Old instructions that connect the Mac OS X Address Book app to a phone via Bluetooth from O’Reilly and SillyDog. Once paired, the Address Book can initiate dialing, notify the user of incoming calls, and send SMS texts.

Bluetooth Texter SMS Widget, message2net, and BluePhoneElite all offer further tools to interact with your Bluetooth-connected mobile phone. The list of compatible phones (BPE & m2n) offers some leads for those trying to make the connection.

Finally, Simon Winter offers some tips on interacting with SMS via AppleScript.

bluetooth, mac, mac os x, sms, texting, applescript, cell phone

Sometime ago I started work on figuring out how to get dial up networking (DUN) access via my Treo 650. Now I’m getting serious about mobile internet access and looking at this again.

The plan is that you should be able to make a Bluetooth connection between your laptop and the phone and then get piped onto the internet from the phone. Trevor Harmon wrote it up and has been following the issue as it relates to Mac OS X and Sprint Wireless service.

The problem is that Verizon has locked down the phone to make this difficult.

This MAKE blog post promises a how-to about getting “legal” DUN on the Treo 650 (what’s with the pix of oscilloscope traces and solar stoves?), but everything that follows is couched with warningss that we may toast our phones and draw the ire of our service provider.

With that said, Everything Treo has a forum post on using a Treo as external modem on Verizon that had some very specific instructions (copied below). TreoCentral has a similar Verizon 650 DUN Hack thread. And all of these point back to Shadowmite, who made the original hack. So, finally, this thread at shadowmite.com is definitely worth a look.

Does it work? I don’t know. I haven’t dared try yet.

Part A: Treo hack
1. Download Shadowmite’s hacked BtManager.prc to my Mac.
1(b)- because of funny settings from the web server, rename downloaded file from BtManager.verizon.prc.txt to BtManager.verizon.prc.
2. Soft reset the Treo 650, for a clean start.
3. Disable any programs that use the network connection, e.g. Chattermail.
4. Drag-and-drop BtManager.verizon.prc onto Bluetooth File Exchange.
4(b) send file to the Treo.
4(c) accept the file and agree to replace the existing app.
5. Open the new Bluetooth application on the Treo
5(b) Turn on Bluetooth DUN, accept the warnings.

Part B: Mac Setup
1. Open Bluetooth preference pane.
1(b) in Devices pane, delete the existing connection to the Treo.
2.Click ‘Set up new device…’
2(b) Choose ‘mobile phone’
2(c) Select the Treo
2(d) Enter the pairing password
2(e) Select Access The Internet service.
2(f) Enter the network settings:

Username: 2015551212@vzw3g.com, where the digits are my cellular number
Password: vzw
Phone Number: #777
Modem Script: 1_VZW_Generic_1X_ON_230400 (you can find that here)

3. Set up network port: Click on ‘Sharing’ tab
[ this step may not be necesssary for other people ]
3(b) Click ‘Add Serial Port Service’
3(c) Rename to ‘BluetoothDUN’ or the like
3(d) Set Type: Modem, and turn on ‘Show in Network Preferences’

4. Network Preferences
4(a) Open Network preference pane
4(b) Click to configure BluetoothDUN
4(c) Under PPP, click PPP Options…
4(d) Turn ON PPP echo packets, and OFF TCP/IP header compression

Part C: Attempt to Dial
1. Open Internet Connect
1(b) Select BluetoothDUN
1(c) Click ‘Connect’

bluetooth, dial up networking, dun, mobile carrier wireless networking, treo, treo 650, treo 650 dun, verizon, verizon wireless, vzw

I’m still excited about that Bluetooth headset I got last week, but I did encounter a little problem with it. Rather, I encountered a problem with Mac OS X and the Bluetooth headset. I don’t remember all the precipitating details, but the obvious threshold event was when Gizmo Project complained that it couldn’t find the headset. I tried deleting the configuration and re-pairing, but aside from some momentary linkages, it was all for nada.

I looked at the Logitech support pages for the device, but those led nowhere, so I checked Apple’s Bluetooth discussions. There I found this entry from Oliver de Peyer, a user with a Jabra BT200 headset. Here’s how he described the problem:

The headset pairs OK in the Bluetooth setup assistant but it is shown as “Connected: No” in BlueTooth preferences. The headset does not display in the Sound preferences, so cannot be used as an input or output device.

Interestingly, if you press and hold the button on the BT200, it fleetingly does connect, but then goes back to “Connected: No”. It never appears in Sound preferences.

Though we were using different headsets, Oliver described the exact same symptoms I was experiencing. Fortunately, he also found the answer. In an October 7th posting, he reported what he’d learned and how to fix it. His post included a lot of detail, but for users like myself whose only Bluetooth device is a headset, it can be sumarized in the following three commands:

• Delete this file:
  /var/root/Library/Preferences/blued.plist (you’ll need to use sudo)
   
• Delete this file too:
  /Users/[username]/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Bluetooth.plist
   
• Reboot, though you might try logging out. One way or another, you’ll need to restart the Bluetooth-related processes.

Oliver’s post is much more detailed, and anybody who depends on Bluetooth mouse or keyboard should probably check it out before trying anything I’ve suggested. Actually, please don’t try anything I’ve suggested, as I don’t want to bear the burden of responsibility.

tags: bluetooth, bluetooth headset, bluetooth headsets, bluetooth pairing, connection problem, logitech, logitech mobile freedom, mac os x, mobile, won’t connect, won’t pair

As I was contemplating making angry calls to my hosting provider last week when they shut down MaisonBisson for a couple days, it occurred to me that I would rather make those calls via SkypeOut or some similar service that didn’t reveal my home phone number. After all, I wouldn’t want an angry sysop to take revenge by having a spare modem call me up every 27 minutes between the hours of midnight and seven AM.

I’m ashamed to admit that it was at that moment that I decided to buy a Bluetooth headset. Trust me, I’d been thinking about it for a while and I had other, good uses in mind, but that was the moment.

My Logitech Mobile Freedom Bluetooth Headset arrived Saturday, but I only tried to pair a few moments ago.

You can probably imagine my shock when the OS X Bluetooth Setup Assistant told me my hardware didn’t support headsets. As it turns out, I hadn’t bothered to install the Bluetooth firmware update, released all the way back in November 2004. The big clue arrived in this MacDevCenter article about Bluetooth headsets and OS X.

But with the Bluetooth update installed, I quickly paired the headset with my 15“ aluminum PowerBook and was able to configure iChat to use it. None of my logged-in buddies were audio chat enabled, though, so I ambled over to Gizmo Project, a VOIP app similar to Skype. I was making calls in no time, and the recorded conversations reveal good sound quality from both ends of the call.

Then, with a change in the OS X System Preferences app, I was routing all audio output to the headset and listening to iTunes. Audio quality with music sounded like 22 KHz, but I didn’t buy this monophonic headset to listen to music.

tags: bluetooth, bluetooth firmware update, bluetooth headset, bluetooth headsets, gizmo project, gizmoproject, ichat, logitech, logitech mobile freedom, mac os x, mobile, skype, wireless

As if bluejacking wasn’t fun enough, now a few folks have now taken it a little further and figured out how to connect to the growing number of Bluetooth handsfree sets all around us.

Gizmodo fed me the link to what they’re calling “The Car Whisperer.”

Nothing against these guys, but it’s not like they did anything amazingly complex. Their story explains that they’re simply taking advantage of poor security like default passwords. Anyway, they can send audio to and record audio from un-paired systems — especially those that are appearing in fancy cars lately.

tags: bluejacking, bluetooth, car whisperer, default passwords, fancy cars, gizmodo, handsfree, poor security