UMTS mit GE301 und Linksys Router WRT54G3G und Linux

Um etwas schneller mit UMTS unterwegs zu sein, habe ich mir günstig in eBay eine GE301 Karte zugelegt, die recht schnell sein soll. Früher hatte ich eine 0700 genutzt, die mich leider immer mehr enttäuschte.

Ich habe den „alten“ router Linksys WRT54G3G mit der Version 1.1.

Zu Thema GE301 und Linux, bitte den Abschnitt unten lesen!

Leider muss man erst mal feststellen, dass es ohne Weiteres nicht funktioniert, diese Karte mit dem Router zu verwenden. Ein paar Hürden sind zu nehmen:

• Firmwareupgrade

1. Des Routers
2. Der Karte

• Switchen der Karte
  

Wer glaubt, dass es bei Ihm auf Anhieb geht, der sollte etwas warten, denn das Dilemma kann sein, dass sich der Router immer wieder aufhängt. Das liegt dann am Modus der Karte.

Die Karte kann 2 verschiedene Modi fahren. Ich habe es noch nicht genau verstanden, jedenfalls ist der Voreingestellte nicht richtig nutzbar für den Router.

Für den Router gibt es bei Vodaphone eine neuere Firmware(2.11.05), als bei Linksys selbst.


Von Vodaphone gibt es auch die Firmware 2.11.2 Hd für die Karte.

Und ganz wichtig, das Programm „Switch to Modem Interface“ auf der gleichen Seite, ganz unten. Meine Karte hatte schon die neuste Firmware, weshalb ich das Firmwareupgrade nicht durchgemacht habe.


Das Switchen der Karte

An dieser Stelle möchte ich sagen, dass ich eigentlich Linux Nutzer bin und das switchen dort mit dem Programm usb_modeswitch vergebens versucht hatte. Die Vodaphone software „SwitchToModemInterface.exe“ hingegen, hat sofort funktioniert!

Mehr ist nicht zu sagen - danach: Router aus, Karte rein, einschalten und los!

Im Moment bin ich seit ca 8 Stunden ohne „einfrieren“ online. Vorher ging es maximal 5 Minuten gut.

Mein Speed ist leider nur ca. 1700Kbit/700 für den Download/Upload. Falls jemand Tips hat, wie man es schneller machen kann, nur zu!

Testen kann man das z.b. hier: http://www.umtsspeedtest.de/

Hier ein paar nützliche Links zum Thema:
http://www.onlinekosten.de/forum/showthread.php?t=112006
http://forums-de.linksysbycisco.com/linksys/board/message?board.id=0&thread.id=1795


Linux und GE301

Ich verwende Kubuntu 9.04. Man sollte wissen, dass ich zuerst versucht hatte die Karte unter Linux zum laufen zu bekommen und das Entscheidende, war dann der Switch des Modus unter Windows mit der Vodaphone Software.

Folgenden Treiber habe ich installiert:
http://forum.ubuntuusers.de/topic/mini-howto:-hso-1.9-treiber-fuer-umts-geraete/?highlight=x#post-1915864

Ob es nun wirklich noch nötig war, weiss ich gar nicht, aber es geht. Und zwar mit der neusten Version von UmtsMon.

Ehrlich gesagt habe ich schon früher mit UMTS unter Linux experimentiert und nichts hat funktoniert, aber UMTSMon macht es einfach! Bei mir bisher aber leider nur als root.

Also auch hier:

1. UMTS Karte
2. Firmwareupgrade
3. Modus Switchen
4. DKMS und Treiber installieren
5. UMTSMon verwenden
   

Übrigens sind hier die Downloadraten oft etwas höher. Immer unterschiedlich, jedoch konnte ich bis zu 4000 Kbit messen.


Fazit: Der Upgrade auf de GE301 lohnt sich von einer 0700.

Achtung: Es soll GE301 Versionen geben, mit denen das nicht gehen wird, da die Hardware wohl ein wenig anders ist. Bitte selbst mal nach Hinweisen suchen.

Free Blog Hosts

I rounded up a bunch of websites that allow you to create a blog and host it on their website for free of charge. Now you too can have your own blog and brag about it.

But . . . . What Exactly is a blog ? A blog can be anything you want it to be , in the vague definition it is a online journal/diary. Since the past 10 years blogs has given the ability for anyone to express their voice and opinion from politics to what is the best video gaming system out there today.

There were other websites out there to offer free weblogs but I found that they were either not good enough overall. I found 10 best Free Blog services which are best.

My Top10 Blogs

Blogger – This is one of the more popular widely used blog hosts. Litterally millions of users !! They are free , offer heavy customization as well as themes. Just google the term “Blogger templates” and you’ll see what I’m talking about. Almost forgot to mention that they have street cred to since they are part of Google!

Xanga - This is another popular online blog host which caters to a younger audience such as high schoolers. It is not as customizable as blogger which may not be such a bad thing if you want to write something quick and easy without worrying about re-arranging this and that.

