Carol, and the rest. Perhaps you already will know this, but still, might I be allowed to clarify one point. Keyboard and mouse, might either be ordinary wireless, or they might be Bluetooth. Headsets could be strict wireless, but the ones with microphone will (to all my knowledge) always be Bluetooth. All of this of course, unless your equipment is all wired.
So what is the difference between pure wireless, and the stuff we name Bluetooth? I mean, and you understand, that they all do send signals through the room wirelessly; that is, without the need of a cable for the signals to be transfered. The strict, or pure, wireless technology - is the oldest method known on modern computer devices. It sends its signals by means of Infrared light; and often is being refered to as IR devices. This means it completely depends on free and open access for the signals to fly from your wireless unit - like your keyboard, and to the wireless receiver, plugged into your computer. Often these receivers would be placed somehow high in the room, to ensure the free flow of the light signals. On laptops, you might have a tiny "window" on one side, and to have a good transmission, you would need your wireless unit to sit on that side of the laptop. Wireless, infrared signals, typically have a covered distance of something like 8-10 feet, or between 2.5 and 3 meters. That is to say, long as the complete distance is close to freed from any clutter. Place a book, a coffee cup, or even your hand in between the keyboard and the receiver, and the whole transmission gets blocked. I have seen keyboard, mouse and some older cellphones - with the infrared wireless transferring capability. Wireless products need no pairing, as they simply are working like a sender and a receiver; taking and giving whatever comes within their frequency. Due to its many limitations, it is not very much used now aday, though you might have no trouble in using a wireless keyboard on modern computers. And wireless mouse and keyboards are still frequently sold. What then about Bluetooth? What is it, and in what ways does it differ from the infrared wireless equipment? First of all, why it has got its name, I have no clue. So simply just accept the fact that they decided to name it Bluetooth, in some cases abbreviated BT. Bluetooth, in reality, is a low-range, short-reaching radio. You have a sender, usually sitting in your headset, keyboard or whatever is considered the Signal Giver. And you have a receiver, typically sitting inside your cellphone, your computer or in a USB dongle much like a tiny USB Pen Drive. This Sender/Receiver combo, together forms a closed radio circle. Signals can flow between them, both forward and backward. Since the signals are all radio waves, you are no longer restricted to having open and freed space between the units. Your bluetooth headset might even work in the next room, with the doors closed. You could sit in any angle from your computer, and still experience your Bluetooth equipment communicating perfectly with the PC. And best of all, it has a trippled distance range, of upto 30 feet, or 10 meters. Some do advertise their Bluetooth equipment with even higher range, but I would be careful in relying too much over this limit. Bluetooth signals even can pass between floors, so easily can be used between up- and downstairs in your house. In reality, if you have a headset with bluetooth capabilities, and you want to dictate something while you are doing your laundry downstairs, you can do so just fine. That is, you of course have to get your computer turned on and all that stuff. Smiles. Bluetooth needs a one-to-one pairing. That means, you have to make the computer and headset know of each other, and tell them to only connect to that one unit. In reality, most Bluetooth communication hence only will work between your computer, and one external equipment. Modern Bluetooth connections are sometimes capable of running more than one paired communication, meaning you could use both your Bluetooth Keyboard, and Bluetooth headset at the same time - a combination that often might prove helpful on modern mobile devices. Due to the pairing requirement of the technology, noone outside your closed communication circle will basically be able to "see" the signals. That means, once you have paired your computer and the headset, all communication will take place between those two units, no matter if your spouse is using a Bluetooth headset paired with his cellphone. Each pairing is strictly between the paired units, and nothing else. Bluetooth communication, is the all-over standard for wirelessly transmitting signals now aday. Much dictated by the introduction on the mobile market, it has become the industry standard for computers as well. People want to be able to use the same keyboard, the same headset or speaker, and the same whatever else - on their cellphone as well as on their computer. And Bluetooth is on many kinds of devices now. Anything from Bluetooth version 2 - or so - will be able to transfer sound. most devices now aday are at least version 3, and new products are way into version 4. They are typically backward compatible, meaning if your computer has Bluetooth 4, it should not have any issues in pairing