9.5. Bluetooth

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This panel shows up only if your Mac is equipped with a Bluetooth transmitter, either built-in or in the form of an external USB gadget. The thrill of using Bluetooth to send files is described in detail in Chapter 7, but here's a quick overview of this panel's three tabs:

9.5.1. Settings

Here's where you make your Mac discoverable (that is, "visible" to other Bluetooth gadgets). Here's also where you can tell the Bluetooth Setup Assistant to open up automatically when the Mac thinks no keyboard and mouse are attached (because it assumes that you have a wireless Bluetooth keyboard and mouse that has yet to be set up).

Figure 9-4. Top: This System Preferences panel reveals a list of every Bluetooth gadget your Mac knows about so far. Click a Bluetooth device to see, in the lower box, what sort of device it is (phone, computer or palmtop, etc.), and whether it's turned on and available. The ones with a heart symbol are what Apple calls Favorites ”they're the ones that you've paired so that you don't have to re-enter a password every time you want to use this Bluetooth connection.
Middle: The Bluetooth Setup Assistant scans the area for other Bluetooth gadgets, and, after a moment, lists them for you here. Click one and then continue.
Bottom: Where security is an issue ”like when you plan to use your Bluetooth cellphone as a wireless Internet antenna for your PowerBook, and you'd just as soon not have other people in the airport waiting lounge surfing the Web via your cellphone ”the Assistant will offer you the chance to pair your Bluetooth device with the Mac. To prove that you're really the owner of both the laptop and the phone, you're asked to make up a one-time password, which you have 60 seconds to type into both the Mac and the phone. Once that's done, you're free to use the phone's Internet connection without any further muss, fuss, or passwords.


And speaking of Apple's wireless keyboard: the third checkbox here allows it to wake up a sleeping Mac when you press a key, just like a wired keyboard does.

9.5.2. Devices

The whole point of Bluetooth is hooking up ”with phones, other Macs, wireless keyboards, wireless phone headsets, Bluetooth printers, palmtops, and so on. On this panel (Figure 9-4), you introduce other Bluetooth equipment to your Mac. Click "Set up new device" to fire up the Bluetooth Setup Assistant, which scouts the local airwaves for Bluetooth gear in your vicinity and lets you add them to your Mac's list.

In any case, once you've introduced the Mac to a Bluetooth companion, you'll see the new device listed on this panel ”and the buttons on the right let you delete it, disconnect from it, change its settings, and so on.

9.5.3. Sharing

This panel lists all the ways you can use Bluetooth to exchange files wirelessly , and lets you fiddle with how they work. They include:

  • Bluetooth File Transfer . When this option is turned on, other people with Bluetooth Macs can see a list of what's in your Public folder, and help themselves . See Section 7.2.5.

  • Bluetooth File Exchange . This option lets other people send files to you using Bluetooth (Section 7.2.5).

  • Bluetooth-PDA-Sync . PDA stands for personal digital assistant, but in this dialog box, it actually means "Palm organizer." Many Palms offer Bluetooth wireless syncing with Bluetooth Macs, and these controls make it possible.

    For most purposes, you don't have to do anything but make sure this feature is turned on (so that the top right button says Stop Serial Port). The Mac creates a simulated modem (serial) port that connects to the palmtop wirelessly.

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Mac OS X. The Missing Manual
Mac OS X Snow Leopard: The Missing Manual (Missing Manuals)
ISBN: 0596153287
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 506
Authors: David Pogue

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