22 February 2004, 22:06 by mark hoekstra

bluetooth blues

For a while I have this idea to use a PDA as a remote to my HTPC or Project Playstation. I did have a PalmIII and I thought getting that one going on IrDA should be enough. Well, think again. It’s utterly useless to make a PPP-connection or such while you also have to keep a line-of-sight (I could glue it to the table of course, but that wasn’t my idea of my ideal remote). So eventually I thought of bluetooth and yes, that seemed to have everything I needed for my ideal remote! So I searched for the cheapest possible bluetooth-solution and I think I’m not far from that, I got myself a 2nd-hand PalmV with TDK Blue5 and a USB Bluetooth-dongle for my system.

palmVNC-1.thumb.jpg

yes, this is VNC :-)

It also seemed a good choice because I thought it’s around long enough to be nicely integrated and easy to use. Well, I couldn’t have been more off-scale. I really felt like a beta-tester for the last day and a half, getting this combination to work. Adn when I think of it, I still don’t get it. I can’t be the only person who wants internet on his PDA in his own home, am I? Well, I needed to flash the USB-dongle(!!!) and the Blue5-thingy(!!!) and to be honest, my Palm V needs an upgrade of it’s OS too, to be fully functional as my dream-remote.

Well, anyway, after all the hard work I’m now able to read slashdot-headlines while on the toilet ahum, laying on my couch :-) Isn’t that what it’s all about?

slashdotonpalm.thumb.jpg

/.@night

permalink - add to del.icio.us

previous: hardware hacking

next: finally doing some smart things with stupid technology…