Why You Might Want to Try Linux (WYMWTTLinux) is a series of posts around the same topic – Ubuntu Linux.
d^_^b
Whoever doesn’t know that Bluetooth transfer between PC and any Bluetooth capable device should seriously get out of the rock they’ve been living under in.
Just kidding. 
When you buy a Bluetooth dongle, it usually comes with a super small disc that contains the drivers necessary for it to work properly. Most of the time though, they’re plug and play, especially for Windows. But, it’s not always like that. There are times that you have to download a different Bluetooth stack (Widcomm, BlueSoleil etc) just because for some reason, the dongle still isn’t working even after installing drivers and restarting your PC.
Ubuntu supports Bluetooth too of course. Only this time, there’s no more need for that tiny CD your dongle came with when you bought it. Just simply plug it in, and the Bluetooth Applet will take care of the rest.
You will see the icon immediately appear in the notification area – that blue thingy that looks like a pair of scissors from afar. Right click on it, showing this pop up menu.
Preferences displays the Bluetooth Preferences window, where you can change the name of the Bluetooth device currently plugged to your computer. YOu can also change the visibility (like with cellphones) – Hidden, always visible or temporarily visible (the bar sets the number of minutes it will stay visible).
The General tab is where you set whether the Bluetooth icon is in the system tray ALWAYS, or only if there is a device plugged in.
To add a new device (cellphone, Bluetooth headset, Bluetooth stereo headset etc), right click on the icon again, and click Setup new device…Make sure that the other device you’re trying to pair with’s Bluetooth is already on.
You can choose Automatic PIN code selection where the PC will decide what PIN to use, or you can choose from the fixed PINs, and also to use a custom PIN. Devices within range will show up in the list above, and fancy this, you won’t have to wait for even a minute for the device to show up there. It’s pretty fast.
Follow the prompts to pair, and voila!
Once you’ve paired with the device, you can right click on the Bluetooth icon again, this time click Browse files on device to get access to the files via obex.
As usual, the paired device will show up as a mounted volume whose icon appears in the desktop. You can browse the files in the memory card AND the phone like you normally would in Nautilus. One noticeable difference between this and the Bluetooth stacks for Windows is that everything is considerably faster. There’s no lagging whatsoever even if you navigate around the many folders.
Should you wish to disconnect the device to stop file transfer, simply right click on the device’s icon in the Desktop and click Unmount volume.
You can also send file to the device from your PC. Right click on the Bluetooth icon again and click Send files to device…A choose file to send dialog file will appear.
You will then be presented with the list of devices currently paired. Choose which one to send the file to and click the Connect button.
I’ll say this again, but file transfers are remarkably faster compared to before when I was still using Windows. Makes me wonder then, if this speed is possible, why can’t they incorporate it with Bluetooth stacks on Windows?!
But that’s just me.
d^_^b
