7 posts tagged “eee”

I got a new phone, so of course we must modify the Bluetooth settings on the eeepc, right?

First, some recommended posts:

• http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=9166. The post is for Sprint phones, but steps 3, 4, and 5 are the first steps for the Verizon installation. Key points: (1) Get USBModem software. I'm still in the trial period, but I think for $15, it's not a bad deal. Note that you don't have to install the software on the laptop side, just use HotSync to get the piece that goes on the Centro. (2) Address that connection-dropping problem (the first reply to the post). I didn't realize until reading this post that I'd been having trouble with that on my Motorola. I was attributing the problem to poor signals.
• http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=14295. This post reviews the necessary coding for /etc/bluetooth/hcid.conf (didn't change from the Motorola install) and /etc/bluetooth/rfcomm.conf (change device address and channel).
• https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BluetoothDialup. Seems like the Centro wanted to adopt a new channel pairing each time I fired up the connection. This page suggests 'rfcomm release 0' at the command line to fix the problem. It wasn't clear to me whether this is a one-time fix or an every-time fix. So to be safe, I put that command in my rfcomm.conf file, right ahead of the 'rfcomm0 {' line.
  

I saw several posts which suggested that with USBModem, you end up with a dial-up connection that's visible on the Network Connecitons dialog. Well, I never saw it. I'm continuing to use wvdial.

Finally, it wasn't clear whether the password for Verizon is 'verizon' or 'vzw'. I changed to password to 'vzw' in the wvdial.conf file - not sure whether the old one would have worked or not.

In xterm:

sudo XandrosFileManager

Sa-weet!

Yesssss!

First, set up your printer here: http://wiki.eeeuser.com/howto:addwindowsprinter

If necessary, resolve a bidirectional printing problem here: http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=8548.

I had a bunch of junk clogging up the print queue. A couple of the files were real stubborn, so I got out the bazooka:

From the Start menu:

Run
CMD
NET STOP SPOOLER
cd \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\spool\PRINTERS
del *.spl
del *.shd
NET START SPOOLER
exit

Now I will see if I can get the Compaq connected to the printer.

Yay! I can finally get online with my bluetooth dongle and my Motorola W385. (See the previous post for a few details.)

The key was getting a correct wvdial.conf file:

[Dialer Defaults]
Modem =/dev/rfcomm0
Phone = #777
Username = 10digitnumber@vzw3g.com
Password = verizon
New PPPD = yes
Stupid Mode = 1
Idle = 0

To connect to the internet, open a terminal window.

sudo wvdial

Once the connection is made, simply start the browser and it works! You have to leave the terminal window open while you're online. When you're done, close the browser, then type Ctrl+C in the terminal window to disconnect. Works like a charm!

I will probably use this only when a Wi-Fi or hardwire connection is unavailable, and then only to check gmail. So I don't intend to consume a lot of bandwidth or minutes. Just nice to know I have this as a back-up!

I also found a little USB Targus mouse that I had bought a while back. Replaced the battery, plugged it in and it worked, no questions asked.

Okay. Making progress on connecting the eee to my Verizon phone.

I already had my phone configured according to randyman's excellent instructions.

I had problems pairing the eee to my phone but then found this simple command resolved the problem, whatever it was:

sudo hciconfig hci0 piscan

Next, I followed the three light blue boxes on this post (down to the 'ppp' part). Then over to this post to get wvdial installed and configured. Note that for Verizon EVDO users, the username is your10digitnumber@vzw3g.com and the password is verizon (the commenter has these switched).

I've got the phone and the eee talking to each other, and I'm connected to the Verizon network. But I can't seem to use the connection in any meaningful way (like to open a browser, for example). I'm thinking this might be of help but I'm too tired to pursue it.

Trying to get this thing up and running with the Linux operating system; not as straightforward for a newbie as Windows XP would be. Still, I will soldier on since I think this will be the most efficient use of this machine's resources.

Connected to the home wireless network easily with the WEP key.

Connecting at the office was a little trickier - the SSID is not broadcast. Here's how to do it:

• Click on the Network icon
• Add a new connection
• Select Local Area Network - Wireless
• Follow the prompts, leaving everything at default
• Input the name of the SSID when promped (network name and password must be provided to you by a network administrator)
  
• For encryption, select WAP and then enter the password

It took a while to connect but voilà, it all works!

Now trying to get the bluetooth dongle to talk to my phone. Grr.