So, you are saying gnome-bluetooth replaces bluetoothd without changing the name of the file?

No, no. gnome-bluetooth is just an application that uses the bluetooth deamon. It won't actually replace it. It's just like blueman uses bluetoothd.

At first that is what I thought, but after installing it I couldn't get it to run. I finally took a look at the .txz file with "Ark" and tracked the different executables and only bluetooth-wizard would run, but not work, that is, it couldn't find the device. So I then started reading all the doc files, which, for the most part, are worthless, but came across this,

Everything else required is installed, so I guess it is off to find, libbtctl.

What version of gnome-bluetooth did you download? I don't remember having to build that package. In fact, the version that I built was 2.28.6.

2.28.3.
It is 4:30 a.m. here and I'm nowhere closer to solving the problem than I was four days ago.
It is this sort of nonsense that confirms what I've been saying for years, i.e., when it comes to having to get business done, I might as well just run Xp and keep Linux in a small partition as a "hobby."
If I want to scan, which I have to do daily, with any speed and quality, I have to do it in Xp as Xsane gives very inferior results (and, yes, if you add up all the time I've spent tweaking Xsane it would come to several days, if not a week or so).
Ditto, printing. I can show you documents, especially those with graphics, printed in LibreOffice/OpenOffice and the quality is just not as good, the colors not as bright, or correct, when compared to those printed in ms-word. Fortunately, I have been able to get ms-word to run on the Xfce or KDE desktop via WINE.
Bluetooth, same thing. Somethings work in Linux, some do not, but they all work in Xp.
Might as well buy a copy of winblows 7 and get it over with.
The critics are right. Linux is not ready for the desktop. Well, maybe for certain specific applications, but if you are trying to run a business and need ONE operating system that can get a variety of things done, Linux is not the operating system of choice.
OTOH, I'll probably keep using Linux and beating my head against the wall because of my dislike of mickeysoft.... Sounds like a definition for being mentally ill?

stormtracknole, thanks for all your help, but I'll just use XP and BlueSoleil and chalk this up to just another bad Linux experience. Well, not as bad as KDE 4.x, but close.
Thanks, again for all your help.

I totally understand. Linux can be frustrating at times, just like Windows too though. I have found though that Fedora and Ubuntu are more plug and play ready for certain things, like bluetooth for example. Yes, I agree that scanning on Linux can be a pain.

I'm sorry I couldn't help you to get your problem resolved.

This is not solved, but I have, just several minutes ago, finally been able to make the connection direct from Slackware and not via Xp running in VB.
I've been re-reading the 10 or so pages of information on the subject I printed off the Web a few weeks ago and tried a couple of different ways of going about it.
I had already edited /etc/bluetooth/rfcomm.conf and that did result in a rfcomm0 device in /dev, but it wouldn't work properly. This time I opened a terminal as root, issued the command, then setup the "modem" (which I've tried before, but didn't work) in KPPP and Bingo!, it worked. Pain in the a**, but it works.

Now to find an easier way.

@cwizardone

Ok read your post and decided what the heck lets see what it takes to use DUN wit bluetooth , connecting via GPRS
I got it to work first time using this ..

"hcitool scan "to find device

and

"sdptool search --bdaddr 00:19:79:89:13:8E DUN " substitute 00:19:79:89:13:8E with your phone's MAC
to get the channel

edit /etc/bluetooth/rfcomm.conf

bind yes;
device 00:19:79:89:13:8E; ---- again substitute 00:19:79:89:13:8E with your phone's MAC
channel 3; ------substitute with the channel you found previous
comment "GPRS dialup";

restart bluetooth
check rfcomm
"ls -l /dev/rfcomm0 "
should get answer like this --- crw-rw---- 1 root tty 216, 0 2007-08-10 21:32 /dev/rfcomm0

I just used the bluetooth manager to connect and it connected first time

Regards
Lawrence

My did you know that off the top of your head or did you have to look it up on the Internet like I did?

That is almost word for word from the "Bluetooth GPRS Howto" from the Arch Wiki. However, as it is now
2011 and almost 2012, what is important is the last section on the last page that says, "As of blueman
1.02-1 and networkmanager 0.70-1, there is no need to edit any configuration files anymore, so that we
can easily set up bluetooth GRPS dialup purely in GUI..."
What a joke that is...... at least with Slackware.

If you dont want help then say so
You have on many occasions insulted people on this forum
My post is from Arch how to , but I did try every step on my HP laptop and know it will work
You are fast to blame slackware when in fact you don't want to follow simple instructions.
I again just followed the instructions and used my daughters Samsung phone and was connected in 5 minutes ..
Anyway dont expect any help from me no more

Regards

LAwrence

Maybe I should have put a smiley at the end of the first line?
I wouldn't call what you posted "help," but a "look how smart am I" post.

I've gone through all that almost a month ago trying to get it to work with Networkmanager and nothing
worked that was suppose to work.
"hcitool scan" didn't work, by the way. Neither did "spdtool search." I found most of what I needed in the
Bluesoleil setup in XP. The correct channel was found by trial and error.

But, again, the point being I wasn't trying to do it by writing scripts, which I was happy to do BACK IN 1995. I think I still have some of the old PPP scripts I had to write back then in a backup somewhere. It is this, "gee, why don't you write a script and/or compile a few applications" attitude in 2011, that is pulling Slackware farther and farther down the list of popular Linux distributions. Keep it up and all of you "hobbyist" will eventually put Slackware out of business.