Headset Mic Blues

[Cecil]

Equipment:

-Fatal1ty Creative Headset
 *Headset with detachable microphone
 *On/Off switch for microphone on cord
 *Cord splits into green/pink (output/input) plugs

-Audio Splitter
 *Adapter for audio jack allowing, for example, two sets of headphones to be  plugged into one jack.

The Problem:
I want to record videos on my computer.  However, my computer only has one audio jack. I recently bought an audio splitter, plugged it in... and problems happened. What appears to be happening is that I can only use one or the other, but not both at the same time.
Any idea what I can do to be able to use both simultaneously? Should I be using a green/pink joiner cable instead of an audio jack?

Please and thank you for help.

(Oh, keep in mind that my OS is Ubuntu 14.04.02 [A.K.A. Trusty Tahr])

[soybean]

Why do you think you need two mics attached to the computer?

[Cecil]

Forgive me if I was unclear. I don't need two mics: I need two jacks because of the two plugs on the headset (one for the headphones one for the mic which is part of the headset).

[BC_Programmer]

However, my computer only has one audio jack.

Chances are you will find both the jacks you need at the rear of the computer case. Some front panels only have a headphone jack, but I've yet to personally see a Sound card or sound chipset on a motherboard that only had a single audio jack.

[Geek-9pm]

Most Windows computers will have two physical input jacks.
In addition, there is a mixer that lets you the  CD player, Wave and two other sound sources.


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[Cecil]

Sadly, this is a Dell laptop... there is only one audio jack on the whole thing. 

[patio]

That makes no sense...what Model is it ?

[BC_Programmer]

Sadly, this is a Dell laptop... there is only one audio jack on the whole thing. 

What is it labelled as? It will be either a microphone or a headphone jack.

[Cecil]

The jack is marked as a headphone jack.

[Geek-9pm]

The OP needs to specify which Dell laptop.
Ones with a Webcam have a bolt-in microphone.
The Dell E5400 has a single jack for Mic and headphone.

This is like the earphone jacks on some tablets and like the iPhone. One jack has three connections plus ground. Not the standard thing.

[BC_Programmer]

The jack is marked as a headphone jack.

That is (unfortunately) probably all it works for- At best, it may support acting as both- but only as one at a time.

The Model of Dell Geek-9pm links, for example, will prompt via software when something is plugged in to determine whether it will be used as a microphone or headphones. It may be something similar for the system you have.

Best case scenario is what Geek-9pm mentioned where the laptop uses a different design that uses a three-sleeve connector like smartphones, which allows one wire to carry both microphone as well as headphone signals. I would be surprised in this case as typically such a design would have a proper label. (I've also never heard of it ever being on a laptop, but every day is an adventure).

[Geek-9pm]

Right, BC. I have never heard of it on a lap[top. I found the Dell model in a search.  But it might apply to the OP. He needs to give us the model #.

I have a Kindle Fire, a tablet, that uses a single small jack the looks like a 3.5 mm jack. But it uses the same headphone / microphone as my iPhone 4.  Still, without the documentation for the Dell laptop in question, it is hard for use to tell the OP what to expect.

Perhaps in the future the iPhone design will become more common.
The link below is about an Apple product. It is not about  Dell. But one can imagine that this is the way PC makers may go. It saves on save and marts count.
http://appleinsider.com/articles/09/02/12/macbook_owners_frustrated_by_new_audio_jacks

By Zach Spear.  February 12, 2009.
A few owners of Apple's new unibody notebooks are experiencing backwards compatibility issues with the units' redesigned audio jacks, which offer a snug connection for the company's latest headphones with integrated microphones at the expense of a few legacy stereo headsets and speaker connectors.

You have to read the article to get it. It is more difficult than  it needs to be. Apple scratched their own legacy with the change. They already had an working AV design.

[Cecil]

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