up with a version 2 or 3 headset. But the higher the version number, the better quality, speed and battery life. I have Keyboard, Mouse and headsets, as well as speakers that run on Bluetooth. If your computer has already installed Bluetooth capabilities, all you need is a Bluetooth periphal, like a headset, and some keystrokes to pair the two. Sometimes the pairing will call for a pin code to be entered, but modern equipment often just pairs up when you tell them to. The Bluetooth on your computer might need to be turned on, or activated, which you will have to do inside the Windows control panel. Not sure exactly how to do it on Win10, but under Win7, you would simply hit the Win-key, and type in Bluetooth, and the choice for setting it up would appear. After all of this confusing stuff, you might wonder if the different equipment could communicate, or even interfere with each other. Is it, for instance, possible that your Bluetooth Headset, and your Infrared keyboard, would cause any trouble to each other? The very short answer would be a clear-cut NO, Never! To elaborate slightly, your lamp does not interfere with your radio, does it? You can have them both turned on simultaneously. Same goes with infrared and Bluetooth equipment. They are two completely different technologies, and will not complicate each other. Some might have experienced that too many different technologies are interfering with each other. In a sense, the air can only hold so many signals at one moment. Smiles. The reality though is, that often their computer only can handle so much work at once. With modern computers, it is usually not a big issue. As if all of this was not enough, let me just tell you this. There does exist, on the market, pure headphones that transfer music wirelessly, by means of either infrared or FM-radio signals. They are not common on computers, and they would usually run on slightly different frequencies, why I have not been dealing with them here. Furthermore, when people talk about their wireless network, often refered to as WIFI, it has got nothing to do with either of the technologies here discussed. It is a whole chapter on its own, and should not be confused with either of the other technologies we here have been discussing. In all general, there should be no interference between your WIFI net, and neither the infrared, nor the Bluetooth equipment. I just wanted to bring things out, since you told you already have a wireless keyboard. It might be an infrared wireless one, or it could be a Bluetooth model. You refering to it as wireless, tells little about the factual technology in question. And infrared wireless equipment does have its own setup routine in Windows. To use both infrared and Bluetooth on your computer, it will have to be equipped with both technologies. For both, if your computer is not already built with the stuff on board, you can get tiny dongles, often refered to as NANO or MINI, which are plugged into an available USB port, and only sticking out from the computer case something like half an inch or less. Since the Infrared will need free flow of the signals, you will need that one plugged into a front panel USB - if you don't want to simply run it on an extension cable, and tape it up on the wall. For the Bluetooth, since it is not depending on open flow, it can be placed anywhere, and if I got you right, your new computer has it alrready built-in onboard, somewhere inside the computer, so you don't need worry about any extra dongles. Sure, this turned out a long story. Techie things often do. And the fact there does exist that many different versions and ways of solving an issue, often does serve to confuse rather than straighten out. Sorry if you find my information overwhelming or complicating your decision making. That was never the intension. If you - after deciding exactly WHAT you want and need - still feel you need some help in finding the exact product, let us know. Many on the list might know where to get things, or what exactly to search for. But it is a bit hard, long as we don't know exactly what you want. Smiles. Sure, you started out asking for a wired headset, and we end up confusing you with the wireless alternative. Was never meant as a confuser, rather just wanted you to be aware the modern alternatives, which might fill some people's need the better. Hope you get things sorted out the best way, and you find a product that really will serve you for a long time. When comes to pricing, whichever solution you go for, might pretty much turn out the same. One small note to make at the end, comes to Bluetooth headsets. Since they are mainly made for mobile usage, they are typically In-Ear, or Ear bud models. Some might be of the type Clip-on, which sort of hangs over your ears. HTH, On 12/31/2017 2:21 AM, Carol and Roger via Talk wrote: > Hi Rod, > > I believe this is what runs my mouse and keyboard.In my case, it looks > like a small thumb drive. I am using my old keyboard with my new > computer. The keyboard is wireless. The original mouse is also > wireless and connects to the same dongle. It does not, however, work > on the new PC. I do have a new wired mouse if anyone needs to use it. > > Carol > > > On 12/30/2017 8:02 PM, Rod Hutton via Talk wrote: >> Hi Carol, >> >> It is a tiny dongle which fits into a USB port and very little sticks >> out, and it is a Bluetooth transmitter/receiver, also known as a >> Bluetooth antenna. >> In this case, the word nano itself just means small. >> Some Bluetooth dongles are directly paired with a single headset, and >> so are called dedicated Bluetooth dongles, whereas others are like >> the ones on cell phones or tablets, like iPhones, iPads, or iPods, >> with which many Bluetooth devices can be paired. >> >> Best, >> >> Rod >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: Talk >> [mailto:talk-bounces+rod_hutton=hotmail....