Linux Unwired [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

7.3 Bluetooth Hardware

There is a wide variety of hardware available for adding
Bluetooth
support to your computer. Devices fall into several categories:

USB dongle

Plugs into the USB port. This device is the most common and
economical.

Built-in

Increasingly, laptops are shipping with a Bluetooth transmitter built
in. Typically this device appears to the operating system as if it
were a USB device.

PC card

Plugs into a laptop's PCMCIA slot and provides a
serial interface to the Bluetooth transmitter.

CF card

Behaves in the same way as a PCMCIA card, and it is used with PDA
devices.

Serial dongle

A Bluetooth transmitter that plugs into the serial port. In the early
days of Bluetooth deployment, it was a popular choice; today,
however, it is not a recommended option.

Compatibility between Linux and Bluetooth hardware is good. A
comprehensive table of verified device compatibility can be found on
Marcel Holtmann's web site, at http://www.holtmann.org/linux/bluetooth/devicesl.
This table includes information for laptops with built-in Bluetooth,
too. If you have no specific overriding criteria, it is best to
choose a USB dongle. Due to the standardization of the Bluetooth USB
interface, compatibility is very good.

If you dual-boot your computer between Linux and the manufacturer's operating system, such as Windows XP or Mac OS X, you may want to use the Bluetooth device your vendor recommends. Both the Apple-sold D-Link USB dongle and Microsoft-manufactured USB dongle are known to work with Linux. If in doubt, consult the Linux device compatibility list.

When choosing a Bluetooth device, be aware of the difference between
Class 1 and Class 2
Bluetooth devices. Class 1 devices
have a more sensitive radio and work up to distances of 100 meters,
whereas Class 2 devices work up to 10 meters and are cheaper.