[clug] VoIP question

[Eyal Lebedinsky]

But very non technical. Not even Linux - anyone still reading?

Maybe the laptop users on the list already know this one.

My dad wants to use VoIP - no problem. He plugs a headset into
one socket on his laptop and the mic into the other and it works
very well.

[he uses W/XP, and between MS messenger, Yahoo messenger and Skope
the latter wins on quality hands down. No, he will not install Linux]

One problem. When the headset is connected the speakers automatically
disconnect. So he cannot hear the ringtone when I call him.

And no, there is no chance that he will remember to always disconnect
the headset after a call. You are allowed to after 80.

One solution I have is to give him a USB headset/mic. Or maybe an
external USB sound module to plug the hs/mic into. This is much more
expensive than just the hs/mic (dirt cheap). Is there a cheap USB
device (only needs telephone quality) for this specific purpose?

The speakers disconnect internally, and I do not want to add
another external powered speaker in parallel with the headset.

Any other ideas?

For the moment we talk using his speakers (only the mic plugged in)
which is not that bad. Naturally I have the same problem here.

-- 
Eyal Lebedinsky	 (eyal at eyal.emu.id.au) <http://samba.org/eyal/>