@lists.window-eyes.com] On >> Behalf Of Carol and Roger via Talk >> Sent: December 30, 2017 3:35 PM >> To: ukekearu...@valtdnet.com; Window-Eyes Discussion List >> <talk@lists.window-eyes.com> >> Cc: Carol and Roger <carogsm...@embarqmail.com> >> Subject: Re: USB headphones with microphone >> >> Hi Olusegun, >> >> What is a nano-USB? I assume there is a USB cable that goes from the >> headset to the USB port. How long is the cable? You mentioned >> BlueTooth. Does that connect with the computer, or is that for >> connecting with other BlueTooth items? Thanks. >> >> Carol >> >> >> On 12/29/2017 10:13 PM, Olusegun -- Victory Associates LTD, Inc. via >> Talk wrote: >>> David, I am a happy camper with Logitech's H800 headset with >>> microphone. It >>> comes with a nano-USB plug. Plug this into a USB port on your >>> computer and >>> forget it. Battery lasts about six hours; it can be used whilst >>> charging. >>> Battery is replaceable. I have had mine for well over five years, no >>> regrets. In fact, I have not had to replace its battery in this >>> period of >>> time. If I do, I shall take it to the trusty Batteries Plus here in my >>> village, I find the company to be extremely reliable on anything >>> battery >>> related. >>> >>> The headset also supports bluetooth; however, I didn't set it up >>> for >>> bluetooth usage because I don't want to deal with having to type in >>> a pare >>> code. I have other bluetooth headsets that DO NOT require paring >>> codes, >>> they just fine their stack on my computer or smartphone, I tap on >>> PARE and >>> the business is done. >>> >>> Sincerely, >>> Olusegun >>> Denver, Colorado >>> >>> >>> --- >>> This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. >>> https://www.avast.com/antivirus >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of >>> the author and do not necessarily represent those of Ai Squared. >>> >>> For membership options, visit >>> http://lists.window-eyes.com/options.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com/carogsmith%40embarqmail.com. >>> For subscription options, visit >>> http://lists.window-eyes.com/listinfo.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com >>> List archives can be found at >>> http://lists.window-eyes.com/private.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com >>> >> _______________________________________________ >> Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the >> author and do not necessarily represent those of Ai Squared. >> >> For membership options, visit >> http://lists.window-eyes.com/options.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com/rod_hutton%40hotmail.com. >> For subscription options, visit >> http://lists.window-eyes.com/listinfo.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com >> List archives can be found at >> http://lists.window-eyes.com/private.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com >> _______________________________________________ >> Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the >> author and do not necessarily represent those of Ai Squared. >> >> For membership options, visit >> http://lists.window-eyes.com/options.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com/carogsmith%40embarqmail.com. >> For subscription options, visit >> http://lists.window-eyes.com/listinfo.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com >> List archives can be found at >> http://lists.window-eyes.com/private.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com >> > > _______________________________________________ > Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the > author and do not necessarily represent those of Ai Squared. > > For membership options, visit > http://lists.window-eyes.com/options.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com/trailerdavid%40hotmail.com. > For subscription options, visit > http://lists.window-eyes.com/listinfo.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com > List archives can be found at > http://lists.window-eyes.com/private.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com > . > _______________________________________________ Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Ai Squared. For membership options, visit http://lists.window-eyes.com/options.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com/archive%40mail-archive.com. For subscription options, visit http://lists.window-eyes.com/listinfo.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com List archives can be found at http://lists.window-eyes.com/private.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com
