Slashdot Mirror
Desktop As a Cellphone Extension?
spaceman375 writes "Like many slashdotters, I've given up on landlines and have only a cell account. The problem: when I am home I don't want to carry my phone on my person, AND I don't want to have to run (possibly up or down stairs) to answer a call. Landlines solved this with extensions. I could go buy an xlink or other Bluetooth-to-POTS solution, but that takes money for equipment. My desktop has Bluetooth, as do my laptop and cell. All I want is a program that can use my cell's Bluetooth to make and receive calls from my Linux PC. I can do this with asterisk or related programs, but that is like buying UPS when I just need a taxi ride. Yet all I can find are programs that either use 'presence' to shift other-sourced calls to my cell, or ways to use a Bluetooth headset when receiving a call on a PC. Has anyone found a way to use their desktop to make and receive calls through their cell via Bluetooth?"
You probably want to look into the No Hands project. It'll allow you to control your phone remotely over bluetooth from your PC. Aimed primarily at in-car situations, I guess it'll work just as well on the desktop.
I just have a cordless base station which connects to my cell via blue tooth.
It pairs with the phone when I get home and cordless phones are easy to get too.
You can buy more too.
"You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours." -- Yogi Berra
You don't need to pay for a Skype number; get a Gizmo account. That works perfectly in conjunction with Google Voice (formerly Grand Central). Google Voice will ring your cell phone and your Gizmo SIP number simultaneously. This makes for a completely free solution (but people will have to learn to call your Google Voice number). You can also make free domestic calls from Google Voice, via Gizmo. Google Voice will ring your Gizmo SIP number and then connect your call. Of course, the other option, as many here have stated, is to put your phone in your pocket and be done with it.