Comments on: ISP-In-A-Box: The $500 Mac mini (Skype = Free Phone Service)

By: Basil

Basil — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 04:11:23 +0000

I took a chance and bought one of those little plastic translucent USB Audio Adapters (Model PD552) off of eBay for less than $8 shipped (device was only $1.49). The mic input, however, is only 24 kHz on the mini - why no better, I have no idea. That said, it is fine for Skype but not for podcasting or Garage Band. Also the output sounds a little "hot" for my taste, so I just use the mini's built in audio out.

By: Riverjack

Riverjack — Sat, 04 Feb 2006 21:57:10 +0000

I just wanted to let everyone know that after reading the post and wanting to do this, I tried out the plantronics 2500 and everything worked. I have a Powerbook G4 running the latest version of Tiger as of this date. I was a bit worried that it wouldn’t work because of some wierdness with Apple and the bluetooth updates, but as my bluetooth is internal I didn’t have any issues. Following the instructions from this post I got my headset to work great with Skype – very clear and good range. I also could use the headset with my Nokia N70, a nice bonus that helped make the money even more worth it rather than buying a Skype only handset.

By: A. Tiwana

A. Tiwana — Mon, 09 May 2005 04:00:47 +0000

I’ve bought two different versions of the USB phones listed on Phoneskype.com off of ebay. They look like the Australian phone mentioned above and for $20-30 a piece, they work flawlessly on the Mini running Tiger. Search by model numbers from the Web site on ebay.

By: Ward Mundy

Ward Mundy — Thu, 05 May 2005 22:28:14 +0000

For those upgrading to Mac OS X Tiger, the Plantronics M3000 bluetooth headset (that was problematic on the Panther platform) now performs flawlessly and sounds as good as any other telephone on the planet.

By: Ward Mundy

Ward Mundy — Thu, 05 May 2005 22:00:14 +0000

Just released: the Skype Firebox.

By: steve

steve — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 12:30:47 +0000

I’ve been using a cheap usb headset (from Plantronics) and find it works well other than being a bit uncomfortable. I’d love to have a conventional handset with a usb plug.

I also have dLink DBT-120 that pairs to my Motorola 820 bluetooth headset. Quality is not good and I frequently have to restart the connection. The idea is nice, but it just doesn’t work well for me.

By: w logan

w logan — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 05:49:22 +0000

CyberGuys sells headphones with microphones built-in for less than $5. I purchased a pair last week and was surprised at the quality. But, I had to take a chance. [WM: These aren't USB, but for a machine other than the Mac mini, looks like a good deal.]

By: Lieutenant

Lieutenant — Fri, 22 Apr 2005 19:56:59 +0000

Some time ago Siemens has announced their Skype compatible USB/DECT stick that works together with their latest wireless phones. Although basic functionality is supported on Mac, advanced functions (copying address books from phone to computer and back – to name just one) is Windows only. STill very nice product that integrates Skype with normal wireless setup at home or small office. Price in Europe is somewhere around ?��?�?Ǭ�?��Ǩ?�?ɂ��?ɬ??Ǭ�?Ǭ�130. Works nicely!

[WM: Thanks for reminding me. Here’s a link to the phone and here’s the Skype adapter.]