Bluetooth Networking


Although Bluetooth is better suited for connecting peripherals, like cell phones and mice (think of it as a wireless USB), OS X does have quite a full set of features for connecting computers over the Bluetooth protocol. This is a simple way to create a computer-to-computer network. It provides a direct connection and the ability to browse the files on other machines. Bluetooth is slower than AirPort, so you’ll want to use AirPort for wireless file transfers if you can. Open the Bluetooth preference pane by first opening the System Preferences and clicking on Bluetooth.

Settings panel

The Bluetooth pane has three areas, and the first, the Settings panel, deals with general Bluetooth behavior. The first option you have is to turn Bluetooth off or on. If you never use Bluetooth, you should turn it off, it will marginally increase your computer’s performance. If you decide to use it later, you can always turn it back on again. If you have a portable, you should turn Bluetooth off when you are not using it — it will save you battery life.

The rest of the Panel is fairly self-explanatory. You can choose to make your computer discoverable or not, making you easily visible to other Bluetooth users. You can choose to require authentication or not, and to encrypt the connection or not. Authentication means that a user must use a password. When the data is encrypted, it’s nearly impossible for someone who is sniffing the airwaves to read any of it. Choosing to support nonconforming phones helps if you have an older (relatively) Bluetooth phone. If there are no Bluetooth devices configured, you can set your Mac to always open the Bluetooth Setup Assistant (Chapter 6) when the Bluetooth preferences are launched. Lastly, you can choose to show the Bluetooth status in the menu bar. A solid black B indicates that Bluetooth is on, but no devices are paired. A grayed out B indicates that Bluetooth is turned off. A B with a dashed line through it indicates that a device is paired with the Mac, and a gray B with a jagged line through it usually indicates that the external USB Bluetooth adaptor has been unplugged, or for whatever reason is not being recognized.

File exchange

The file exchange panel dictates how your Mac behaves for Bluetooth file sharing. You can choose to prompt before each incoming file, or to refuse or accept all. You can also choose whether to ask when Palm devices (PIMs) or other items (say from a cell phone) try to send your computer files. Clicking the choose folder button chooses the default folder that accepted files are downloaded to. You can also choose whether to allow other computers to browse your own, and if so, what folder they have guest access (no password required) to.

Pair devices

If you are a Bluetooth aficionado, you’ll be spending a lot of time in the Pair Devices area. Whether it is another computer, a mouse, a cell phone, or a printer, you always need to pair the device with your Mac before you can use it. In the instance of Figure 15-18, the computer in use has found two devices; one is Microsoft’s Bluetooth mouse (yeah, but it’s an awesome mouse) and the other is Silversides, a G4 Cube with an external USB Bluetooth adaptor. Clicking the Set Up New Device button launches the Setup Assistant, covered in Chapter 6. After you have a successful pairing, you are given the option of adding or removing it from your favorites (depending if it’s already there or not), deleting the pairing, disconnecting from the device but not deleting it, or pairing a new device.

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Figure 15-18: When you choose to pair a device, available Bluetooth devices show up in the list displayed. In this case, Silversides, a computer, and a Bluetooth mouse are available.

Bluetooth menu bar icon

If you’ve set the Bluetooth menu bar icon to be displayed, pulling it down gives you a few new options. Choosing the Send File command lets you send your files another Bluetooth device, like another computer. You can also choose to browse a device for files to take from it. Figure 15-19 shows a file being sent over Bluetooth. Figure 15-20 shows another computer’s contents being browsed over Bluetooth.

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Figure 15-19: You can use Bluetooth to send files to other devices.

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Figure 15-20: You can take files from other devices with Bluetooth as well.




Mac OS X Bible, Panther Edition
Mac OS X Bible, Panther Edition
ISBN: 0764543997
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 290

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