Hi, I’m looking to purchase a notebook computer for a teaching lab. Our IT department recommends a Dell computer that has a combined microphone/headphone jack. The computer will run Windows 7 Home Premium.
I’ve never used a computer with such a jack, but I assume that the default behavior is to shut off the built-in speakers when something is plugged into the jack. Problem is, my application requires me to plug in a microphone and listen to the sound over speakers.
My question: With such a computer, can I plug in a microphone and play sound through the speakers? Does it depend on the specific driver I happen to have, or is this always an option on such a computer? Is it something I can set in the Control Panel “Sound” settings?