Ubuntu + EV-DO

by Peter Rojas


After much procrastination I finally got around to getting my USB EV-DO modem working with that Dell X1 laptop I have with Ubuntu on it. The solution actually came from Sprint itself, which -- much to my shock and amazement -- put out a guide to getting their EV-DO cards working on Linux machines. (Linux support of any kind is usually an afterthought for wireless carriers.) Of course, this does remove my one last rationale for buying a new ultraportable laptop, although I shouldn't complain since the X1 is light (it weighs just 2.2 pounds with the regular battery and 2.7 pounds with the extended one), gets decent battery life (about three hours with the extended battery, half that with the regular one), and has been running really fast since I put Gutsy Gibbon on it a few months ago.