Headset and Mic

[Karl Auer]

On Tue, 2010-12-14 at 03:27 -0500, Ric Moore wrote:
> Something doesn't jive. If you are plugging into the stereo speaker's
> headphone jack, that is an electro-mechanical connection, simple round
> stereo plug into round stereo jack hole operation which physically
> shunts the signal to the headphone while disconnecting the speakers,
> which the computer doesn't have anything to do with. If this is a
> digital switch, controlled by the OS, it's a new one on me.

I don't think it's been purely electro-mechanical for a loooong time.

The "mechanical" part is still true in that inserting a jack is a
physical change, but it is just an event that can be sensed and acted
upon by software. I don't know if the event is sensed mechanically or
electronically, but I do know that inserting the jack does not literally
physically (electrically) shunt the signal anywhere any more.

Surprised me too, when my new laptop started making noises through the
speakers when the headphones were plugged in!

Regards, K.

PS: Note, the above is deduced from the fact that plugging in a jack on
my new laptop many moons ago demonstrably did NOT result in the signal
being transferred to the headphones. Not only that, but a later software
upgrade fixed the problem. Ergo, the jack does not mechanically transfer
the signal.

-- 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Karl Auer (kauer at biplane.com.au)                   +61-2-64957160 (h)
http://www.biplane.com.au/kauer/                   +61-428-957160 (mob)

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