BlueTooth on Ubuntu 11.10

Long story short:

My daughter Emma's computer is an old Dell Latitude D610 laptop running Ubuntu 11.10. Its built-in BlueTooth was not working - if it every had any. I plugged in a Iomega GBU421 USB BlueTooth adapter. It worked perfectly the instant I plugged it in, no drivers to load. And the Logitech V470 BlueTooth mouse also worked perfectly.

So if you're running Ubuntu and you want BlueTooth, the Iomega GBU421 is a great USB-BT adapter. For $10-$15 it's a bit more than the super-cheap ones but it works perfectly.

Now the REST of the story...

Several months ago my old Dell D610 reached cruft force 5 and needed to be reloaded. But the original Windows disks were no longer around, and I wanted a "safe" operating system for my daughter (who was then 8 years old) to surf the web, email, write docs, etc. Benefits of Ubuntu:

  • reliable
  • lightweight and fast even on an old slow laptop
  • easy to maintain
  • easy to use (the Unity interface is awesome for users like Emma)
  • consistent with the rest of my office (I run Ubuntu on 3 other machines)
  • free, since I didn't want to spend any $ on this old machine

    • Long story short, I loaded Ubuntu and it works great.

    Emma was using a wireless USB mouse, which had a large receiver connected to a cord that plugs into USB. Since she frequently closed her computer and set it aside to make room on her desk, the cord and pad of the mouse was a real pain. I wanted to get a mouse that didn't need any cord or pad. Ideally that would be a BlueTooth laser mouse.

    Meanwhile, my Dad sent me a Logitech V470 bluetooth laser mouse for my Acer A100, which worked flawlessly. Reading up on the V470, turns out it's one of the top rated BT mice and works with just about every system from Windows to Mac to Linux. This gave me the idea of using this BT mouse with Emma's laptop.

    Her laptop has a BT icon embedded in its panel alonside the hard drive and other lights, so I assumed that it had built-in BT. But I could not get it to enable. Googling revealed two facts:

  • The BT function on Dell D610 laptops can be enabled only from a special Windows driver (not from Linux).
  • Some of these laptops did not have the BT card installed (even though all did have the built-in BT indicator light).

    • Emma's computer does not dual-boot. It can only boot Ubuntu. I downloaded various BT drivers from Dell and ran them using Wine. But none of them worked, so I went to plan (B).

    Plan B: check into USB-BT adapters

    More Googling revealed that the Iomega GBU421 was frequently cited as working flawlessly with Ubuntu. It was also cheap - $10-$20 - so I bought one (at Fry's for $12). Brought it home, plugged it in and Ubuntu instantly recognized it: no drivers to load, no reboot. While I was there, I got 1 GB of laptop RAM for $15. The gal at Fry's was great: told me exactly what kind of RAM chips the D610 needed and what configurations worked. And, she was right - it worked perfectly. Next it was time for the Logitech V470 mouse. Before buying one for Emma, I used the one my Dad sent me just to see how it would work. Ubuntu recognized and connected to it easily, no problems. And it works flawlessly - smooth precise tracking, no lag, scroll wheel works, very nice. Benefits:

  • It tracks better than the wireless USB mouse she was using before.
  • It's small and portable: just right for Emma's 9 year old hands.
  • It doesn't need any wires or other connectors.
  • It doesn't need a mouse pad - works right on her desk.
  • It will work with ANY computer she gets now or in the future.

    • Turns out Apple fanbois love this mouse better than Apple's OEM mice and the Apple Store sells it for $50. Logitech sells it for $40. I found one on eBay for $20 - shipping included, with return policy. That made it a no-brainer.