Headphone, speaker out and headset selection for Realtek combo audio jack on laptops

If you have a laptop that comes with a single 3.5mm combo audio jack that controlled by a Reaktek audio chip which supports the connection of headphone, speaker out or headset, you will probably see the following dialog box automatically popup when you plug your audio device into that 3.5mm combo audio jack.

 

 

Now, what is the difference among the 3 types of audio device that is supported by the combo audio jack?

• Headphones - a.k.a. earphones, are pair of small speakers that are designed to be worn close to your ears. There are headphones that sit at your outer ears, and also in-ear type (a.k.a. in-ear monitors (IEM) or canalphones).

• Headset - is a pair of headphones with attached microphone, normally used for voice chatting.

 

• Speaker out - external speaker or sound bar, normally with sound amplifier.

 

 

If you find that your laptop's 3.5mm combo audio jack is not functioning, you might need to install the correct Realtek audio driver for the combo audio jack to work properly. The driver is normally preinstalled, and its installation file can be found either in the CD that comes together with the laptop or from the manufacturer's support website.

 

With the Realtek audio driver and software properly installed, you can use Realtek HD Audio Manager to configure your computer sound system.

 

 

 

Revive the gadgets functionality in Windows 8 / 8.1 with Windows Desktop Gadgets 2.0

Desktop gadgets was introduced in Windows 7 but removed from the subsequent Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.

I find desktop gadgets functionality pretty useful and handy in monitoring statuses and activities such as real time CPU usage, GPU usage, memory usage, network usage, hard disk usage, temperature readings, etc.

If you miss the fun of having desktop gadgets in Windows 8 / 8.1, you can get back that functionality by installing a 3rd party software called Windows Desktop Gadgets Revivied 2.0.

When it is up and running, you will get back the Gadgets option in Windows Desktop context menu and the Desktop Gadgets setting section in Control Panel's Appearance and Personalization. It behaves very similar to the desktop gadgets functionality in Windows 7. With it, you can now install those gadgets designed for Windows 7 into your Windows 8 / 8.1.

Get back the Start Menu in MS Windows 8.1 with the free IObit Start Menu 8

Microsoft has removed the Start Menu since version 8 of the Windows operating system. The Start button at the bottom-left corner of the screen now acts as a toggle between Windows Desktop and the Metro UI interface.

If you are using MS Windows 8.1 and you miss the Start Menu in previous versions of MS Windows, you can get it back with 3rd party software.

I use IObit Start Menu 8 to achieve this, as it is free, and very easy to customize and use.

This is what you can get with IObit Start Menu 8 installed in Windows 8.1:

The appearance of Start Menu can be configured to use the Default Theme, Classic Windows 7 Theme, or the Windows 8 Theme.

You can also select your favourite Start Button, as it is configurable.

Similar to the Start Menu in Windows 7, you can customize how the links, icons and menus look and behave on this Start Menu.

With this, you can get back your user experience in using Windows operating system the same style as before.