LiveJournal - This is another great quality blog host that does not charge you a penny. I have personally used it and liked it a lot but it is similar to Xanga that it is not 100% customizable but in my opinion is a notch above Xanga.

Wordpress – Wordpress is the the mecca of blogging origins. If you go on their site and look on the bottom, you can see well known media company names that depend upon wordpress like the New York Times or Yahoo. The great thing about wordpress is that it allows you to host and customize virutally anything. Any first time users will really want to create an account with them to get things rolling.

Tumblr – Now I have not used Tumblr so I would be lying to say that I have first experience. But from what I have noticed most recently is that a lot of great websites out there use the Tumblr platform for blogging. It also looks to be quite as versatile as Wordpress. Check it out!

Weebly - Next up is a website / blog-host called Weebly. It is not well known but it does look promising as it offers free blog hosting and other tools to support you with.

Blog.com – Such an original name , and blunt to the point. I like that , don’t you ? At least it doesn’t sound like a weedwacker compared to the others. This website also follows the suit in offering free webhosting as well as support to help you create your own blog. Setting up an account doesn’t take too long either. So take advantage now !

Thoughts – At the eighth spot I listed Thoughts as another blogging hosting provider. I haven’t checked it out too much. This is definatly great for those of you who want something a little less mainstream.

Experience-Projects – Here is another provider for a person to startblogging away.

Free-Blog-It – Seems to be another promising website to lend bloggers a helping hand.

Various Platforms

Blog.com – Offers free blog hosting with unlimited bandwidth for their free package, more benefits for paid members.

Blog Ladder.com – All blog entries show up on the main ladder as well as inside your own blog.

Blogger.com – A great starting site to get a taste of blogging, very easy to use.

Blogr.com – Allows you to blog, host photos & videos, and podcasts.

BlogSpirit.com – European based blogging site, offers 30-day trial and subscription thereafter, but offers quite a bit of storage.

Blogster.com – Offers free image hosting in addition to free blogs.

BlogYx.com – Blogging site with extras such as chat boxes so you can interact with your readers.

Bloki.com – Lets you build a blog site and even open it up for collaboration.

Bravenet.com – Free blog hosting with RSS feeds and more.

ClearBlogs.com – Free blog hosting and offers templates, friends only posts, IP-Banning and more.

Etribes.com – Based in Europe, allows you to create all sorts of websites including a blog.

Multiply.com – Mixes blogging and social networking, with photo galleries and more.

Netcipia.com – Free blog and wiki for private or public display with 2GB of storage.

Open Diary.com – Offers unlimited storage and posts, low cost subscription rates for advanced features.

ShoutPost.com – A platform for creating blogs with a focus on generating traffic.

SoulCast.com – Have something you want to talk about, but want to say it anonymously? This may be the blogging site for you.

Squarespace.com – Lets you build your blog with numerous themes, also allows you to add other site features.

Terapad.com – Offers blogs as well as features such as an integrated store.

Tooum.com – Fully integrated blog and forum which allows for seamless discussion between the two.

Tumblr.com – A blog platform with a focus on allowing media-rich posts.

Weebly.com – Allows you to create a site and blog, free hosting and change designs on the fly.

Vox.com – Part of the SixApart family of blogging sites, very much geared towards the personal journal types of blogs.

Xanga.com – Part social network, part blogging, all free.

WordPress Powered

Blogetery.com – Offers multiple templates, anti-spam, free sub-domain and more.

BlogRox.com – Runs on WordPress and offers 50MB of free online space.

Blogsome.com – Based out of Ireland, this site uses the WordPress MU platform, large choice of themes.

Edublogs.com – WordPress powered blogging for educators.

WordPress.com – Not only can you install WordPress on your own sites, you can use the same software on their site and save yourself all of the technical work.

Themed Blog Sites

Blogabond.com – A site dedicated to travel blogs with map integration and more.

BlogCheese.com – A video blogging website.

BusyThumbs.com – A blog site specifically for your text messages and camera phone images.

Freevlog – Designed for video blogging and completely free.

Trippert.com – Create and share blogs of your travels.

Ufem.com – Blogging site specifically geared towards women. Offers multiple themes and plugins.

Word Count Journal.com – A new blogging format that is also part challenge. Write one word on the first day, two words on the second day and so on, at the end of the year you’ll have written 66,795 words.

Xanco.com – Another moblogging site for you to share all your mobile communications with friends and family

Danga Software Powered

GreatestJournal.com – Based on the same software as LiveJournal, offers free voice posts, 1GB of photo hosting, and space for up to 2,000 user icons.

InsaneJournal.com – Another site based on the Danga software that runs LiveJournal, offers free and paid accounts, paid benefits are only enhancements.

JorunalFen.net – Runs on the Danga platform, very much directed towards various “fandoms” (i.e.Harry Potter, various Television shows) and is meant for users 18 and older.

LiveJournal.com – One of the most well known of the blogging hosts. Offers multiple account types such as ad-supported and paid. The center of a few controversies recently.