[Braillenote] bluetooth and activesync problem

[Sarah Van Oosterwijck]

This is both a question and a warning about using a USB bluetooth device. 
I purchased a BlueSoleil bluetooth dongle, mostly because it was extremely 
cheep online with a rebate a couple months ago.  It works just fine with my 
Nokia 6620 cell phone for sending files and syncing contacts.  It doesn't 
work with my braillenote, though.  When I had the Microsoft generic 
bluetooth driver installed I got the message (unsupported) when I searched 
for my computer with my braillenote.  I reinstalled the device with the 
drivers that came on a CD with it, with a little help to get past an 
inaccessible splashscreen.  Now my braillenote believes it is connected to 
my computer and that everything is fine, but it doesn't work.  I know why 
it doesn't work, too.  Stupid activesync doesn't let you use any virtual 
COM ports over 9.  Unfortunately the COM ports assigned to communicate with 
my braillenote include port 10.  I'd just like to scream in frustration 
about that.  The most annoying thing is that my computer lies about COM 7, 
which it claims is in use, but COM 7 isn't assigned to anything.  I feel 
like if I could just get rid of COM 7 I might be able to bring all the port 
assignments down one number and thereby get COM 9 to be the one my 
braillenote is using.  Does anyone have any suggestions at all about what I 
might try?  It seems this is actually a problem that most people who try to 
use bluetooth with activesync have, so Microsoft should address the problem 
immediately, but then again Microsoft doesn't really seem to be in to 
fixing problems.  I have reinstalled the BlueSoleil drivers once already. 
I did that because there was a phantom port 6 that was possible to 
eliminate, and that did change some port assignments, but not the ones that 
needed to be changed.  I don't know if it is worth the bother to keep 
reinstalling it in the hope that something will change.  If only either the 
bluetooth device or activesync would let the user assign functions to 
absolutely any port they wanted to use this artificially created problem 
would not exist.  Humanware should also mention this issue in the manual so 
frustrated people who can't get help and don't have very much Internet 
research abilities will know why the procedure might not work for them, and 
know that it isn't a problem caused by something they are doing or not 
doing.

Sarah Van Oosterwijck
Assistive Technology Trainer
http://home.earthlink.net/~netentity