that one. -- Char Jackson |
#13
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Bluetooth query
"Char Jackson" wrote
| I did buy a used Toyota Highlander in 2005 | for about $4K less than everyone else was asking because the automatic | climate control didn't work. That could have been a $3500 repair but if | you think about it, the whole system is computerized and has a | diagnostic mode that will tell you exactly what it thinks is wrong. In | my case, it said the daylight sensor wasn't working, (with a note saying | this is normal if the vehicle is not in direct sunlight, and yes I was | doing the test at night), and a second failure of Cabin Temp sensor | disconnected. I reached up under the instrument panel about 3 inches, | found the sensor, confirmed that it had nothing connected to it, found a | dangling connector very close by, plugged it in, and I was done. The | whole thing took less than 5 minutes. I wonder what a dealer would have | charged. Sounds great. But what happens when another pointless sensor or chip goes, and you can't turn on the heat? In a traditional car it's really just turning on a fan. Climate control is Rube Goldberg-style idiocy -- a vastly more complex contraption, and for what? So that you don't have to decide whether you're hot or cold. I was most pleased to not have to get electronic ignition or windows. Both are very expensive and superfluous. Power windows might be nice when I get too old to reach across to put down the passenger-side window. On the other hand, they don't work at all with the car turned off. That can be maddening at the beach while you wait for the driver to get in and start the car. |
#14
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Bluetooth query
"Mayayana" on Sun, 5 Aug 2018 14:18:16 -0400
typed in alt.windows7.general the following: I was most pleased to not have to get electronic ignition or windows. Both are very expensive and superfluous. Power windows might be nice when I get too old to reach across to put down the passenger-side window. On the other hand, they don't work at all with the car turned off. That can be maddening at the beach while you wait for the driver to get in and start the car. Or you have to get in to turn the key, in order to close the passenger side window before it rains. -- pyotr filipivich Next month's Panel: Graft - Boon or blessing? |
#15
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Bluetooth query
Mayayana wrote:
But what happens when another pointless sensor or chip goes, and you can't turn on the heat? It's been a long time since I saw cables running to flapper valves to determine which air flow was allowed. The dash controls have, for a long time, operated vacuum-controlled motors to determine the position of the flappers. So, either you have a switch in the dash, even if it a slide lever, controlling a motor or you have logic controlling the motor. With either method, I've seen the motors fail a lot more often than whatever switch or electronics was used to control the motor. One reason why electronics replaced mechanical switches is that electronics outlive mechanical switches. When the motor goes, doesn't matter if a switch or electronic control is still working. Vacuum-operated motors fail as do electrically-operated motors (I don't know of any data measuring the failure rate of vacuum- versus electrically-operated motors). Trying to find a vacuum leak with the old mechanical setup is tougher than checking voltages or current with the electrical stuff. It is the vacuum motor, or the hose to it, or along the hose, or the supply for the vacuum, and where is that, and so on? I was most pleased to not have to get electronic ignition or windows. I must not be as tall a you, or I have wider cars than you. It is difficult for me to reach over to the passenger side to roll down a mechanically-operated window on that side, plus that motion mandates that I am out of position to watch the road. Even worse is if you want to roll down the rear windows, especially in some localities where a camera catching you driving while turned backward stretching over the front seats to reach something in the back awards you with a careless driving ticket. Just because I get in a car with all the windows rolled up doesn't mean I want it that way during the entire trip. I like an electric trunk release. A couple wires run to the trunk where is a motor versus a mechanical cable where the cable stretches with use and can get rusted. Instead of either fully closed or fully open, I can decide by just how much the rear/gate door opens. Not all garages or locations allow full opening of my rear/hatch door, and I'd rather not scratch the door on an obstruction. Yes, I could get out and use one hand to control the opening of the door but eventually I need both hands to remove or add items into the cargo area, and that means releasing the door which then moves up to hit the obstruction. With an electric rear door, I can set the opening height to something less to fully open and have it stay that way while my hands are occupied with cargo items. I can even set a memory so, for example, opening the rear door while the car is inside my garage will prevent it from hitting the rolled up garage door and its chain track. Both are very expensive and superfluous. Power windows might be nice when I get too old to reach across to put down the passenger-side window. On the other hand, they don't work at all with the car turned off. You can engage the electrical systems without having to start the car. If the car owner grants you entry into their car, why wouldn't they give you their key? That can be maddening at the beach while you wait for the driver to get in and start the car. They would still have to get into the car to operate the mechanical window crank. If you're inside someone else's car, and they have granted you permission for entry into their car, why would they refuse to give you the car key so you could put the ignition into the On (not Start) position to use the electric windows? Since you must open the car door whether it has mechanical or electrical windows, why not just use the opened door to grant inside access? After opening a door, to me it doesn't matter if the window is mechanical or electrical since I won't be using the window as I already have access to inside the car. Yeah, *if* the owner leaves their car unlocked and *if* they won't give you the car key then you cannot use the electrical window but I fail to see why you need to open a window when you or they have already opened a door. I can't recall ever using the windows when loading/unloading my car. Instead I open a door. Windows are for your hands and arms to reach out/in, or sometimes to extend how long an item you can stow inside the car, like when carrying back some long 2x4's from the hardware store. I've had to replace mechanical window lever mechanisms inside car doors, and the same for motors. Can't say one is tougher to replace than the other. However, replacing the shattered glass can be a bitch because too often extricating the rail at the bottom that holds the glass window can be tough due to rusting or bad access through those holes in the inside metal panel of the door. I can see mechanical windows have an advantage if the car's battery is dead or removed; however, again, once I have a door opened (and my cars still have a mechanical key lock in addition to the electric motor to lock/unlock the doors) then it is unimportant if the window works or not by any means. |
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